Bridgebuilder: Blast Off the Rock Excellent
Missoula's home to more than a handful of really good bands (Shotgun Moses, Volumen, Birds Mile Home, Reptile Dysfunction, Knot Knocked Up, Four Horsemen, Sherlocks, Black Velvet Elvis, Vera, etc.) but the band that's been taking the heavy/loud cake for just about a year is Bridgebuilder. They're a power trio in the true sense, playing through huge old PA towers rather than regular guitar/bass speakers, they control a mass of sound that would knock down lesser bands.

Their music has metal roots (quasi-classical sounding intros, Ibanez axes, etc.) but definitely is more along the lines of noise rock, with more frequent starts and stops and mathy changes, rather than being totally riff-bound. They're sort of uh, Helmety, without the churn. Most songs clock in at around two or 2.5 minutes, and their sets by and large are 30 minute affairs that thoroughly leave the crowd wanting more.

They've self-released a CDR called Lay Waste the Siege Perilous, and it's pretty excellent. The mastering/EQing job could've been done with more finesse and less bombast, for a better final product, but the songs help it to stand out and be one of the more exciting records that's come from Missoula in some time.

I think what I like most these guys is the absolutely unaffected in-it-for-the-right-reasons grins they have glued on when they play a show. You can tell they're doing something that makes them happy, and they're well-rehearsed and instense to boot. Check them out.

Josh/Loud MD
Recently on the KBGA loud playlist: Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Signal Lost, Totalitar, Asshole Parade, Bridgebuilder, Pierced Arrows, Harvey Milk