Bullet LaVolta
I’ll admit I picked up the 1988 debut by Boston’s Bullet LaVolta simply because it was on Taang! While I was initially disappointed that they didn’t play typical metallic hardcore, I soon came to love this release and their full length follow up The Gift. Bullet LaVolta straddled the line between metal, hard rock, melodic punk (for lack of a better term) and big guitar indie rock. Although that may sound like a hellish stew it really worked nicely. The material is chocked with soaring hooks and big melodies which serve to distract from the occasional wanky guitar solo. All in all, Bullet LaVolta crafted a powerful and memorable brand of music.
The tracks below are from the first two releases on Taang!. A second album would be released on RCA in 1991. Swandive was slicker sounding and more rock oriented but still enjoyable. A couple of tracks:
From the 6-song debut 12″
Bullet LaVolta - Baggage.mp3
Bullet LaVolta - Dead Wrong.mp3
From The Gift
Bullet LaVolta - Underground Well.mp3
Round-up:
>> An interview with Bullet LaVolta from Noise for Heroes
>> Buy The Gift
11 Comments so far
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I wasn’t a fan until The Gift. They used to open for pretty much everyone in the late 80s and I was a bit sick of them. They even opened for Siouxsie and the Banshees. They didn’t go over well. Haha. Good tracks in any case!
I used to play baggage every radio show back when it came out. I probably have a tape of it somewhere who knows so thanks for the songs
This band always pushed my buttons from the moment I first heard them (which was opening for a then-unknown Soundgarden at City Gardens in Trenton, sometime around 1988.) Lavolta burnt the stage to shit, and Soundgarden were effectively exposed as the west coast nancyboys they truly were!
One of my all time favs!
I also thought BV was one of the great under-rated bands. The ep has some incredible hooks. I saw them live and they kicked major ass. Post-show they were friendly and approachable guys, too. Very cool to mention them in your blog.
This is what makes this worthwhile, finding out how a band made an impression on everyone. Shit, I wished I could have seen a BL show back then. Hell, I wish I knew some of you way back when the only shows my friends cared about where SOIA, Agnostic Front, and anything “mosh” related.
yay! bullet lavolta, definitely great! i liked swan dive a lot tho.. but hey, i m just a kraut, what do i know? oh.. chavez are worth a try, too.
My son Zachary was in a Bullet Lavolta video when he was 4, he’s now 19 and plays the drums like a motherf%^*&er, we lost that video, is it online or available anywhere, is Bullet Lavolta playing anymore?
Man, this is great stuff. I’ve seen this band name around a lot over the years but always assumed it was a cheesy third-rate cock rock band or something, but I’m really liking these songs a lot. I need to track down some of these releases. Nice. I just added a link to your blog from my own, there’s a lot of solid material here. Many thanks…
This was the band of my early and mid 20s…I saw them 35 times, mainly around Boston and once at CBGBs. I even paid to $35 to see them open for Sioxsie and the Banshees at the Orpheum and left after their set.
They had it all - raw energy, punk attitude, great riffs…man, I miss them…
I can’t seem to get the mp3’s…anyway, I’m suprised to see this band even listed..I didn’t think anyone ever heard of them.. ‘Ceiling Life’ was a great tune too, but I can’t seem to locate it anywhere..