Bronco Forte Premiere “Lightning Scar”; Lightning Scars LP Out April 3
Los Angeles heavy rockers Bronco Forte will release their debut full-length, Lightning Scars, on April 3. Yes, that’s forever from now considering it’s Jan. 2. Happy New Year and all that. Don’t let the horrors get you.
Distant as it may feel today, Lightning Scars is nonetheless impending, and it brings with it 10 taut, accessible, pro-shop composed and produced tracks from the four-piece of vocalist/guitarist Chris Kepac, guitarist/vocalist Sako Injaian, bassist Jen Glomboski and drummer Geoff Summers, bringing a Californian air to the fuzz-heavy rock of Valley of the Sun or mid-period Queens of the Stone Age with a feeling of craft that underscores everything they do. Apart from Summers having played with Batillus in New York — their 2011 album, Furnace (review here), was a killer in a transitional time — their origin story is unknown to me, but from slow-rolling opening cut “Emberwalker” onward, like a modern Masters of Reality, Bronco Forte draw classic notions of what’s heavy in rock toward the varied expressive purposes of their craft. That is, they take inspiration from different sources and use it to create a sound of their own. On most debut albums, this is already more than one might necessarily ask of a band.
But I’ll do my damnedest not to hold being good at what they 
do against the band. After all, that’s what lets them build into the chug of “Emberwalker” with such fluidity, and sees them draw a line between whiskey-dude shuffle rock and Electric Wizard‘s stoner idolatry on “Cultist Canyon” en route to the heavier lumber in “Goat Church,” without making addled cultism the basis or even the bulk of what they’re trying to get across as the shove in the second half of “Towers” feels derived from mid-aughts emo, backed by the deceptively intricate vocal arrangements of “Hellascape” and “Scuffed Up,” the latter of which is rife with melancholic homage. A mellow swing is what brings it all together, be it the hint of presentational psychedelia on “Dusk Jacket” or “Lightning Scar” — hey, that’s premiering below! — with as much attitude as boogie to its credit. At three and a half minutes, it represents Lightning Scars well in not having time to waste screwing around getting itself together.
Bronco Forte, by all impressions given, have already done that work. Lightning Scars, which janga-chugs into a satisfying hook in “Obvious Alias” and closes with the desert-at-night vibes of “Sixteen Lanes” has already been hammered out, refined, produced in the sense of taking the song and giving it a defined shape. They trade some urgency for that, but in melody and impact, their ability to remain cleareyed around the changes of mood and purpose is what lends such a sense of mastery to the material. The pedigreed production team is part of the story, but only part, and if you get from “Lightning Scar” below that Bronco Forte are deeply attuned to craft and making their songs do what they want them to do, then I think you’ve got the idea.
PR wire info follows “Lightning Scar” on the player right down there. Please enjoy:
Pre-orders: https://broncoforte.bandcamp.com
After so many iterations of heavy, desert-inspired doom rock over past decades, it seems the essence of purely driving riffs, earworm harmonies and strong songwriting that defined a genre has been forsaken. Bronco Forte are a return to the stark blast that made bands like Kyuss, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden legends.
On Lightning Scars, guitarist and vocalist Chris Klepac’s focused songwriting and poignant lyrics meld seamlessly with guitarist Sako Injaian’s (All Hail the Yeti) energetic riffs to create a sonic tapestry that is somehow as catchy as it is heavy. Together, bassist Jen Glomboski (White Forest) and drummer Geoff Summers (Batillus, A Storm of Light) lay down a rhythmic foundation that is as solid and unwavering as the endless expanses of concrete and asphalt that blanket the band’s home of southern California.
Lightning Scars was tracked and mixed by engineer Kevin McCombs (Linkin Park, Story of the Year) at legendary North Hollywood studio The Steakhouse – the same studio where Queens of the Stone Age recorded Era Vulgaris. From there, the band took the audio to heavy rock mastering wizard Nick Townsend (Alice in Chains, Frankie and the Witch Fingers), who cut the resulting album to lacquer on his own personal lathe. Album art from Kevin “fetusK” Bernier (Prosthetic Records, Intronaut) completes the package.
Lightning Scars will be available on LP, CD and download on April 3rd, 2026.
Pre-orders: https://broncoforte.bandcamp.com
Tracklisting:
1. Emberwalker
2. Cultist Canyon
3. Goat Church
4. Towers
5. Hellascope
6. Scuffed Up
7. Dusk Jacket
8. Lightning Scar
9. Obvious Alias
10. Sixteen Lanes
Bronco Forte:
Chris Klepac: Vocals, Guitar
Sako Injaian: Guitar, Vocals
Jen Glomboski: Bass
Geoff Summers: Drums
