What's going on with High on Fire?

"Fire Flood & Plague" might be the definitive HoF song. It's what they do that no one else can do, sliding between heavy and fast like they're the same thing, while keeping the whole song, the whole story, right in the cross-hairs.

still think that the definitive HoF song = like "10,000 years" or maybe "thraft of canaan", but shit yeah, that's a jam.

What's going on with High on Fire?

They're invariably smoking a heroic amount of dope.

inspired by this thread to revisit this album this morning. it's better than I'd thought! really great! some of the punk beats on for example "ghost neck" are part of an if-not-general-surely-present mood among some metal bands to re-engage with some of their hardcore ancestry, which I dig when it feels natural, as here. somebody mentioned the psychedelia of i.e. "blessed black wings" and that's hof at their best for me: when you feel like there's a degree of wastedness sufficient to reach transcendence. snakes kicks a lot more ass than I'd thought, but am I looking for d-beat tributes while high? generally no. I like this better than the debut, but this & the debut are 2nd-tier HoF; blessed black wings & death is this communion & surrounded by thieves are all top top notch. still, I mean, 2nd-tier hof is still as good as most bands' best.

did not make it through their whole set last night, but did catch blessed black wings and one of the songs i liked from death is this communion. they're still pretty vicious and good live for sure, but their records have felt increasingly rote to me.

yeah I would give a 2nd listen to the back half of snakes for the divine - it's v. solid imo

nice coming around, aero. listened to a good chunk of snakes last night, with a few comparison tracks from the early albums, and dig it more every time i play it, especially at neighbor-hating volume. love the clarity and toughness of the sound, classic without being directly reminiscent of anyone but themselves, and there's still enough miasmic goo in the production for the vibes to go all woozy when pike stretches out. quibble:

snakes kicks a lot more ass than I'd thought, but am I looking for d-beat tributes while high? generally no.

yeah, but throw in a healthy pinch of "and drunk" and it starts to make a lot more sense

and xpost yeah, especially those last two tracks holy shit

i have found that it generally improves everything to imagine that i am pleasing, or at least placating, the lizard people when i play the new album.

Okay, Pike kept baiting the Chapel Hill crowd to get into more, threatening "this is like your encore already...", But closing with "Snakes" shows that he still knows he's at the top of his game. Next time, I'd like to see them closer to a weekend. Wish they played another hour.

umm is this a joke???

also, i think they're playing south by southwest.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 06:47 (6 years ago)
yeah, they're playing SxSW, and they're playing in Austin the day before it starts with Dysrythmia & Zeke.

awesome.

(apologies for foolishly posting directly after someone else with nearly exactly the same name)

― ian johno (ian johno), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 12:17 (6 years ago)

face of oblivion

it's more like they just happen to have similar names, let's not get carried away

World renowned hard rock band HIGH ON FIRE will release its new studio album De Vermis Mysteriis on April 3 via eOne Music. Recorded in Salem, Massachusetts' GodCity Studios with producer and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, the 10 song effort -- touted as "direct, eye-opening and powerfully supernatural" -- is the band's sixth studio recording and the follow up to 2010's Snakes for the Divine which debuted at #62 on the Billboard Top 200 and has been called "wonderful" by The New York Times and "an exhilarating rush" by The Chicago Tribune.

De Vermis Mysteriis (or "Mysteries of the Worm") takes its title from a fictional grimoire created by Psycho author Robert Bloch and incorporated by H. P. Lovecraft into the lore of the Cthulhu Mythos (Lovecraft mentioned De Vermis Mysteriis as one of the books that "repeat the most hellish secrets learnt by early man"). The album carries a deeply mystical undercurrent, incorporating fantastical themes and lyrics detailing, among other things, time travel, a serum called liao that is made out of a black lotus and "a Jesus twin who can see the past through his ancestors' eyes."

Sounds like they may be high on something else.

severely supernatural

I love HOF, but i cant understand the words when he sings for shit, so Im not sure I care what the theme is. He could be singing the Salem Mass phonebook for all i care.

yeah, tho i do like it when a distinct phrase pops:

i am the one who by others is called fire face

Somebody has to have named an album De Vermis Mysteriis before this right?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZDeaoMl1L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

i don't fucking know...i thought there was some huge well-known metal album by that name.

well, mayhem's got de mysteriis dom sathanas

thinking of this one?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tfvcUyu0VpM/S-82GIzrcFI/AAAAAAAABNU/wbE6gsfOL3A/s400/De+Mysteriis+Dom+Sathanas.jpg

lol, xpost

that's what I was thinking of, but i'm still surprised and frankly a bit disappointed that De Vermis Mysteriis is not well-worn territory.

Adding to its ever-growing catalog of sonic enormity, Southern Lord Recordings has announce the reissue of "The Art Of Self Defense", the classic first recording from Oakland power trio HIGH ON FIRE. Set for release on July 31, the landmark long player has been completely remastered and enhanced by Brad Boatright (SLEEP, NOOTHGRUSH, OFF!) and includes the addition of the band's first-ever demo, two bonus seven-inch tracks as well as a 48-page booklet.

"The Art of Self Defense" reissue track listing:

01. Baghdad
02. 10,000 Years
03. Blood From Zion
04. Last
05. Fireface
06. Master of Fists

Bonus 7" Tracks (2001)

07. Steel Shoe
08. The Usurper (CELTIC FROST cover)

Self-Titled Demo (1999)

09. Blood From Zion
10. 10,000 Years
11. Master of Fists

"The Art Of Self Defense" was initially released in 2000 by Man's Ruin Records. Featuring the collective energies of guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike, drummer Des Kensel, and bassist George Rice with producer Billy Anderson, the record billows at the seams with Pike's instantly recognizable guitar tone, first unleashed during his days with stoner metal behemoths SLEEP. An audio hail storm of piledriving riffs, booming rhythms and Pike's gruff vocal tirades, "The Art Of Self Defense" remains a staple in HIGH ON FIRE's renowned catalog of audio greatness.

the best album, i have it on cd and vinyl but i know i'll buy this again for those demos.

i wonder if these demos are from the 12th records ep before the 1st album. i have that cd

still my favorite HOF

Yeah this is def a must-get

figured this revive would be due to this

http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2012/06/07/high-fire-drops-escapes-rockstar-energy-drink-mayhem-festival-tour

Covered in the Rolling Metal & vs. Sleep threads iirc?

Anyways, I can't even choose between the first three albums. I was listening to Surrounded by Thieves on Spotify a few weeks ago: man, that shit pummels.

am I looking for d-beat tributes

yes yes yes to offer up to teh snake godz

HIGH ON FIRE to Release New Album, Luminiferous, June 23

http://action-pr.com/featured/high-on-fire-to-release-new-album-luminiferous-june-23/

http://action-pr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/High-On-Fire_Luminiferous_Cover-565x565.jpg

New album cover much better than last album cover. Also, the press release doesn't say anything about it being a concept album. This gives me hope.

hahaha uh

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-high-on-fire-take-on-aliens-with-new-face-melter-the-black-plot-20150512

hmmm...

leaving aside matt's cosmic ruminations, that track is a fucking monster. dez might be my favorite music person of now.

lol i love the graph of the levels

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Matt Pike looks 10 years younger in that promo pic. Cleaning up and quitting drinking has really paid off for him. Glad to see it.

no wonder he's so enthusiastic about human women

Wow. Fucking great! And they're touring with Pallbearer too!

http://www.npr.org/2015/06/07/412028493/first-listen-high-on-fire-luminiferous

Sounds good. Easy stuff to like. But I haven't listened to them much so if it's horribly rote I'm not hearing it.

i dunno. i'm not sure they have any album that really shows them at the best of everything they do.

Probably true. Blessed Black Wings is my go-to, but I also love the slicker version of them that shows up on Snakes for the Divine, and the slower material on The Art of Self Defense, too. Haven't listened to the new album yet.

Haven't out anything between Death is This Communion and the new one... They seem to have got a lot more pleasingly melodic in the interim. The Falconist is catchy as shit! I can almost imagine people doing acoustic covers of that one.

World renowned hard rock band HIGH ON FIRE

you would think listeners on other planets would have taken notice of HOF if anyone

caught them at Psycho Las Vegas a few months ago. First disappointing HoF set I've ever taken in :(. Wasn't really their fault - they were in a 10,000 seat arena and their sound actually was small and muddy in it.

And about the time I wondered "is it just me", Matt started getting agitated and chatting with people off stage between songs, and occasionally making passive aggressive comments about the sound. By the time they got it right, the set was over. Tom G Warrior also made similar complaints in the same facility during the Triumph of Death set. shame, because HoF's new material is tailor-made for their live shows.

going to catch them in a much more intimate venue on Tuesday, so I have a feeling things will be "back to normal". I really like the new album, kinda dials up the Motorhead-y elements a bit more. "Steps of the Ziggurat/House of Enlil" is just a massive song and should be a crowd-crusher live (which it wasn't in PLV).

this is one of the only bands in recent memory that has fucked my hearing up for 2+ days after the show.

Did they have a new drummer for that show? I heard Des left.

Think so