Modern heavy metal is nearly as bad as electronic music about creating meaningless microgenres. Thrash-influenced eco-black metal? Depressive funeral doom metal? New Wave of Old School Death Metal? In a sea of ridiculous overclassification, it's nice to know that there are some bands who just play straight-up heavy metal. That's where Oakland, CA's High on Fire come in. They're too fast for doom or sludge metal (see Matt Pike's old band Sleep for his real take on doom), too low and nasty for thrash, and they certainly don't fit the strict standards of death or black metal. They're a bit like Motorhead in that they simply play pummeling, aggressive music and don't seem to care where they fit in best. The Motorhead comparison is actually pretty apt, since High on Fire can sound at times like Lemmy and Co. taken to a whole new level of aggression.
For anyone interested in heavy music, High on Fire should be a household name by now, as they've recently released album number six, De Vermis Mysteriis. Vocalist and guitarist Matt Pike explains the album thusly:
“It’s a concept record, a little bit. I got this idea about Jesus Christ and the Immaculate Conception: What if Jesus had a twin who died at birth to give Jesus his life? And then what if the twin became a time traveler right then? He lives his life only going forward until he finds this scroll from an ancient Chinese alchemist who derived a serum out of the black lotus—which is actually in Robert E. Howard’s ‘Conan’ stories—and then he starts traveling back in time. He can see the past through his ancestors’ eyes, but his enemies can kill him if they kill the ancestor that he’s seeing through at the time. Basically, he keeps waking up in other people’s bodies at bad times. It’s kinda like that old TV show Quantum Leap. Kurt actually pointed that out to me after I told him the idea. But whatever—time travel is a killer concept."
It's pretty safe to assume that the album's themes were somewhat influenced by pharmaceutical assistance.
The Kurt referred to in the above quote is the infamous (at least in metal circles) Kurt Ballou of Converge fame, who produced the new album to great effect, because the sound is absolutely crushing. Matt Pike and High on Fire also deliver something besides simple heaviness in the form of actual, memorable songs. Between the lyrics offered up in Pike's throat-destroying shout and the complex songwriting, Mysteriis is definitely more than just a collection of tracks. They seem to have taken the "concept album" idea to heart, because the whole work is imbued with a more cinematic scope than past releases. The songs can be completely devastating of course, just listen to the track "Spiritual Rites," but there are also thoughtful, dramatic moments like the preceding track, "Samsara," with its twisting, serpentine lead work. Those leads are no doubt aided by Pike's custom 9-string guitar, which is strung as a regular 6-string, only the highest three strings are doubled, so that Pike's solos ring out as if played on a 12-string guitar.
Overall, this is High on Fire's most ambitious work to date, and the bizarre subject matter lends it an even more twisted vibe than their older albums. They've ventured into Lovecraftian territory here, and they've dredged up something both unearthly and well worth a listen to anyone who wants some quality heavy metal with absolutely zero pretension.
-Review by TZARATHUSTRA
