The Mysteries of the Worm

High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis
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

Black Sabbath Live 1970

This full set from 1970 is for anyone who forgot (or, perish the thought, doesn't yet know) why Black Sabbath are gods among men. Paranoid had just been released, and Sabbath had only really been a professional band for about two years at the time, yet all the elements were in place. Geezer Butler and Bill Ward performed as one of the best rhythm sections in all of rock and roll at the time and showed that you could be monstrously heavy and still retain a solid groove, and Tony Iommi was plumbing the darkest, scariest depths of guitar sounds the world had ever heard. Over top of all that noise, Ozzy's vocals were powerful and menacing. It was still the blues-based rock and roll that the world was so familiar with at the time, but it was blues-based rock with all the color drained out of it. It was claustrophobic and horrific and well... paranoid.

It's important to retain a sense of historical context to fully grasp why Black Sabbath was so terrifying. This show was recorded in December of 1970, so Woodstock was still fresh in people's minds, and the stabbing at Altamont was only a year before this concert. The hippie movement was flaming out, and people were beginning to suspect that love wasn't going to save us. Then Black Sabbath comes roaring out of England with the most unholy sound anyone had ever heard:

-Posted by TZARATHUSTRA

The Past Is A Playground

Radio Moscow - The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz
There are any number of ways to approach the history of rock and roll. Some see it as territory already covered, with no need to return to older styles, and some see it as an ongoing development, with the act of listening to old records being something akin to reading old journals. The interpretation with the most potential for fun, however, is to see the rock and roll past as a playground, which is clearly the preferred perspective of Radio Moscow, an Iowan band consisting of multi-instrumentalist Parker Griggs, along with bassist Billy Ellsworth and live drummer Lonnie Blanton. Though Griggs handles much of the recording himself, the obvious sonic template is the power trios of late-stage psychedelia from the late-60's/early-70's. It would be easy to make a bad record this way, in fact the most likely outcome would be to make an album that had the same effect as a bad cover band, where the effort to comply with vintage standards simply made the listener pine for the real thing. Radio Moscow slips through this trap by making a record that sounds dated in the best way, combining vintage sounds and tones with a little extra juice from the modern stoner rock movement, all the while displaying an inexhaustible and unironic love of fuzzy, propulsive psychedelia.

As you might expect, Radio Moscow puts a premium on instrumental prowess, especially the guitar work, which is so good that it probably counts as porn for any guitarists in the audience. Their newest release, The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz, is no exception to this, as instrumental virtuosity abounds. Luckily the band has the sense to keep the heroics subservient to the groove. The sound is definitely psychedelic, but rarely jammy; even when the guitars are aiming to blow your mind, the rhythm section keeps you nodding your head.

Radio Moscow's earlier records, a self-title debut and the sophomore release Brain Cycles, are both excellent records in their own rights, but The Great Escape... offers a broader sonic palette, with fuzzed-out rockers sharing space with acoustic slide blues and even tribal rhythm workouts like "Densaflorativa." In the end, Parker Griggs may be another in a legion of Hendrix worshippers, but he's certainly one of the best. For all the serious guitar mojo on The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz, it remains an extremely listenable and, most importantly, fun record.

-Review by TZARATHUSTRA