- advertisement -

HIGH ON FIRE
Cometh The Storm
MNRK Heavy

Doom!
Chaos! Rockin' the casbah!
Grammy nominations?

Universally recognized as one of the most potent acts in music today, HIGH ON FIRE creates dynamic metal that merges primal fury and aggression, hesher bombast and hall of fame heaviness. Described as "a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume," HIGH ON FIRE has rewritten the hard rock rule book since its formation in 1998, forging a style and sound that is both critically celebrated and unique.

"I think this band's always had a really good drive," states vocalist/guitarist Matt Pike. "We're all just really ambitious. It's definitely a specific type of person that is going to listen to a HIGH ON FIRE record. I don't think it's meant for the whole of society to consume. It's a little bit rough for the radio sort. It's a different entity. It's its own thing. Which, I think, makes all of us very proud to be a part of it. It's not an average band."

Indeed, as average bands aren't known for earning Grammy award nominations and even less so for winning them despite minimal mainstream exposure. And that's exactly how the Oakland-based trio saw its public reception towards its last album Electric Messiah yield a statue for Best Metal Performance at the 2018 Grammys, placing the unit among the ranks of groups such as BLACK SABBATH, MOTORHEAD and METALLICA as winners of the prestigious award, presented by The Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the music industry. Yet, in the half decade since the band's Grammy nod, the world has seismically shifted and is a different place. The same can be said for HIGH ON FIRE. The band's musical archetype has morphed and evolved; its blast radius widened. Or, in industry speak, HOF have been flexing their creative laurels rather than resting on them. Bassist Jeff Matz joined MUTOID MAN and traveled abroad to study and learn the techniques of Middle Eastern folk music and the plucked string instrument, the baglama (or saz), Matt Pike formed a solo band, released an LP, and toured the U.S., and world-renowned percussionist, Coady Willis, he of MELVINS, BIG BUSINESS, and MURDER CITY DEVILS united with Pike and Matz to breathe new life into the group a quarter century into its captivating career.

And they've also bulked up their studio album count to nine with their latest album Cometh The Storm - a 10-song offering that's anything but fair weather. Its opening track "Lambsbread" delivers a decent rambling take on how much the HOF sound has progressed in the past 5 years, but it's the invigorating "Burning Down" which provides a vigorous barrage which exemplifies the band's growth. Born out of an impromptu jam session that had started from one of Matt Pike's previous riffs, the song slowly shifts its way through a maze of blistering power chords and white-knuckle drumming for 6 whole minutes, making one wonder how elsewhere throughout the album the band had enough energy to thrash through shorter punky thrash numbers such as "Tough Guy" and "The Beating" let alone the apocalyptic 10-minute long closer "Darker Fleece". And the exotic-sounding instrumental "Karanlık Yol" shows how those baglama lessons have paid off for Matz as he brings his bass-picking thumb to create some fine dulcet tones while Coady provides a spectacular array of prime percussion work.

Produced and mixed by esteemed soundman Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studios, Cometh The Storm may sing of walks through Helheim's lifeless seas, Moses and mountains and death and grief, but the truth is that throughout this album, this is the highest on life that HIGH ON FIRE have found themselves at.

5.0 Out Of 5.0

https://www.facebook.com/highonfire/
https://twitter.com/HighonFireBand
https://www.instagram.com/highonfireband/
http://highonfire.com/