What's going on with High on Fire?

Load contains some of the most ear-excruciating crap. I'll maybe put in a good word for "Until It Sleeps" and "2x4" if I'm feeling nice but dear God, what the hell is Poor Twisted Me? Wasting My Hate? Outlaw Torn? vomit

xpost

again? dont think ive started one before

Please move the nu-metallica discussion out of here.

great point bill

'Snakes For The Divine' is my first and only HoF album, and I love it. I keep meaning to get more of their stuff, but I simply never see any of their other LPs (I want vinyl) on my travels. I must look into ordering a couple. I take it from this and other threads that it's basically all good.

some hof vinyl just got reissued!

Yes, it is. It's all really good.

xpost

It seems quite tough to find their vinyl, even online (going by my - ahem - 3 minutes of searching). I'll have to do a bit more digging

eh? it's all on sale at http://shop.relapse.com/

http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=39922
http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=20362
http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=26136

or

http://www.allthatisheavy.com/search.asp?SearchTerm=high+on+fire

Cheers v much. I was just checking my usual online shops, which tend not to sell too much metal.

Order on the way...

^^ and I'd rather order within Europe. Cheers for the tips though - might fall back on them if other options fail.

BBW sounds great on vinyl. relapse did a nice job with these.

Oh where are you? i assumed you were in the us.
best place in europe is http://www.musicfearsatan.com/en/nouveautes.html

http://www.musicfearsatan.com/en/recherche/req;HIGH%20ON%20FIRE;.html

Hey, no worries -- thanks for the links! I've just ordered BBW.

yeah, relapse did a great job with these reissues. a boon to surrounded and DITC, the original versions of which tried to pack too much time into their grooves. sound amazing with 2 LP's worth of breathing room.

digging this snakes for the devine

"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.