High On Fire - Luminiferous (2015) [320] V01dV

Heavy/stoner/doom metal from USA, latest full-length album released in 2015.





With a heavy-handed approach and a sound that crashes like thunder, HIGH ON FIRE has put the power back in 'power-trio'. Less a band than a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume and sheer heaviness, the band has burned the metal rulebook and forged a new archetype.

HIGH ON FIRE was formed by guitarist Matt Pike in late summer 1998. Formed out of the need to simply play guitar again, Pike jammed with and settled on a line-up of powerhouse drummer Des Kensel and longtime guitarist friend George Rice, who made the switch to bass to round out the trio.

They had scarcely been together for a few months before demo-ing three songs. That demo, featuring 'Master of Fists' and instant classics '10,000 Years' and 'Blood from Zion', became among the most sought-after tapes in recent hard rock history. HIGH ON FIRE got straight to the point, bashing away with a Neanderthal sense of purpose and creating hypnotic, droning waves of powerful riffs and low-end thunder of the likes not heard before.

Before the band had even made it's first live appearance, labels flocked to get a piece of the trio. In the end the band chose to record with the Mans Ruin label and the demo surfaced in the form of a mini-CD in early '99, while they continued writing for their debut full-length.

That debut, The Art of Self Defense, was welcome respite from commercialized rap-metal and warmed-over stoner-rock clichés of the time. The Art of Self Defense served up a rock hard, unorthodox form of modern metal cloaked in strange religious theology and the trio's style was unique, distinct, and absolutely crushing.

Accolades poured in the world over: Rolling Stone, Spin, GQ, Alternative Press, Magnet, Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, Village Voice and dozens of others publications. Almost overnight, HIGH ON FIRE were the unassuming heroes of the riff and the most celebrated metal band on the planet. On the waves of such massive exposure, HIGH ON FIRE hit the road. Europe was conquered with ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY in tow and the U.S. was taken in two tours of duty.

Summer 2001 saw Man's Ruin close up shop, leaving the band with no label and no distribution. Relapse offered, the trio accepted, and found themselves a new home and new full-length effort titled Surrounded By Thieves with gargantuan songs such as 'Hung, Drawn and Quartered', 'Nemesis', and 'Razorhoof'. Rarely has metal been as powerful and pure in its ability to translate primal fury and aggression.

The now-legendary HIGH ON FIRE tour juggernaut celebrated with a marathon North American Tour that saw them traverse the continent for six consecutive months with the likes of MASTODON, SHADOWS FALL, MOTORHEAD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, and more, and a Japanese and European headlining tours. The touring was capped by the band being named one of Alternative Press Magazine's "25 Most Important Metal Bands".

In the summer of 2004, HIGH ON FIRE was joined by bassist Joe Preston (THRONES / ex-MELVINS). Preston replaced Rice, and made his live debut on a 14 city U.S. trek that concluded in Chicago, IL where the band entered Electrical Audio Studios with engineer Steve Albini (NEUROSIS, JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION, NIRVANA) to record Blessed Black Wings.

Blessed Black Wings exploded onto the scene. From the start the band hit the road and traveled the world, playing esteemed festivals such as All Tomorrows Party (at the request of The Mars Volta), Dour (Belgium), Quart (Norway), Intonation (Chicago), Hellfest (France), as well as the inaugural Sounds of the Underground Tour. Additionally, the band headlined internationally with the likes of MASTODON, CLUTCH, GWAR, and many more. Preston was replaced toward the end of the touring cycle by former ZEKE bassist Jeff Matz.

Blessed Black Wings was named one of 2005's best releases by Kerrang!, Revolver, Pitchfork, Rock Sound, Decibel and dozens of other publications the world over. Additionally, Pike was named one of the 20 best guitarists by Rolling Stone Magazine.

In June 2006, after a long, intense writing process, HIGH ON FIRE entered Seattle's Avast 2 and Soundhouse studios with legendary producer Jack Endino (NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN) to record their long-awaited new full-length, Death Is This Communion.

Death Is This Communion is High On Fire's ultimate sonic masterpiece. Matt Pike's unmistakable guitar playing and throaty war cry lead the charge, while Des Kensel's massive drumming takes on a new life and pushes the beast onward more urgently than ever. From the rampaging 'Rumors of War' and 'Fury Whip', through the hypnotic riffs of 'Ethereal' and the album's title track, Death Is This Communion is HIGH ON FIRE's masterwork.


High On Fire Official Site




2015 Luminiferous


Tracklist:

01. The Black Plot
02. Carcosa
03. The Sunless Years
04. Slave the Hive
05. The Falconist
06. Dark Side of the Compass
07. The Cave
08. Luminiferous
09. The Lethal Chamber

Label: eOne Music


Matt Pike has become a punchline again. In the weeks leading up to the release of High on Fire’s masterful seventh album, Luminiferous, listeners began to notice that the singer’s long-latent suspicions and esoteric interests had morphed at last into legitimate conspiracy theories. During "The Black Plot", the album’s exuberant opener and first tease, Pike grunts about the need to hide your mind because of nearby aliens and relents to the damage an evil global scheme has already caused. During subsequent browbeater "The Sunless Years", Pike growls about dropping acid, spotting satellites, and huffing chemtrails. "Someone please tell them," he shouts mid-verse, "this is our fucking lives." When Rolling Stone asked Pike about those ideas, he reinforced them rather than recant: a book by noted snake oil salesman David Icke had opened his eyes. 9/11 was an inside job. And the aliens built both the ziggurats and pyramids. “Dude, I say a lot of fucked-up shit!” Pike admitted. As it does, the metal Internet laughed online.
But if that’s the stuff that drives Pike and his increasingly volatile and complex rhythm section to play with the gumption and zeal of Luminiferous, so be it. These nine tracks are among the most enthusiastic and bracing of High on Fire’s career, with mammoth riffs and hooks spurred on by a momentous band. Luminiferous feels like a classic compendium of High on Fire’s successes. There are mid-tempo marches, like the arching wallop of "The Falconist", and breathless moments that push the accelerator on doom metal until the pedal seems to stick, like the clawing "The Dark Side of the Compass" and the irrepressible "The Black Plot".
The parts themselves have never sounded better. Pike, who supplies a solo for every song, is an audacious, unapologetic leader. Drummer Des Kensel has become an exceptional drummer, able to shoehorn blast beats inside weighted sludge riffs and actually swing through the most straightforward moments. Bassist Jeff Matz is an expert at interlocking with both sides, sharing the load of the riffs and the rhythms until they’re all too big to resist. Now approaching their second decade as a consistent trio, High on Fire’s interplay has become a marvel. To wit, Pike’s set of brief solos during "The Falconist"—and the way Kensel and Matz subtract and add time around it—warrants jazz-level scholarship.
Still, Luminiferous is at its best when High on Fire seem to be preaching about these zany ideas, as if Pike has some great revelation that must be shared with his disciples. "Slave the Hive", for instance, ricochets between hardcore built by a doom metal toolkit and shout-out-loud classic rock played by madmen on speed. "They got us wired to the reptile brain," the band howls during the hook. "Your life is not the same. This world is insane." It’s the kind of silly, serious rallying cry that’s meant to be yelled back at the band onstage, even if you don’t buy it. That infectious feeling applies to the relentless title track, too, a pick-sliding monster that reaches back to the days of punk-and-metal crossover to lecture on theories of Hertz-based mind control and the deeds of white-wigged barristers. Pike unleashes soul-scraping yells between the verses and over the coda. It is a quasi-religious paroxysm; he’s hollering about despising government overlords the way a gospel shouter might scream about loving the Lord.
Every number on Luminiferous—and for the most part, in High on Fire’s entire collection—begins with some jolt, be it a heavy drum roll from Kensel or a big swipe at the guitar from Pike. But late into this album, High on Fire take one of their most unlikely detours ever, opening "The Cave" with a pensive bass solo and colorful clouds of textural abstraction. Acoustic guitar trots along to a steady beat, and Pike legitimately croons lines about putting life, the road, and even conspiracy theories on hold long enough to fall in love. They seesaw between distorted, supercharged choruses and muted verses, arriving somewhere between a power ballad and a post-grunge acoustic anthem. It suggests broader possibilities for High on Fire than the established strum-churn-and-solo modus operandi and provides a welcome break to this parade of heavy hitters. What’s more, "The Cave" indicates that Pike’s time in the reunited Sleep has served him well, causing him to slow down and be more than some shirtless 43-year-old dude with tough-guy lyrics. Al Cisneros, "The Cave" suggests, is not Sleep’s only surviving master of mood.
Speaking of Sleep, two decades ago, the hard-living Pike couldn’t help keep that band together long enough to release its third album, an epic poem about a mecca made of marijuana. Few might have predicted that, countless narcotic trips later, the now-sober Pike would be one of metal’s most trustworthy bandleaders, fronting a trio so consistent that Luminiferous feels only like the next point in a long line of remarkable records. Yes, High on Fire add a few new tricks here, especially through an enhanced ability to push and pull tempos at will. But for the most part, they remain a powerful trio with perfect chemistry, capable of embedding great hooks and marvels of rhythm section athleticism within riff-worshipping hits. "Before, I’d be all like, ‘How do we top the last one?’" Pike told Rolling Stone of Luminiferous in the same interview that turned him back into a minor metal meme. "It’s not better—it’s just a different version of myself that I’ve been trying to express all along." That’s not crazy talk. That’s fact.



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