High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine

“How Dark We Party.” That’s the way itunes read the song title “How Dark We Pray” when I slipped the CD into my computer to make mp3’s for the ipod. That could be High On Fire’s new catchphrase since these guys do party, but play really dark music. Snakes For The Divine is their fifth studio album since forming in 1998 from the ashes of doom metal pioneers Sleep.

Not much has changed since their first album, The Art of Self Defense (released in 2000), but there has been many refinements. Or maybe that should be un-refinements, since High On Fire’s brutal sound is based on killer cave man riffs, slaveship drum beats and howls of agony. Longtime fans were worried that working with a name producer like Greg Fidelman (Slayer’s World Painted Blood, Metallica’s Death Magnetic) would tame High On Fire’s primitive urges too much. Sonically, there’s a much more modern production than they’ve ever had.  Personally, I preferred the more “rock” sound of 2007’s Death Is This Communion by Jack Endino, but realistically this is the album High On Fire had to make. They need to compete with big names like Lamb Of God on a kid’s ipod but there’s no compromise in the songwriting. It’s just as heavy, if not heavier, than anything they’ve done before.

The title track opens the album with a riff borrowed from AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” before booming bass and frenzied double bass drumming join in. The rest of the 8 minutes is an all out thrash attack worthy of vintage Celtic Frost, Destruction and Slayer (Hell Awaits era). Matt Pike’s vocals are a little cleaner than usual and more upfront in the mix. As always, his guitar playing is full of fire and loud as hell. Jeff Matz (ex Zeke) on bass is a perfect foil for Pike. This is his second album with the band and he’s a monster player with great tone. Drummer Des Kensel is now rocking a full on double bass drum metal kit. His beats are less tribal than they used to be and more thrashing.

The single “Frost Hammer” (nice Celtic Frost/Hellhammer reference) is 6 minutes long. I’m not sure how much airplay this one’s gonna get, but I could see it being a gateway song for the band. There’s a melodic bridge in the middle that is a big departure for them. The slow creeper “Bastard Samurai” could be the heaviest thing on the entire album. After the frantic pummeling of the opening 2 songs, this mid-tempo noggin nodder gives you a chance to catch your breath. “Ghost Neck,” “Fire, Flood and Plague” and “How Dark We Pray” continue the assault while “Holy Flames Of The Fire Spitter” retains some of the tribal stomp of previous albums.

Overall, this is a really strong metal album. Some of the songs go on a little too long and I prefer a rawer production, but like I said this is the album they needed to make. Bands like Mastodon and Kylesa have seen their audiences grow tremendously in the past few years. High On Fire is ready to start working the big rooms and they have the album to help melt the minds of the children of middle America.



-- Woody

Buy here: Snakes for the Divine

http://highonfire.net/