Year Of Metal #073: High On Fire - Death Is Our Communion
High On Fire frontman and guitarist Matt Pike joins an elite group of performers making two appearances in the Year Of Metal. The Sleep co-founder was heard on their cracking The Sciences, but during the legendary doom act’s hiatus, he formed High On Fire, and we’re tuning into their 2007 record Death Is This Communion this time around. It’s no insult to say that Pike and his new band are bringing you more of the same heavy, down tuned, foreboding tunes - you’d expect nothing less. With High On Fire, though, he introduces elements of thrash and hardcore for a more dynamic, direct sound.
They’re straight into business with the thudding riffs that open “Fury Whip”, the band taking a few seconds to set the scene as they attack their instruments. When things kick into gear, though, they’re moving at a pace Sleep seldom reached, with drummer Des Kensel jumping into double time, giving the piece a powerful rush even as the guitars continue to stomp at an unchanged velocity. Pike’s vocals are more front and centre, too, and he’s on terrific form across the record. He’s a pretty big, imposing chap, and he sounds like it, his voice a battle worn roar that cuts through the sludge of the instrumental.
High On Fire are more than happy to bring out the classic stoner metal style at times, like on the title track, one of the highlights. This is seriously meaty stuff, and it’s a joy to hear them tearing away at this lumbering, super simple riff for eight and a half minutes. Like Sleep, this record is all about the texture and the dynamics, and this song rises and falls beautifully without much happening melodically. You’ve no choice but to give it some serious volume and allow it to kick you square in the guts.
I like the short instrumental breaks they put between the tracks, too. “Khanrad’s Wall” in particular adds some welcome variety to Death Is This Communion, with guitar, bass, and drum patterns that wind into one another. I don’t know what the technical term is but I like tunes where, depending on what you focus on, the rhythm feels totally different. This then feeds straight into the thrashing, explosive “Turk”. High On Fire are a lot more keen on establishing momentum than Pike tended to be with Sleep; for every track that commits itself to sludge life, there are songs like this one that come out swinging. Indeed they’re literally swinging on “DII”, which comes tonally close to classic heavy metal vibes, especially on the remarkably sweet lead guitar line.
While keeping at least one foot grounded in stoner metal, High On Fire manage to get a lot done on this album, and they pull it all together for closer “Return To NOD”. Pike pushes his jagged vocals to breaking point, roaring over incessant chugging riffing. The track builds itself up to a thrashing peak as a gnarled, fast picked solo cuts through the ooze for a moment, and the band triumphantly pelt towards the finish line, fading out in full voice, seemingly with plenty more noise left to make.
For my personal tastes I’m still perhaps inclined a little more towards the pure, slow-as-fuck down tuned doom vibes, but this is a great expansion of the sound. It’s far more accessible than some of the Sleep gear I’ve heard and boasts fantastic guitar heroics of all stripes. This Pike character’s about as metal as it gets.
