High on Fire | ‘Snakes for the Divine’

Having ridden his new band like an escape pod out of the imploding nebula of smoke-wreathed riffery that was Sleep, it’s clear for all to see how far Matt Pike’s High on Fire have come in the last decade.

Their excellent debut is now almost exactly ten years old, and since then, they’ve firmly fulfilled their front man’s stated desire to make music that sound like “being a warlord and slamming an axe into someone’s head”.

Their last effort, 2008’s ‘Death is this Communion’, while certainly not a let-down, was a bit of departure in its own way, veering from the visceral into a more epic, horizon-scanning mode.

It comes then, with slightly guilty and atavistic glee to report that the band have reigned in such expansive sections, and tone-ridden, guitar fixated carnage is once again the order of the day.

It can easily be argued that the omens certainly weren’t for this to be this kind of record. Lead single ‘Frost Hammer’ sounded somewhat stilted, and with Greg Fidelman of Death Magnetic and Weezer fame at the mixing desk, there was always going to be quiet fears over the warlord’s axe being somehow shushed into radio-acceptable lameness.

Thankfully, the common story of a lone single not conveying the essential flow of an album can be told here. Fidelman also manages to delivers a warm, consistent tone that works as the perfect medium for the group’s primal power.

Pike’s decision to kick the album off with a chest-beating lead guitar riff of serious proportions quickly becomes a good omen.

Like their rawest album, ‘Surrounded by Thieves’, this release barely gives thought to intervals between the onslaughts. They pound through a host of numbers that seem to meld into one unified assault, with ‘Ghost Neck’ serving as the pinnacle of attack, possessing a vicious riff (recently perfectly described by an associate as producing a “sideways headbang”) that raises the hairs on the back of the neck the way in the finest of fashions.

Perhaps the only thing that doesn’t match up to the material on display is the album’s cover, which seems oddly plain for a group who’ve had an awesome run of art in the past.

All the elements that make up the High on Fire machine are firing on all cylinders. Des Kensel’s credentials now beyond all human doubt, his massive sounding drums being hammered into utter oblivion as usual. Jeff Matz, once of Zeke fame, has now firmly ensconced himself in this machine, with some particularly tasty bass noodles during the title track serving as his most audible contribution.

The territory occupied by the bass and the kick drum is so perfect here, a laden chorus of hammering weight aiding every track with thuds that eat sound-proofing for breakfast.

But as expected, its Pike’s gravel throated roar that rules the roost. The man’s voice seemly grows with power as he ages, wide-eyed and screaming with ancient tales of death and horror.

It’d be tempting to counter the above praise by noting that the band are constrained by the warm mix, perhaps unable to summon up the clarity and extra elements that they did on their last record.

The truth is that when they’re hammering out the chorus of the closing track, the last thing you’re worried about is versatility. Heavy as a brick shithouse and an early frontrunner for the podium of 2010, ‘Snakes for the Divine’ gets better with every listen.

4.3 / 5 - Lorcan Archer ::: 14/03/10