Search - High on Fire :: Snakes for the Divine

The High on Fire We've Been Waiting For....Again

J. D. Garrick | Guilford, CT United States | 03/13/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've followed High on Fire closely since the Billy Anderson-produced first two records and have eagerly looked forward to each of the three ensuing albums. This is a band that takes it mission seriously--a no-nonsense, relentless dedication to the craft of metal-forging while refusing to fall into the trap of self-parody that has been the inevitable path of countless pretenders. Their last release, Death is This Communion, merely satisfied, offering alot in the way of artistic experimentation but seeming to meander at times. Snakes For the Divine, however, is a metal Tour de Force, from the Angus Young-ish opening guitar sequence on the title track through Des Kensel's double-bass drum laydown on the final track, Holy Flames of the Fire Spitter. On Snakes, the group seems more tightly focused on keeping up the pummeling throb of pounding, sludgy controlled chaos of earlier, classic tracks like Blood From Zion and Hung, Drawn and Quartered. The evolution of Matt Pike's vocal style into a Lemmy Kilmister howl on the previous two releases distracted us from the music, so the altered vocals we get on the new record keep the listener's focus in the right places. Having seen High on Fire live on each album tour, I sense that the band's essence--the sweaty, brawny riff-ridden hypnotic experience they deliver onstage--is better replicated in Snakes For the Divine. In fact, the altered production on Snakes--popping bass notes from Jeff Matz and Kensel's steady bass thump (on Fire, Flood and Plague the beat resembles the precision of an old-fashioned typewriter)--might be the chief element that brings the overall sound closer to HOF's earlier releases. And for their longtime fans, that's what we've been waiting for...again.

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Now entering the ring...

Edward R. Virgilio | 02/23/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hailing from Oakland,CA. Weighing in at A dumpster full of dropkicks HEAVY! is High On Fire! This album is great. If you like "The art of self defense" & "Surrounded by thieves" you're going love this. Of course it doesnt sound exactly the same, the production and vocal progression being the most obvious, but this album is F***ing heavy/fast and has the Sabbath grooves back! I cant get enough:) Very likely this will be on many 2010 Best Of lists."

HoF don't disappoint

Wheelchair Assassin | The Great Concavity | 04/10/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Those in the know have long been aware that High On Fire is among the most reliable bands around when it comes to producing thunderous, head-banging metal, and their latest release, "Snakes for the Divine," is no exception. While their work has always been delightfully malevolent, highlighted by hellacious guitars and vocals that bring to mind Mephistopheles with a sore throat, HoF have never affected an angry, us-against-the-world stance, nor have they engaged in the self-consciously "evil" posturing of so many death- and black-metal bands. Instead, they've churned out album after album of visceral, unrelenting metal in its purest form, without relying on such decidedly non-metal devices as irony or sarcasm. The band deals mainly in crashing, oppressive waves of sound, with all three members plowing ahead in unison and focusing their energies on a single point to produce the most destructive sound possible. And while "Snakes for the Divine" falls a little below the level of its classic predecessors "Blessed Black Wings" and "Death is This Communion," it's still highly a enjoyable synthesis of the low-fi stoner metal of the band's first two albums and the more accessible (though still monstrously heavy) approach they've taken since.



The title track opens the album with a surprisingly catchy lead guitar line, but anyone fearing that HoF will start sounding like In Flames all of a sudden needn't worry, as the song quickly plunges into a fearsome call-and-response between Pike's vocals and guitar, dragging listeners through a series of punishing tempo changes along the way. The largely subdued and eerie dirge "Bastard Samurai"--in addition to having a cool title--is one of the bigger departures in the band's catalog to date, with Pike's guitar frequently functioning as a complementary instrument, establishing a doomy atmosphere that nicely matches the unusually subdued vocals. Of course, just in case anyone starts to think they're slowing down, HoF follows this track with "Ghost Neck," a blistering slab of high-speed thrashing madness that sounds sort of like early Slayer ramped up to even greater levels of both heaviness and hellishness. The album's choicest cut, "How Dark We Pray," is a sweeping and epic piece even by HoF's lofty standards, and even introduces a pretty high degree of complexity into the mix, moving from an extended, impressively tuneful intro to a succession of tricky rhythms and dense layers of riffage, topped off by a downright musical solo that ranks as one of Pike's most memorable to date.



By the time the album reaches its conclusion with another violent pummeling of fire and brimstone in the form of "Holy Flames of the Firespitter," it's clear that High on Fire have another classic album on their hands. These guys have been gaining a pretty significant level of popularity lately (by metal standards anyway), which is nice to see given how much boring tripe is currently occupying the mainstream. Anyone who likes it heavy and hasn't checked out HoF yet should consider themselves obligated to give them a listen.

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