REVIEW: High On Fire – “Death is this Communion”

High On Fire piles on the sludge in their newest release…and it’s fucking delicious.

Their sound has been no secret to the metal community in recent years. High On Fire has been releasing quality music since their debut album released in 2000, entitled “The Art of Self Defense”. Stoner/Doom metal legend Matt Pike was out to prove upfront that High On Fire is far different than his former band—he would adapt and perfect the sound that made Sleep notable. This new style is all-inclusive to terms like “brutal” and “aggressive”, while maintaining the heaviness of the stoner/doom metal sound.

“Death is this Communion” is High On Fire’s heaviest album to date, and solid evidence that you should wake up and realize the new sound of doom.

The album opens with a relentless attack entitled “Fury Whip”. When I first heard Pike’s vocals on “Blessed Black Wings”, I thought “he sounds like Lemmy!” Now he sounds like Lemmy at 80-years-old, who just washed down a bunch of sharp knives with a couple bottles of whiskey…yeah, it’s that awesome.

It is evident that “Death is this Communion” has received proper treatment in the production studio. This in comparison to previous albums clearly portrays each instrument in its true greatness, and has an incredibly imposing effect. You won’t hear terribly complex guitar passages. However, that is not to suggest that the music suffers in any way because of it. Two words: Des Kensel. The man can pound out some punishing beats—anywhere from low-and-slow tribal to faster break-neck thrash beats. Though Matt Pike’s cacophonous riffage threatens to engulf everything, Kensel’s drumming meets it with ferocity—the end result is pure aural rapture. Amidst all of this, Jeff Matz strums his highly-distorted bass to provide a consummate breeding ground for all-out musical warfare.

High On Fire will undoubtedly rise into greatness. With superb songwriting and a quality production, “Death is this Communion” is the quintessential album of High On Fire’s developmental stage. There is very little (if any) about this album that is out-of-place. There is a steady stream of fast songs, balanced perfectly with mid- to slow-tempo songs, and a couple featuring some cool outro pieces. I promise you, any fan of metal will enjoy this album. So buy it. Now. And prepare for the scourge that is High On Fire.

AMAZING…

1. Fury Whip (6:14)
2. Waste of Tiamat (5:44)
3. Death is this Communion (8:35)
4. Khanrad’s Wall (2:27 )
5. Turk (5:03)
6. Headhunter (1:24)
7. Rumors of War (2:51)
8. DII (3:45)
9. Cyclopian Scape (7:29)
10. Ethereal (6:57)
11. Return to NOD (6:17)

Notable Tracks: Fury Whip, Cyclopian Scape, Return to NOD
Similar Artists: Down, Mastodon, Motörhead

Matt Pike – Guitars/Vocals
Des Kensel – Drums
Jeff Matz – Bass

Relapse Records
High On Fire (official site)
High On fire (myspace)

Review by: Nate