High On Fire really don’t need much introduction these days. The band who have been blasting their riffs for the past 25+ years have continually gone from strength to strength with every release they have put out and they’ve always went down well with us here at Ave Noctum. With album #9, “Cometh The Storm” upon us, the Grammy Award winning Power Trio who have seemed to make it their mission to be as loud as, if not, even louder than the all mighty Motörhead, are showing no signs of slowing down so let’s ride it out and see what they have on offer this time round.
Riffs.
A whole FUCK ton of Riffs.
I could end the review there, just saying “Riffs” a few more times, but essentially, that is what you are getting when you listen to High On Fire. Matt Pike is an ardent disciple of Tony Iommi and in everything he does, the riff is at the heart of it. That doomy, sludgy, menacing riffing delivered at breakneck pace or with a gigantic presence is High On Fire in their purest form. The booming bass and relentless thundering of drums adds to the impressive wall of noise from Pike’s war-cry vocals and the ability to be just as intense regardless of tempo is a hallmark of their sound and approach. We all know Pike can rip it up with some slick soloing, but it feels like everything always comes back to the riffing with Pike and the music he has contributed to and that will always be my frame of reference for this band.
For the album itself? Well, giving it a bit more attention than just going on about how intense it sounds.
“Lambsbread” which opens up the album is filled with thunderous drums and a pounding groove. Hard hitting rhythmic work with snarling vocals pair up to deliver that trademark intense sound and from there the blending of Sabbathian riffing with the doom vibes of Sleep and the aggression of Motörhead continues on. “Burning Down” teases an iconic Pike take on the Sabbath style with the harsh fuzz and fade in intro before a big roar signals the start of the verse. The bass is huge in this one as it rumbles away, fattening the riffs out and the mid-tempo head-banging pulse of the track keeps it going. The solo is slick, blending the hallmark wailing unison bends and nimble shred spots we’ve heard Pike throw out through the years and whilst it isn’t the thunderous and frantic paced attack of the previous track, it’s just as intense and heavy.
“Trismegistus” has some excellent drum work going on with its rolling fills keeping the momentum going as the vocal roars and lingering chords and chugging riffs power forward, led by the frantic snarling vocal display. Title track “Cometh The Storm” is the first real deviation in the sound and approach of the album. It’s steadily building intro works to add tension to the track as it builds a sense of anticipation before it comes in with a huge wall of doom laden chords for its chorus. The rhythmic work in the intro and verse has a very infectious, almost tribal like groove to it and the shifts from this to the more familiar doom laden hammerings is executed perfectly. It’s not a total departure of style which will be noticeable as the track progresses, but the hypnotic rhythm work with its primal feel and the subdued vocal work in the verses make it a rather interesting track.
“Karanlik Yol” is Turkish for ‘Dark Way’ and it is a sub 4 minute long track with a very exotic sounding Middle Eastern flair. Employing heavy use of droning notes and repeated musical motifs which dance around each other, and it sounds like it is played on a Saz or a Bağlama, a traditional lute-like instrument from this particular region of the world. Its exotic flair is unexpected but executed well and the track builds momentum as it goes with bass, simple percussion and swirling ambience coming in as the track progresses. It’s a great palate cleanser track and I quite enjoyed it. “Sol’s Golden Curse” follows up next and it’s back to the usual assault of moderately paced slabs of fuzz laden guitars, booming bass, hammering drums and the customary snarled vocals. The track doesn’t really stand out as such, it’s just your typically heavy Sabbathian groove inspired track delivered well but unremarkably.
“Tough Guy” comes in from the feedback hum of the last track and its guitar driven build up continues on into another pounding mid-tempo head-banger. Heavy on the low end and the snarling vocals, it’s definitely going to have a sea of heads banging in unison as it tears through speakers in a live setting, and the pounding drums and chug riffs dotted throughout really hammer home the heavy factor. “The Beating” is frantic and fast with a wild and unhinged delivery. As the shortest track of the album, it doesn’t pull any punches, instead going for the throat with a wild proto-metal blitz. Loaded with punkish energy, the attitude of Motörhead and plenty of snarling, it’s just a crazy and unexpected track.
“Lightning Beard” keeps up the pace and the quick 1-2 of fast paced tracks helps out with the diversity on display given how most of the release has been more moderately paced hammerings of doom-laden riffs and power. Not as frantic but still fierce, it bludgeons away with a relentless rhythm section loaded with crashing cymbals and thundering drums. It’s almost a call-back to the ‘Snakes For The Divine’ approach which is welcomed as that was a phenomenal release. “Hunting Shadows” on the other hand is possibly the closest thing we will get to Motörhead delivered in the style of High On Fire. More sludgy with its delivery, Pike channels his inner Lemmy and delivers an excellent display of gravel and grit in the vocals whilst the track has a more rock-orientated pulse as opposed to the oppressive doominess and Sabbathian flair. On each listen, this track always caught me off guard and it’s grown to be one of my favourite moments of the release. “Darker Fleece” closes the album and from it’s howling feedback and amplifier hum, the Sleep sound comes in. That droning chord with plenty of sustain and vibrato echoing the iconic Dopesmoker opening sequence catches your attention and it builds the tension, preparing you for when that low-end heavy drop hits. Stomping on at a steady pace with gigantic crashes of power, it’s Sleep-styled colossal doom but with more bite. It’s hard to resist the urge to headbang and throughout the track, you’ll find yourself wondering ‘what if Sleep performed this instead of High On Fire?’ Would it have the same fierce bite or would it be even heavier on the lower end of the scale? Distracting thoughts like that aside, it’s a phenomenally heavy track and a fine way to close the release!
On the whole, “Cometh The Storm” is a beast of an album. It’s not High On Fire’s best in my book, that is solely reserved for the iconic “Snakes For The Divine”, but it’s certainly up there. A fine offering of riffs, grooves, Sabbathian flair and Motörhead-esque attitude. Fine work sirs!
(9/10 Fraggle)
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