High On Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis

 

Would you believe that it’s the heaviest High On Fire album yet? Matt Pike’s barbarian riffage and Des Kensel’s thunderous stomp are glued in place by the ultrafuzzed subsonics of Jeff Matz on a set of rampaging behemoth epics. The first three of these display savage aggression, ferocious chops, and awesome power from a band known for such. The production is monstrous, not as precise as Snakes for the Divine, but huger. The low end spills forth and annihilates here, the kind of thing people like huge riffs for. Pike’s vocals probably sound the best they ever have, in keeping with his ever increasing improvement in that department. But so far, nothing will jump out at the hardened Pike devotee as anything out of the ordinary.

The game charger arrives with a 7 minute riff mountain called “Madness Of An Architect.” This bad boy is HUGE, and Pike takes his time working into it, opening with a pall of feedback and a river of magma fuzz. When the band eventually gets going, they unmercifully drive the song on while simultaneously crushing the thing into the ground. Pike solos his way into the setting sun with an intensity and focus that matches any of his best performances. “Madness of An Architect” is a statement.

The middle section of this record are as awesome a display of this band’s abilities as we have seen.
“Architect” is followed by the kaleidoscopic psychedelic guitar showpiece “Samsara.” Pike stretches out here in a way he rarely has before, exploring different moods and unhurriedly mapping out every harmonic corner of his guitar. His wah-inflected leads here consolidate his status as a first class guitar hero.

Perhaps the time playing with his old bandmates in Sleep allowed Matt Pike to resolve any musical issues that may have resulted from lingering tensions. Whatever the reason, Pike hasn’t sounded this loose or been as willing to stretch out in studio since his pilgrimage with the Weedian. When “King Of Days” announces itself with a planet-shifting riff and a god-sized bellow from Pike, it actually sounds like the end of the universe. Pike’s never-ending solo spiral out is one of the most marvelous performances I’ve ever heard on a lead guitar.

Unlike the last few releases, which were fading towards an ever-more technical and punishing approach to making modern heavy metal, De Vermis Mysteriis hews much closer to early High On Fire’s caveman tendencies. The difference is that those releases had been much more informed by Sleep’s legacy, along with the band’s antecedents. Here the melding of primal heaviness and devastating metalness is far more integrated in approach, and Pike sounds as though he has finally come to terms with the music he made as a member of Sleep. High On Fire have been leveling buildings for over a decade now, and continue to streamline their sound to its most essential elements.