San Francisco, California, United States
Official Site
Genre(s): Metal
After the dissolution of the legendary stoner band Sleep, Matt Pike formed High On Fire in 1998 as a way to fulfill his need to make music. The band was originally formed by Matt (on vocals and guitars), his friend Des Kensel (on drums), and another pal George Rice (on bass). Before the band's first performance labels flocked to get a piece of the action. The band decided on signing with the infamous Man's Ruin label (a now defunct label) and created their first demo.
The band has gone through several bass players- Joe Preston (The Thrones) performed with the group on several tours, before leaving for reasons that have not been made clear by the band. Jeff Matz has now joined the group and they have been touring the United States and Europe extensively.
The band plays a mish-mash of stoner metal, sludge, and doom, with thrash thrown in for good measure. Sonically heavy and furiously fast- this band is not for the faint of heart. Their live performances and albums are without doubt frantic and powerful, while still maintaining a level of artistic integrity that is rare with most new metal bands.
Their first 2 full length albums have a very sludgy and heavy feel to them. The production is noticably dark and leaves one feeling the need to hear more. The albums Blessed Black Wings and Death Is This Communion are faster (having moved away from the dreariness of their previous work) and have better production values. Anyone looking to check this band out should start with their later works.