At this point, little can be said about the incombustible Matt Pike – for the clueless, also a member of the alienated stoners Sleep – nor can we expect a 180º turn in his way of understanding music or living his life, always on the edge.
Their last album came out in 2018, almost six years have passed. We are more screwed than then, we have come out of a global pandemic just as shitty, to the point of witnessing a war in Europe or watching a genocide in Gaza with indifference. But those who stick to their guns with unusual conviction are High on Fire. Despite having won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2019 for ‘Electric Messiah’, about Pike having a toe amputated and changing drummers (Coady Willis replaces founder Des Kelsen) they remain unfazed.
Cometh The Storm is a new collection of granite guitar riffs, primitive rhythms and Cazallesque voices. Indeed, Matt Pike is inaccessible to discouragement and a free soul; some compare his attitude to that of the legendary Lemmy Kilmister, and perhaps they are right. Improving the excessive and redundant Electric Messiah and self-indulgent solo work Pike Vs The Automatonthis work recovers the good feelings.
Nothing better than starting with ‘Lambsbread’ which brings together everything we will find on the album. Caveman guitars, a soft oriental passage seasoned with a small jama killer guitar solo and Matt Pike’s voice, furious and tuned with pomace and brandy. With a slow but firm step, you have the weight and groovie ‘Burning Down’, and trotting cuts like ‘Trismegistus’ or ‘Tough Guy’ drag you across the dusty ground with the drums taking center stage.
In the piece that gives the album its title, progressive and echoes sabbathians, They go all out, with Pike singing in calmer registers until the final explosion and embarking on a journey through the Middle East piloted by bassist Jeff Matz in victorious fashion. ‘Karanlik Yol’ serves as a full stop, directed by baglama which gives an exotic touch and a respite from the incessant wave of unbridled riffs.
From the final part of the album ‘Lightning Beard’ stands out and its almost jazzy jam in the middle of the song that exudes the freedom of the musicians without leaving aside the brutality of the trio. Also the mastodonian ‘Hunting Shadow’ has a cosmic atmosphere in which progressive and more melodic developments take the helm. They close with the most old school ‘Darker Fleece’, muddy, harsh and primitive in equal parts; a full-fledged return to origins.
With the help of the magician Kurt Ballou, they have built a colossal musical torrent, unbearable for mortals. 57 minutes that fly by, fade, and evaporate as fast as Thor’s hammer. High On Fire are the benchmark for the heaviest, most stable and safest metal. They are the gold standard of metal of the 21st century.
JOAN CALDERON
