High on Fire Songs Ranked
High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band’s frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with their song “Electric Messiah”. High on Fire was founded in 1998 by Sleep guitarist Matt Pike, drummer Des Kensel, and bassist George Rice (from Dear Deceased, who originally auditioned to be the band’s vocalist). The band’s first full-length album The Art of Self Defense was released on 12th Records, and released later on Man’s Ruin Records. (The album would later be re-released by Tee Pee Records, with two bonus tracks, as Man’s Ruin Records had become defunct.) Here are all of the High on Fire songs ranked.
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10. De Vermis Mysteriis (De Vermis Mysteriis, 2012)
“De Vermis Mysteriis shows the full breadth of HoF’s power and surprisingly strives to expand Matt Pike’s vocals. Pike’s voice is “interesting” to begin with, but his style of shredded throat/rumbling growl/apocalyptic scream is perfectly matched with the riffage and perfectly suited to the subject matter.”
9. Spiritual Rights (De Vermis Mysteriis, 2012)
“OK, back to classic HOF sound, nothing new here, very HOF formulaic and you can hear older HOF riffs that have been tweaked… as ridiculous as the lyrics are, one of the most memorable vox moments occurs with “Deny my power and I’ll burn you as the dead is”. the lyrics are simplified here in terms of word count per phrase and I think that works best for typical Pike”
8. The Cave (Luminiferous 2015)
“I find the variation on the relentless pummeling, as on “The Cave,” quite welcome. Matt’s vocals are surprisingly effective when he stops bellowing here and there too.”
7. Devilution (Blessed Black Wings, 2005)
“VERY heavy pounding, rolling drums introduces this tune and the record. A thrashed-out, scorching guitar and flying bass lines join the maelstrom. The drums are VERY heavy! The rhythm is skull crushing in its strength. Matt Pike’s gutteral vocals add a menacing stroke to this whirlwind of destruction. Matt’s guitar solo is as blazing as the tempo, and he lays this down with a brutally heavy rhythm pounding alongside him. The carnage ends with a repeating, thunderous rhythm. Simply devastating! “
6. Blood from Zion (The Art of Self Defense, 2000)
“Towering wall of heavy distorted riffs from another time and space. Vocals are low volume, but they drift wonderfully over the noise, serving to make the guitar and bass sound that much louder. A rare band that actually jams in the studio, the songs on average are long.”
5. Blessed Black Wings (Blessed Black Wings, 2005)
“The titular song for the disc begins with a “Reign In Blood” type melody. The drumming and bass are AGAIN thunderous! Pikes vocals roar in and the song structure turns kind of Sabbathy, but with uber drumming! The tempo picks up alot of energy and Pike gets in a few blazing guitar breaks in-between the roaring drums and bass. Matt puts down some agonizing screams as a Slayer-esque rhythm with VERY HEAVY bass and drums wail along. This is a piece about drugs and the difficulty in quitting them. “Pleasure’s treasures leave me hypnotized. Blacking out, follow the trail of lies.”
4. Frost Hammer (Snakes for the Divine, 2010)
“Frost Hammer kicks butt and has a cool trippy middle where bassist Jeff Matz actually helps sing until Matt starts screaming Frost Hammer 4 times that always makes me smile.
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3. Hung, Drawn & Quartered (Surrounded by Thieves, 2002)
“Matt Pike is a ferocious riff-master, the band’s energy is incredible and their output highly consistent. When comparing this to other metal albums, it’s light years ahead of most.”
2. Snakes for the Divine (Snakes for the Divine, 2010)
“The bass is throbbing and audible, the vocals clear and powerful and Matt’s guitar , I don’t think has ever sounded better, especially the harmony on the solos.”
1. Rumors of War (Death Is This Communion, 2007)
“”Rumors Of War”, one of the most crushing metal songs ever written. This album, like all High on Fire albums, is not for the weak of heart. You can’t pretend to dig this album – it’s such an assault on the senses that anybody not familiar with this type of music will wilt and wither away. Rock and roll is long rumored to be dead, but truth be told, it still lives on in the souls of High on Fire.”
