Customer Reviews

Death Is This Communion

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well, I was surprised to see so many negative reviews regarding this album. Myself, I was not a huge fan of BBW and still consider it to be my least favorite of the 4 but until now, regarded it as their most ambitious effort. I think bands spend their first couple of albums defining their sound upon riffs written in their infancy. Years of touring, collaborating/writing and experience will always project a band into new territory. Bands like the Ramones and Motorhead are the exception, not the rule.

But enough back story, DiTC is the album BBW was striving to be and say what you want about the production, I think it's far more complimentary than Albinis was and Endino does the band great service. Long gone is the mid-scooped Billy Anderson style which, of course I love, but has been done twice on their first two CD's. Most bands tend to look into the future and more often than not, fans see this as a cop-out way of 'selling out' or 'being accessible'. This again brings us into the whole 'music is subjective' argument. Some people see this as the next Master of Puppets, some people see this as the Black album. It's neither (but closer to Master of Puppets...heh heh).

Pike's guitar sound may have changed but only slighty and lo-and behold, it might have something to do with the fact that he's playing an entirely different guitar and amp setup since Surrounded By Thieves and Art of Self Defense. Name any guitar player that has a sound so unique that they can completely change their rig and you would know instantly who is playing. That's the sound of a true originator. Matt Pike is certainly that. I had to laugh when someone mentioned 'cookie monster' vocals. Nothing could be further from the truth unless you think Lemmy could sing for Morbid Angel and no one would even notice. Matt's vocals are obviously more pronounced on this CD but less than on BBW. Albini shoved them right in our face on that outing but Jack Endino places them flatteringly into the mix. Again, stoner rock purists will pine for the days of Billy Anderson's guitar centerpiece style of production where the vocals were an afterthought but clearly Matt's voice gets better and better so why not showcase it?

To sum this up, it's not my favorite High On Fire album because it's so much different than it's predecessors. It's like comparing Black Sabbath's first 3 albums to Volume 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage. They sound nothing alike but they're all impeccable. I think true High on Fire fans will enjoy the progression musically but might not like the larger crowds High On Fire seems to be playing to now. But hey, that's how it goes. If Matt Pike can finally make a comfortable living playing music that is true to himself and broadens his horizons, who am I to moan and whine about it?

In case there is any confusion, this is not an apologist review. I think this is a fantastic album, start to finish, far better than the previous CD and Matz is the missing ingredient. If you missed High on Fire back in the day with Rice, I'm sorry but this band is now on the fast track due to their work ethic and clearly want to take over the world. Their shows get better and better and so does their song-writing.

Enjoy a band like High On Fire while you can. They're originators, they tour like mad, they release quality music and they're only getting better. Do yourself a favor, pick it up, listen to it, enjoy it, and go see them as soon as you can. If you're already a fan, you either already love this album or need to relax and see what comes next.

I really like the first High on Fire album but the last two I wasn't crazy about. However, I love this album. Some of the leads are more similar to some of Sleeps leads. Matt Pike follows no one. He's doing his own thing and it's refreshing. This album of course has a lot of Sabbath influence. Which is a good thing. It's prodding and heavy, and it gallops sometime. Heavy on the hoof.

High on Fire are one beastly amalgamation of a band. Sure, they are rooted in doom, sludge, and stoner metal, but shame on you if you think they stop there. They draw influence from numerous other musical styles, and throw in plenty of speed metal, thrash, groove metal, black metal, psychedelic metal, traditional metal, classic, prog, and hard rock, gothic metal, and even some punk elements into their massively expansive, all-encompassing sound. This band is what it would sound like if you put C.D.'s from Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Sleep (which featured frontman Matt Pike, by the way), Soilent Green, Celtic Frost, Led Zeppelin, Slayer, Pantera, Porcupine Tree, and Paradise Lost in a blender (all at the same time, mind you) and hit "puree." But even if no one genre can hold High on Fire, two things are for absolute certain: a) they are unquestionably, 100% pure, grade A metal; and b) they might have a lot of influences, and they might wear them all proudly on their sleeves, but when they are all mixed together, HoF definitely have their own sound (and sound like their own band).

Nothing is better proof of the above paragraph than this Oakland, Californian trio's fourth long-player, 2007's triumphant "Death Is This Communion." Mr. Pike has decided to follow up 2005's excellent "Blessed Black Wings" by experimenting with his band's sound and making it a bit more progressive. Granted, the changes he has made here are only slight, but they are just enough to give the music some great texture, interesting nuances, and different dimensions. As a result, the new album sounds novel and innovative, but simultaneously manages to be familiar and comfortable enough as not to lose longtime fans.

"DITC" is an entrancing, well-rounded, commandingly heavy, extremely powerful, instantly memorable, wonderfully creative, meticulous, unpredictable, highly infectious, all-around outstanding, and completely satisfying thrill ride which grabs the listener from the very start and never lets go. The highlights on hand here are many. Beginning on a familiar note, opener "Fury Whip" would have been a perfect fir on the aforementioned 2005 release, "Blessed Black Wings," meaning it sounds like a really angry cover of vintage, "Ace Of Spades"-era Motorhead. It sports deep, slamming grooves, clattering drums, hoarse, throat-cancer-esque vocals, heavily distorted guitars, and a humming bass line. "Waste of Tiamat" begins with high, almost flamenco-ish acoustic picking, which is soon flattened by humongous, crushing, booming power chords. The acoustics return periodically, but the song still effortlessly works up a massive amount of speed and density with the help of a brief but furious and propulsive drum solo, thunderous rhythms, and an awesome, complex, several parted, and positively wailing solo that lasts about fifty seconds.

Following this, however, the reigns are pulled back on for some strategically-placed mood-enhancement. The eight-and-a-half-minute-long title cut is a mid-tempo, and superbly psychedelic, chilling, and ominous piece, complete with droning guitar feedback, prominent, grumbling bass notes, a creeping, insidious pace, ambient wind whooshes, some few crunchy riffs, a ripping melodic solo, and great, darkly thought-provoking lyrics. Then comes "Khanrad's Wall," a weird but nice interlude with a tambour, twelve-string acoustic guitars, and gentle tom-tom drums.

Fear not, though -- to compensate for those two restrained tracks, the band soon storm back strong as ever and twice as fast as usual with "Turk," a full-on thrasher that is filled with blistering leads, made-for-headbanging riffs, stomping drums, a crazy, completely-off-the-rails solo, and catchy vocals that will make some listeners think it's Lemmy Kilmister himself behind the mic. At less than a minute and a half in length, the proceeding "Headhunter" could be considered an interlude, but if it is one, then it is certainly one of the best I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. After all, it is a virtuosic, reverberating, tribal-flavored, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink drum solo (this one is for the books!). Pure metal nirvana, indeed.

Next up, "Rumors of War" boasts deliciously catchy, abrasive, grinding guitar leads, another tasty solo, quick, booming drum patterns, and a chorus that is sure to get tattooed to your brain, and could have come straight off of Motorhead's "1916" LP. Following this, the next two tracks, "Dii" and "Cyclopian Scape," see High on Fire's doom metal influences shifting to the forefront. The former tune is bolstered by one repetitive, heavy, churning, crunching riff throughout the song, thus creating a catchy trance-like mood. And the great melodic soloing during the latter half of the song is a wonderful touch, and kind of like the icing on the cake. The latter tune is highlighted by some pretty, Led Zeppelin-inspired strings, memorable, sing-songy choruses, and gobs of great, dense, dark, pounding, and almost crushingly heavy pure doom riffing.

Nearing the end, "Ethereal" is a blazing and steadfast speedster with deft, battering drumming, a distorted bass bottom, and a mazey, winding, Megadethian solo. Finally, the set closes in a similar way to how it began; "Return to Nod" is a heavy, rollicking, no frills, straight-ahead hard rocker that evokes a herd of stampeding elephants.

I just can't sing "Death Is This Communion"'s praise enough! Is it the sound of High On Fire firing on all cylinders? Check. Is it, hands down, one of the best sludge/doom/stoner/speed/whatever metal albums of the new millennium? Yeppers. Is it also easily one of the finest and most contagious and addictive releases of 2007? Indubitably. And not only is it all those things, but is it also just a brilliant, epic, mindblowing, seemingly flawless, and soon-to-be-legendary masterpiece of modern metal? You betcher bottom dollar! Absolutely bloody essential.

All that needs to be said about this band is they do everything the old way and for some reason that makes their music original in the sea of today's metal. It's a power trio, lead by the 9 stringer guitar of Matt Pike and they're based on doing everything the old way. That means they're all in the same room in the studio, jamming, writing songs and all finished in a couple of weeks, maybe a couple of months. They're not going to sit there and go over and over and over the music, adding touches here or refining here, which appears to be what is killing the life of the music today. Instead, you can feel that they created something good. This is riffing at its best, there's equal parts anger and moody parts, with some instrumentals thrown in. Its heavy but somehow that never overshadows what the bottom line is and that is good music.

"Death Is This Communion" is nothing new from High on Fire. It does not forge a new direction, it does not reinvent the wheel, it does not outdo past albums...but it doesn't need to. I am pleased to say it is Blessed Black Wings Pt. 2 - equally powerful, equalling thundering and gripping. It slays. Simple.

For those unaware of the HoF sound- they fuse the powerful dirges of Sleep and Sabbath, the rampaging onslaughts of Slayer and stunning guitar heroics from Matt Pike, truly one of the best leads in metal today. For "Death Is This Communion" the band brought in some new flavours to the mix, such as bursts of 12 string guitars and some middle-eastern instruments to give a more international feel. This works very well, especially when juxtaposed with crushing metal, such as with one of the album's highlights "Waste of Tiamat" and the short excerpt "Khanrad's Wall".

This is not to say HoF have branched out and beyond their sound. Having such a unique sound in the first place, it would have been difficult, and potentially ruining to attempt a dramatic shift. The classic HoF tones are there in full glory. Opener "Fury Whip" immediately recalls the raging "Devilution", and the title track's monolithic doom harkens to the bands origins. "Turk" is the standout track for me as it combines everything great about the band, and sees Pike experimenting with a little bit more melody with his vocals.

For fans of past releases this should not disappoint. Every box is checked for the HoF fan. For those new to the band I would suggest starting with "Blessed Black Wings", as it is the band's most accessible, and often most inspired work.

It doesn't get any better than this. Each High on Fire release are shoulders above anything out there and each one is a sonic blast to the skull. These guys are one of THE best metal bands out today and continue to put out great metal. You will not regret buying any of their cd's and this one is probably their best. I was afraid nothing new would come along to inspire metal, I was wrong. Pike is a metal god. High on Fire!!

This thing shreds. Anyone who thinks this is run-of-the-mill metal needs to wake up and smell the coffee. I'd love to know of any outfit that rocks like these cats... 'cause I don't think there are many - if ANY!

Holy riffs, Batman, this is dope! No, Robin, this is dope, inhale. This is the best unapologetic metal album in years. I loved their last album so much, as Joe Preston could crap in a bag and I would buy it. Here they change directions with a new bass player (the guy from Zeke, Jeff Matz, brings the hammer down!!!!) and with production by Jack Endino. Billy Anderson, of Neurosis fame, produced their other records, which were darker and thicker sounding. Endino produced Nirvana, et al., and the sound on this album is cleaner, the guitars are more up front, with more wall of sound sounds. I love it. I love all their albums, but I am really impressed with this album. It is a nice change for a fourth album, and it took some integrity to go this route, as they could've stuck to their older production sounds and still made a great record. With this record they chose to change up some things. Pike shreds like never before, and the Kensel bangs the shizzit out of his skins. Being completely disparate and singular, this is the "Reign in Blood" of this decade (okay, maybe that complete bullsh--, but I always wanted to write that- I would maintain its excellence to "South of Heaven", though).

I've been a huge fan of High On Fire since I first heard "Surrounded by Thieves"... they're entire catalog is practically it's own book in the bible of heaviness. With this album they took the sharpened sound of "Blessed Black Wings" and added some special touches to really make this album they're best to date... If you want to see how a "Power-Trio" makes heavy music for real, you need to know HIGH ON FIRE, there has been none better and more true since Motorhead!

It doesn't get any better than this. Each High on Fire release are shoulders above anything out there and each one is a sonic blast to the skull. These guys are one of THE best metal bands out today and continue to put out great metal. You will not regret buying any of their cd's and this one is probably their best. I was afraid nothing new would come along to inspire metal, I was wrong. Pike is a metal god. High on Fire!!