Death Is This Communion

More is definetly better seems to be the motto with this new HOF release. Matt Pike & Co have managed the unexpected by producing an album, which in my opinion is better then the previous 'Blessed Black Wings'. The first thing I noticed was the quality of the production. While I appreciated the live sound Steve Albini engineered on the last one, 'Death...' is just that much cleaner sounding. This was produced by Jack Endino, who's credits include bleach & incesticide for Nirvana along with Mudhoney, the Atomic Bitchwax & soundgarden to name afew. Every component is handled clearly & allowed to breath. Certain tracks focus more on Pike's blistering guitar work while others thrive on the excellent drumming or bass. Another initial dissapointment was that Joe Preston (Melvins/Thrones) is no longer on bass duty although this soon dissolved on listening to the title track, a clear favourite. Jeff Matz bassline providing an ominous brooding template for Pike's quality vocal/guitar delivery. The track, an eight minute beast, has a dark druggy feel to it, almost tribal in nature, produced in part by Des Kensel's quality drumming. Kensel has such a monumental thundering style bringing to mind the clear intentions of war conveyed in the lyrics & art work. There are several tempo shifts & drum pattern variations on display, utilising double bass blasts & constant rolls & fills.

The album as a whole is generally longer than previous offerings & is split up by three really good instrumentals, most noteable of which are 'DII' which has a medieval style Mellotron & the pure angry drums of 'Headhunter'. Also, Pike has taken to the nine string guitar to provide some suitably dark intro's & breakdown sections as evidenced on 'Waste of Tiamat'. The old Motorhead references are also still in place such as on Opener 'Fury Whip' with Pike's screams of 'The fool's religion unprophet's truth, Live self destruction, bad luck's your noose' & the short & brutal call to arms of 'Rumors of War'. 'Turk' is also a brillantly catchy number.

I haven't stopped listening to this since I bought it on it's day of release & while it may still be a bit too early to tell, this is shaping up to be my album of the year. Considering the high praise given to the previous album, some may not be completely sold on first listen, but given repeated plays the true honest to god hell fire quality comes screaming to the fore. Where the band goes from here is anyone's guest but with music this strong & focused, does it really matter? All in all, this is another modern day classic.

Death Is This Communion by High On Fire was released on Relapse Records in 2007 and was the band's fourth full length studio album.

Musically, the album revolves around either long mid tempo tracks with big stoner metal riffs and lots of repetition or faster, rumbling low end centric rockers with an almost Motorhead feel, with many of the tracks blending into each other at the mastering stage and most of which featuring absolutely excellent lead guitar work and frantic double-kicks.

The album is not devoid of variety however, one only has to listen to the keys/strings featuring, guitar solo filled `DII' or the amazing eastern influenced instrumental `Khandrad's Wall' to see that High On Fire have many strings to their bow and really know what they are doing musically.

Album highlights include the aforementioned two tracks as well as the groovy `Turk,' the album closer `Return To Nod' and the excellent Title Track which has one of the best riffs on the entire album as well as possibly the band's best guitar solo to date.

If you are unfamiliar with the band it may take a few listens to get into, and doesn't give an amazing first impression unless you sit down and give it your full attention, especially since the first track is arguably the weakest. Once you overcome this initial barrier however, you will discover a masterfully crafted and wholly enjoyable listening experience.

Singer and primary guitarist Matt Pike's voice has really developed since his days with pioneering seminal stoner band Sleep. His vocal range has expanded greatly and on Death Is This Communion it is incredibly strong, as well as now featuring a lot more light and shade and even occasional melody.

Overall, High On Fire no longer have to live in Sleep's cult shadow and are an important and respected band in their own right. Death Is This Communion is a strong and enjoyable album that fans of the band should pick up and fans of the genre should definitely give a try.

Having only recently discovering high on fire i feel a bit late to a party which has been going on for what seems a hell of a long while. Purchasing the whole discography, i deem this record to be the best of the bunch. Like a lot of stoner/doom bands of modern days the songs throughout this album take on a surreal narrative.

The songs and musicianship on this album shine, the combination of the low, fast, crunching guitars and the almost of harsh sounding lyrics amalgamate to create a genre defining masterpiece. Tracks like: "Wastes of Tiamat", "Turk" and "Death is this communion" stand out and take the listener in. Though the best track on this album is "Fury Whip", after listening to this you will not able to stop humming the riff, for months to come, I haven't!