OUR LIST OF 2024’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 3): HIGH ON FIRE, MANDROID OF KRYPTON, ACID MAGUS

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2024  No Responses »
Jan 062025
 

(written by Islander)

On behalf of all of us here, we wish you a Happy Monday. Actually, that’s mainly wishful thinking. Some of my colleagues may hope your Monday is as miserable as theirs is. But either way, we hope to make you happier with the following Part 3 of the ongoing Most Infectious Song list. (To see the other Parts and to understand what this list is about, go here.)

HIGH ON FIRE

I was immediately floored ten months ago by the video directed by Lars Kristoffer Hormander for High On Fire‘s “Burning Down.” Back then I couldn’t find any details about how he made it, and I haven’t looked for details since then, but it’s still just fucking stunning to watch it. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: ABORTED, BORKNAGAR, COFFINS, DEICIDE, HIGH ON FIRE, KATAKLYSM, MIDNIGHT, MY DYING BRIDE, ULVER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Feb 172024
 

Oh look! I made a round-up of new songs and videos! Make the motion for slapping me on the back from afar, or at least patting my pointy head.

Yeah, it’s been a long damned time since I pulled one of these things together. Beginning in late January I kept thinking my life would get back to normal after 6 or 7 weeks of being ruthlessly pounded by my day job, but the pounding unexpectedly continued.

I’m at the point of doubting everything, but now it really does seem like my long dark night of the soul has ended, and I can resume what passes for normal activity around the ruined halls of NCS. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 1): MARYLAND DEATHFEST XV, ASPHYX, OPETH, MEGADETH, AMON AMARTH, MESHUGGAH, HIGH ON FIRE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  22 Responses »
Jul 192016
 

MDF XV revised flyer

 

Ten days have passed since the last time I put together a round-up of news and recommended new music, which is an unusually long gap. Perhaps needless to say, trying to catch up is out of the question. What I’m going to do instead is just pull together some big news announcements from the last 24 hours in this post (plus one related recent song), and then collect a few more recent music streams in a second part that I’ll post a bit later today.

MARYLAND DEATHFEST ANNOUNCES SECOND ROUND OF CONFIRMED BANDS FOR 2017

On June 30, as we dutifully reported, the organizers of Maryland Deathfest announced the first round of confirmed bands for the XVth edition of the festival, scheduled to take place on May 25-28, 2017, in Baltimore. Just minutes ago, MDF announced a second round of confirmed bands — plus some surprising news about where the festival will, and won’t, take place next year. Here are the new confirmed names: Continue reading »

TOURISM: THE DECIBEL MAGAZINE TOUR 2016 — ABBATH, HIGH ON FIRE, SKELETONWITCH, TRIBULATION

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Nov 162015
 

Decibel Magazine Tour

 

We just received the announcement of the line-up for the 2016 edition of THE DECIBEL MAGAZINE TOUR, and it’s a blockbuster: Running from mid-March to mid-April next year, the fifth installment of the tour will feature Abbath (performing not only songs from the band’s forthcoming debut album but also tracks from Immortal’s back catalogue), High On Fire, Skeletonwitch, and Tribulation. There will be regional openers in select markets announced soon.

Here’s further info that accompanied this announcement: Continue reading »

HIGH ON FIRE: “LUMINIFEROUS”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Jun 142015
 

 

(In this post Wil Cifer reviews the new album by High On Fire.)

I caught these guys back in 2004ish when Planesmistakenforstars opened for them, and I grew to appreciate this band more as their musicianship and songwriting have matured over the years. The opener reminds me of “Leave No Cross Unturned” by Darkthrone. Matt Pike seems to be singing more than roaring, but this is marginal. The song hammers like a freight train.

There is more a sludge groove to the second track that is more rock ‘n’ roll, in the same sense Clutch is rock ‘n’ roll — thick, stoned distortion too up-tempo to be doom. On their last album they reminded me of a mix of Motörhead and Venom. Here it is more like old Mastodon without any of the guitar tricks. Continue reading »

HIGH ON FIRE: NEW ALBUM, NEW SONG, NEW TOUR

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
May 122015
 

Lots of news about High On Fire and new HoF music today.

First, we received a reminder that the band’s new album, Luminiferous, will be released on June 16 via eOne Music. It was recorded at Salem, Massachusetts’ GodCity Studios with producer Kurt Ballou. You can see the artwork above,

Second, the group premiered a new song from the album named “The Black Plot” via Rolling Stone — and I’ll have a bit more to say about it in a minute.

Third, the band announced a headlining U.S. tour that begins on July 30 in San Diego and finishes in New Orleans on August 23. Along for the ride will be Pallbearer, Lucifer, and Venomous Maximus. Here are the dates: Continue reading »

HIGH ON FIRE: “SLAVE THE HIVE”

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Oct 152013
 

Scion A/V does it again. Today they’ve made available for free download a new single by High On Fire. Entitled “Slave the Hive”, it’s the first new HoF music since De Vermis Mysteriis (2012). The single will also be distributed as a limited edition 7″ vinyl on the band’s upcoming, Scion A/V-sponsored North American tour, which begins November 10 in Atlanta and finishes in Los Angeles on December 12. Kvelertak will be along for that ride, with Doomriders, Pack of Wolves, and Windhand each opening on segments of the tour. All the tour dates are at the end of this post.

“Slave the Hive” is a thrashy speed demon of a song, trailing smoke and leaving skid marks on the pavement — and it includes a howling guitar solo that will set your hair on fire. Matt Pike’s vocals are high-octane, too. Very fuckin’ good metal. Listen next, and go HERE to download it. Continue reading »

TOURISM: HIGH ON FIRE AND KVELERTAK TO CLOBBER NORTH AMERICA LATER THIS YEAR

 Metal News  8 Responses »
Sep 032013
 

Here’s a bit of tour news that put a smile on my face: This morning Scion A/V announced that High On Fire will be touring North America beginning November 10 with direct support on all dates from Norway’s Kvelertak.

In addition, Doomriders (Nov. 10 to 23), Pack of Wolves (Nov. 27), and Windhand (Nov. 29 to Dec. 12) will be opening for those two bands on different legs of the tour.

But that’s not all. As part of this Scion A/V-sponsored tour, High On Fire will be releasing a new single entitled “Slave The Hive” on October 16. According to the press release we received, the song will be available on the tour as a limited edition 7-inch, and a video of the song will be released simultaneously.

The current schedule of dates is after the jump; apparently, more dates will be announced next week. I am highly pleased to see that Seattle is on the list. I know you will be happy for me, and thank you for that. Continue reading »

ROADBURN 2013 VIDEOS ONLINE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Apr 222013
 

The 2013 edition of the Roadburn Festival took place over the last four days, from Thursday, April 18, to Sunday, April 21, 2013, in Tilburg, The Netherlands. There’s a dude whose web moniker is kkpgijsbers who lives in Tilburg and attends a lot of live shows and films them. He attended the 2013 edition of Roadburn and has been uploading a bunch of videos he shot of performances at the festival.

The audio and visual quality of these clips is generally excellent — kkpgijsbers obviously has good gear and he sets up at balcony-level, front-row vantage points that provide unobstructed views of the stages. So far this morning I’ve watched the film of Lantlôs performing “Intrauterine”, High On Fire performing “Snakes For the Divine”, Primordial delivering “The Gathering Wilderness”, Electric Wizard with “Witchcult Today” and “The Nightchild”, and Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats doing “Valley of the Dolls” with a excerpts of Sharon Tate’s appearance in the movie of the same name on the screen behind them.

I’ve embedded those videos after the jump, plus a random selection of other performances by Alcest, Godflesh, and Cult of Luna. You can find more Roadburn clips by visiting kkpgijsbers’ YouTube channel, and it appears that still more will be uploaded today and in the days to come. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2012’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 21

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2012  13 Responses »
Jan 302013
 

Welcome to Part 21 of our list of the year’s most infectious extreme metal songs. In each installment, I’ve been posting at least two songs that made the cut. For more details about what this list is all about and how it was compiled, read the introductory post via this link. To see the selections that preceded the three I’m announcing today, click here.

All good things must come to an end, and this seemingly endless list will end tomorrow with Part 22, going out in a blaze of death metal glory. Today’s three songs, however, are another set that don’t come from the same genre of metal. If they have anything in common besides my belief in them, it’s that all three are heavy as hell.

HIGH ON FIRE

Our friend and fellow blogger Professor D. Grover the XIIIth reviewed High On Fire’s 2012 album for us (here), and I think it’s fair to say that he had mixed feelings about De Vermis Mysteriis, which he viewed as a bit of a step backward compared to the step forward represented by 2010’s Snakes For the Divine. I had the opposite reaction. Where the Professor viewed Snakes as HoF’s crowning achievement, I enjoyed De Vermis Mysteriis more than anything I’ve yet heard from the band.

I preferred the grimier, grittier tone that Kurt Ballou’s production brought to the sound and the utter darkness that suffused so much of the music. The standout track for me — a song that has gotten a shitload of play since I first heard  it — is “King of Days”. Continue reading »

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