High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine
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CD Details
Artist: High on FireEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2010-02-23
Music Label: Koch Records
Product features:
- Metal/Doom/Heavy
- Snakes for the Divine
- Frost Hammer
- Bastard Samurai
- Ghost Neck
- Path
- Fire, Flood & Plague
- How Dark We Pray
- Holy Flames of the Fire Spitter
Music reviews of Snakes for the Divine
Music Review: Riff-pushers High on Fire continue to deliver
Rating: 5 Stars
After eschewing the sludgy murk of their early work with the classic "Blessed Black Wings," Matt Pike and co. of High on Fire have settled into a nice groove, stylistically speaking. Those who picked up their previous two albums will find few surprises on "Snakes for the Divine," and it is, perhaps, even a bit back to basics after the mild experiments of "Death is this Communion." Just how much HoF of this sort you need is always up to you, but Pike remains, as has been stated in who knows how many times, one of the preeminent riff masters of the era, and too much experimentation would just obscure six-string delights guaranteed on any new HoF release. You can argue about the production and the pacing a bit, and there are cases to be made, but the foundation remains as solid as ever, so much that, even at this early date we should consider ourselves lucky to hear a better pure, old-fashioned metal machine released this year.
Since the last few HoF have been so similar stylistically, minor changes in production are very noticeable, and "Snakes for the Divine" has arguably the weakest sound of the three. As others have noted, Pike's guitar is somewhat underpowered. I find these to be minor quibbles, though, because the sound is still so vastly superior to most metal these days. Nowadays every drummer needs to be a processed, death metal cyborg (which works fine for DM, by the way) and the rhythm guitar cuts an impossibly precise edge. Riff-driven metal needs a little more looseness, as found in the flowing, shapeless rhythm work and Kesnel's drumming is pleasantly organic-sounding. I wouldn't call the sound raw, really, but neither is it lifelessly precise.
Anyway, the sound is good, the riffs are good and, unsurprisingly, the songs are good too. The surprisingly sprightly lead opening of the title track kicks off perhaps the first true riff epic of the new decade. Pike mixes his tasteful minimalism (note the endless, straight alt picking and pounding, repeated chords) with an acute melodic sense (this album has perhaps his best leads) along with his trademark, simplistic yet surprisingly infectious vocal melodies. Matz and Kesnel are not to be outdone, with the former providing surprising color on the bass and the latter again proving why he is among the most under appreciated drummers in metal, taking a fairly straight forward style and playing it to the hilt, propelling everything to the next level of intensity. HoF never quite match this opener, but we don't have any throwaways either. Most immediately notable are the gloomier, doomier numbers, "Bastard Samurai" and "How Dark We Pray," with the former combining icy, delayed guitars and Pike's most envenomed vocals, while the latter epic creates a truly foreboding atmosphere, with Kesnel's tribal drumming giving shape to the long drone. Most of the rest are somewhat faster, doom tracks with a bit of a thrash edge to give them energy. The strongest is the rather ferocious, triplet-heavy "Ghost Neck," while "Frost Hammer" is the most dynamic piece here besides the title track, though I would not have chosen it for the first single. Many modern metal albums like to outstay there welcome, but HoF keep it tight here, with only 7 full tracks coming in at 46 minutes, and there is hardly a wasted moment on the album.
While "Snakes for the Divine" is perhaps not as immediately striking as some other HoF albums, they continue to display an impressive consistency. Perhaps, at some point, the formula will wear thin, but we ain't there yet. Check it out.
Description of Snakes for the Divine
High On Fire return with one of the most highly anticipated release of 2010. Called 'one of 50 records you must hear in 2010' by Kerrang! Magazine, Snakes For The Divine is High On Fire's finest release to date and the one that will catapult them to the next level of their career. Pre-release touring with Dethklock has lit the fuse for the band who are poised to be one of the biggest stories in Hard music in 2010.Hard Rock & Metal CDs
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