I suppose I should add LACE Music Products to my Xmas card list for getting these two together at their National Association of Music Merchants conference booth late last month. You’d have to figure that NAMM heard its fair share of guitar solos that weekend (Jan. 19-22), but they weren’t all played by Wino and Matt Pike, either literally or existentially. As you can hear in the all-too-short clip below, these dudes tear it up.

AresOnasis posted the video on the forum on Sunday and I’ve been through it a few times since. It’s noisy, grainy cell-phone footage, but exciting nonetheless to speculate what a Wino/Pike collaboration might look like. Certainly it wouldn’t be the first time a new Wino project was born out of his happenstance jamming with other players — see also Premonition 13 or Wino & Conny Ochs — and the combination of the riffly prowess that brought both Spirit Caravan and Sleep to bear is a heavy rock nerd’s dream. Shit, I’d pretty much have to start writing the overly-gushing review now to have it done by the time the record came out.

Alas, no reported plans for that as of yet, but the clip below is just long and just righteous enough to make you wonder what might be if these two ever sat down and really hammered out a record. Maybe Pike could sign on for a guest spot on the next Shrinebuilder. The possibilities are endless.

Enjoy the brief jam, and happy Wino Wednesday:

It’s the kind of thing that, centuries from now, some puffy-haired weirdo (not the good kind) will get on tv and say must have been the work of ancient aliens. These things have a habit of not working out as planned, but even the thought is staggering.

These releases have all been announced one way or another, so like I said last year, I’m not breaking any news, and unlike yesterday, I haven’t actually heard any of them yet. Basically I just wanted to nerd out for a bit on cool stuff that’s supposed to be coming out in 2012.

So here goes:

Ufomammut, Oro: Their 2010 effort, Eve, was a defining moment, both for them as a trio and pivotal act within their genre, and for the genre itself. With Eve (review here), Italian three-piece Ufomammut took cosmic doom to new reaches of psychedelic complexity, and though I know I’ve said it a few times, it’s worth repeating that it was a true work of mastery. It’s only grown richer with time, and Ufomammut‘s two-part follow-up, Oro — which will be divided into Opus Primum and Opus Alter, both of which are set for issue on Neurot in 2012 — is set to expand on the form, if such a thing is possible. We’ll find out.

Saint Vitus, Lillie: F-65: I wouldn’t be surprised if it showed up under a different name, and likewise if it didn’t show up in time for its currently-slated March 27 Season of Mist issue, but whenever and however it arrives, the first Saint Vitus album since 1995 and the first with Scott “Wino” Weinrich on vocals since 1990 is easily the most anticipated doom release of the year. Put to tape by Tony Reed — with whom I was fortunate enough to recently speak about making the album — most of the record was recorded live, and since that’s where Vitus has shined since coming back in 2009, I’m definitely looking forward to hearing how they translate their momentum into a new studio outing.

Colour Haze, She Said: I can’t imagine how frustrated the German heavy psych progenitors must be by now. Seriously — She Said was on my list last year. The trio, led by guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, who also helms the Elektrohasch label, spent all of 2011 hindered by technical problems, and though we did a track premiere back in October for the song “Transformation,” the album has yet to materialize around it. It’s a heartbreaker every time Koglek sends an update, and we can only hope at this point that they continue to stick with it, because if there’s ever been a worthy cause, it’s a new Colour Haze record.

Greenleaf: According to reports, the Swedish trad-rock supergroup with members of Dozer, Truckfighters and Demon Cleaner started recording the follow-up to 2007′s fucking incredible Agents of Ahriman in November, and the latest is that Oskar Cedarmalm was set to start vocals on Dec. 26. I’ll tell you flat out that when this record arrives, I’m gonna be such a dork for it that you’re going to be tired of hearing about it. You’re going to load up this page and be like, “Ah Jeebus, not another post about how much ass Greenleaf kicks.” They’re the reason I’m going to London Desertfest in April and the prospect of a new album kept me from jumping in front of a train on several occasions throughout the recent holiday season. No shit.

High on Fire: The prospect of a new High on Fire album in 2012, on the other hand, wasn’t all that exciting to me initially, but when it was announced that Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou was manning the production at his GodCity studio, that was more than enough to change my mind. My whole complaint with High on Fire‘s last album, 2010′s Snakes for the Divine, was that it sounded too watered-down and there wasn’t enough grit in the production. If anyone’s going to fix that, it could be Ballou, who recently brought Black Cobra‘s massive thrash intensity to bear on the excellent Invernal. Either way, will be interesting.

Neurosis: I don’t even remember where I saw it at this point, whether it was Thee Facebooks or the forum or what, but the news that Neurosis had started preliminary recordings with Steve Albini for their next album filled me with enough dorkish glee that I chose to include them as the sixth in a five-band feature, despite having zero confirmation either that such has actually happened or that the album will be out by the close of this year. And really, it doesn’t matter. If Neurosis are possibly making a new record, then I’m definitely looking forward to it, and that’s just the way the universe works. Hard to believe it will have been half a decade since Given to the Rising was released, since I feel like I still haven’t digested that record, but if it takes the rest of my life to catch up (and it probably will), then I know my time won’t have been misspent.

Ditto the Pt. 1 post: there’s more. Full-lengths to (possibly) come from Kyuss, Ancestors, Conan, Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Night, Samothrace, Crippled Black Phoenix, Earth, Wight, Curse the Son, Cathedral, Wino/Conny Ochs, Shrinebuilder, Om and I don’t even know how many others set up 2012 as an incredible year yet to unfold, and tired as I am even just thinking about all the adjectival phrases it’s going to take me to get through it, I can’t fucking wait.

Because, really, it’s the music. If we don’t have anything else, we’ve got that, and it’s comforting to know that on the hardest days this year will bring — and I don’t doubt that for many of us it will bring no shortage of hard days — we’ll still have music. I look forward more than I can say to hearing these creative works, and hopefully sharing them with you as much as this weird internet portal makes me able to do so.

If I’ve missed anything, I hope you’ll leave a comment to remind. The only thing better than a bunch of records to look forward to is even more records to look forward to, so have at it.

Fresh off the PR wire:

Oakland, CA, hard rock band High on Fire has entered Salem, Massachusetts‘ GodCity Studios to begin tracking their as-yet-untitled new album. The world renowned group featuring drummer Des Kensel, bassist Jeff Matz and guitarist / vocalist Matt Pike (also of legendary stoner metal trio Sleep) is collaborating with producer and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou on the new effort; the band’s sixth studio recording and follow up to 2010′s Snakes for the Divine. A mid-2012 release date is expected via eOne Music.

“We are really stoked about recording this album,” said Jeff Matz when asked for comment. “The new songs are turning out absolutely punishing; there are some seriously sledgehammer riffs on this one! Working with Kurt has been awesome as well. He’s super easy to work with and is full of good ideas. The sounds that the guy gets are ridiculous and raw as f*ck but also clear and HUGE. I think this album will capture the essence of the band really well. It’s still early in the process, but so far it’s sounding amazing.”

Tentative song titles from the new High on Fire LP include “Serums of Liao,” “Madness of an Architect,” “De Vermis Mysteriis,” “Spiritual Rites” and “Warhorn.” Early reports mark the new record as “direct, eye-opening and powerfully supernatural.” More details on the album will be made available in the coming weeks.

Not only was High on Fire‘s High on Fire the first output from the band, it was also the first 12th Records release. The label, which was and remains the imprint arm of the Electric Amp company, put out High on Fire prior to the band’s signing with Man’s Ruin for their first full-length, 2000′s The Art of Self-Defense.

Of course, High on Fire would go on over the course of subsequent releases on Relapse – 2002′s Surrounded by Thieves, 2005′s Blessed Black Wings and 2007′s Death is this Communion — to come to the forefront of modern metal consciousness, eventually signing with E1 for the release of last year’s Snakes for the Divine, but in 1999, they were still pretty much just Matt Pike‘s new band post-Sleep.

The High on Fire EP isn’t nearly as thrash-laden as the trio’s sound would eventually become, but those elements are there, particularly in Kensel‘s pulsating kick and the way he and Pike interact. George Rice, who would stick around until being replaced by Joe Preston (the Melvins, Thrones) for Blessed Black Wings, offered a stonerly thickness under the guitar solo in “10,000 Years,” and Pike‘s vocals actually find him trying some cleaner singing, which is something he wouldn’t attempt again for some time, instead relying on the rasp that came to typify the band’s first several LPs.

If you can find it, the EP is definitely worth a listen for fans of the band who may have joined up later. There are copies of the CD out there, and I’m told of this new phenomenon called “down-loading” (I may have that wrong) in which computers can be used like record players, but whatever futuristic means you use to acquire it — I was fortunate enough to find it at a semi-reasonable price in physical form — consider it recommended.

All three of these songs — “Blood From Zion,” “10,000 Years” and “Master of Fists” — showed up again on The Art of Self-Defense, but there’s nothing quite like hearing how it was the first time for the first time. If I was Frank Kozik (and I’m not, much to my ongoing disappointment), I’d have signed them too.

Here’s the latest batch of dates off the PR wire:

World renowned hard rock giants High on Fire have announced a North American headlining tour. The massive fall expedition – dubbed the “Sanctioned Annihilation Tour” — will feature support from Torche and Kylesa and is set to launch on September 29 at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA.

Additionally, High on Fire has been chosen to participate as part of the 2011 Soundwave Festival. Billed as Australia’s “biggest metal and rock festival” and set to take place in late February and early March of next year, Soundwave will feature High on Fire alongside such names as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Queens of the Stone Age, Social Distortion, Monster Magnet, Rob Zombie and more.

High on Fire North American “Sanctioned Annihilation” headlining tour:
Sept. 29 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall #
Sept. 30 Pomona, CA Glasshouse #
Oct. 1 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theatre #
Oct. 2 Albuquerque, NM The Launchpad #
Oct. 3 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater #
Oct. 5 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre #
Oct. 6 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
Oct. 8 Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Company #
Oct. 9 Urbana, IL Canopy Club #
Oct. 10 Chicago, IL Metro (Riot Festival)
Oct. 11 Bloomington, IN Bluebird #
Oct. 13 Covington, KY Historic Southgate House #
Oct. 14 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre #
Oct. 15 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop #
Oct. 16 Rochester, NY Water Street #
Oct. 17 Northampton, MA Pearl Street #
Oct. 19 Halifax, NS The Paragon Theatre (Halifax Pop Explosion)
Oct. 21 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall #
Oct. 22 Providence, RI Club Hell #
Oct. 23 Boston, MA Middle East Downstairs #
Oct. 24 New York, NY Webster Hall #
Oct. 26 Philadelphia, PA Starlite Ballroom #
Oct. 27 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle #
Oct. 29 Gainesville, FL Common Ground (Ye Old Fest)
Nov. 7 Austin, TX Waterloo Park (Fun Fun Fun Fest)
(# = with Torche, Kylesa)

You can stream the track below or download it at the Adult Swim page linked above. If you don’t recall, High on Fire guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike spoke about this song in our interview.

Speak in Tongues

Anyway, High on Fire, who kick off their European dates as the support act for a little band no one’s ever heard of called Metallica tonight, have already announced their next move, which as you might have guessed involves a Canadian tour. Having just seen the band at their recent New York show, I can safely say that you, my Canuck amigos, are in for a treat. Quoth the PR wire:

High on Fire has announced a summer headlining tour of Canada. The two-week tour will launch on July 8 in Vancouver, BC and is scheduled to run through July 24 in Montreal, QC where the band will share the stage with Alice Cooper, Slayer, Rob Halford and more as part of the 2010 Heavy MTL Fest.

High on Fire w/ Metallica:
May 11 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 12 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 14 Budapest, Hungary Puskas Ferenc Stadium
May 16 Zagreb, Croatia Hippodrome
May 18 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 19 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 22 Tel Aviv, Israel Ramat Gan Stadium
May 23 Lyon, France Halle Tony Garnier

High on Fire summer Snakes for the Divine Canadian headlining tour:
July 8 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre #
July 10 Edmonton, AB Starlite Room #
July 11 Calgary, AB The Republik #
July 13 Winnipeg, ON Royal Albert Arms #
July 14 Thunder Bay, ON Crocks (Skeletonwitch supports)
July 16 Toronto, ON Opera House %
July 17 London, ON London Music Hall %
July 18 Windsor, ON The Blind Dog %
July 20 Hamilton, ON The Casbah %
July 21 Kingston, ON Time to Laugh %
July 22 Quebec City, QC Le Cercle %
July 23 Ottawa, ON Capital Music Hall %
July 24 Montreal, QC Heavy MTL Fest – Parc Jean Drapeau %
(# = features support from Russian Circles, Skeletonwitch)
(% = features support from Priestess, Skeletonwitch)

Then all of a sudden I look up and standing next to the car in front of mine, facing me, is a dude on his phone. Not uncommon. I do a double-take, though, because on second glance, he’s got his shwatz out and he’s pissing right there on the street. It’s not rush-hour or anything, but there are people walking by for sure, and I know damn well he saw me. It was one of those things that, if I was a tourist from the Midwest, I’d be talking about it for years. As it is, I was kind of like, “Eww, wiener,” and went back to reading. Surely I’d not just spent an hour and a half of my life getting to the city to see that.

I’d done it to see Bison B.C., Black Cobra and High on Fire, dammit, and when 7pm rolled around, I busted ass across the street to do that very thing. I didn’t know the show was sold out (dude at the door told me to watch my feet in my sandals), which was a daunting prospect. This was the biggest show I’d been to in a while — venue and people-wise — and to be honest, it’s more than I generally prefer. But that’s a killer mix of bands, and if humanity is the cost of bearing witness, I’ll tough it out.

Their set was short, but Bison B.C. played well to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. Gramercy was hardly packed at that point, but the material off their new album, Dark Ages sounded good bouncing off the walls of the place, and the band had that something-to-prove energy that’s lost once anyone makes it big. They looked and sounded like a bunch of scruffy dudes touring in a van. Can’t replicate that.

It had been years since last I saw Black Cobra, but man, they killed. Can there be any question of their dominance in the live arena? With just two members, Jason Landrian and Rafa Martinez, they blew the still-to-come Priestess off the stage. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Chronomega, but even I knew those songs would rule live, and they did. If you’ve never seen Black Cobra, they’re one of the most devastating stage acts in metal today and it’s as simple as that. They should have the dude who used to come out before Tenacious D and say stuff like “Stick around if you want some cream in your jeans” traveling with them at all times, and not just because they’re also a duo.

And yes, Priestess played. Sure, fine, yeah, whatever, Priestess — in that order. Sorry, but even when the Canadian band seemed to be playing NYC every other weekend with Early Man back around 2005-2006, I couldn’t get interested, and I remain firmly in the “Not Into It” category. If it’s any consolation (because I’m sure that with their direct support slot for one of metal’s most up and coming bands and their successful new album, my opinion is what’s going to ruin their day), I was in the vast minority.

At last, High on Fire. It was bittersweet to watch Matt Pike, Des Kensel and Jeff Matz on stage — and not just because I could barely see them for all the people standing in front of me. In a way, it was like saying goodbye. I’m still a High on Fire fan, and I even thought that some of the material from their latest album, Snakes for the Divine, which maybe I didn’t dig so much in its studio incarnation sounded really good live, but there’s no question it’s different now. They’re a big-ass band, playing sold out shows. Hell, I saw that bus outside. It’s just not the same.

That’s the dilemma of the underground band, right? Not that it matters to them — a head in the crowd is a head in the crowd — but for the fans, once that line is crossed, that’s it. And they ruled, don’t get me wrong. Pike strutting around the stage with his guitar halfway up his torso, slamming down on it like he was chopping wood. Matz‘s backing vocals during set opener “Frost Hammer” (a wise choice), “Fury Whip,” “Bastard Samurai.” All good times. I even stayed to the end, which I didn’t anticipate doing. But you relate differently to big bands than you do to small bands. High on Fire has made that transition now, and yeah, that’s good for them.

I knew what I was getting going into the show and I went anyway, because It was simply too killer a lineup to miss. High on Fire was selling $3 souvenir party cups, so I grabbed one of those on my way out and made my way back to Jersey, parking ticket-free, stopping only for some Rt. 3 pizza which I’d soon regret — but that’s a different review altogether.

Note the family-friendly language in the band’s statement. Can’t have the AP picking up a story where Matt Pike talks about bashing arena crowds with the spiked end of a fucking mace, I guess:

World renowned power trio High on Fire will tour Europe this May with Hall of Fame metal band Metallica. High on Fire has been hand-picked by the legendary group to support it on a number of just announced live dates set to launch on May 11 in Belfast, Ireland.

High on Fire and Metallica will pair up for a slew of concerts over an almost two week span including live performances in Hungary, Croatia, Portugal, Israel and France.

“High on Fire is ecstatic to join Metallica on its upcoming tour,” said the band in a statement. “We are honored to be chosen by James, Lars, Kirk and Robert and look forward to introducing their loyal crowds to our brand of heaviness.”

High on Fire w/ Metallica
May 11 Belfast, Ireland       Odyssey Arena
May 12 Belfast, Ireland       Odyssey Arena
May 14 Budapest, Hungary    Puskas Ferenc Stadium
May 16 Zagreb, Croatia       Hippodrome
May 18 Lisbon, Portugal      Pavilhao Atlantico
May 19 Lisbon, Portugal      Pavilhao Atlantico
May 22 Tel Aviv, Israel        Ramat Gan Stadium
May 23 Lyon, France         Halle Tony Garnier

Simply put, they made guitar metal cool again.

Snakes for the Divine introduces a new side of High on Fire. With cleaner production courtesy of Greg Fidelman (Slayer, Metallica), Pike, Kensel and Matz have a crispness to their attack that was never there before. Songs like “Frost Hammer” and “Fire, Flood and Plague” have all the power and drive of the best work on preceding albums Death is This Communion (2007), Blessed Black Wings (2005), Surrounded by Thieves (2002) and The Art of Self-Defense (2000), but with the added clarity and improved vocal technique from Pike, they move High on Fire into a different echelon of heavy metal bands. They are quickly becoming a more influential act, and in the years to come, don’t be surprised how much you see their name tossed around in interviews with other bands. The level of their impact is only beginning to reveal itself.

So, as we embark on yet another era of High on Fire, as rife as ever with battle axes and epic tales of death and war, Matt Pike was kind enough to check in from Florida for a phone interview. Despite a craptacular connection (the reasons behind which are a story for another time), the guitarist opened up on the band’s developing processes, working with Fidelman and what makes touring today different than it was five years ago. Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.

On the record, the first thing you notice that’s different is your vocals. How important is it for you to be trying new things?

It’s always been important, but I think I’ve definitely come a long way as far as me getting better, having a better range, having a style. Every album it seems to improve a little more. That’s just what came out of me, and hopefully I’ll get better than I was before on the next one. Vocals were really important on this album. They were a major part of what the music was sculpted around. Definitely Greg [Fidelman, producer] pushed me more. I did a lot of vocal writing in the studio. After I already had the foundations, I could just elaborate right on them. It turned out pretty good.

You mean you were writing more lyrics in the studio or more melodies?

It’s just different ways of thinking. It’s definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done to sing and play. Pretty intimidating. But it’s cool too, because I’m also really challenged by what we’ve written, performance-wise. It’s pretty intense, but I like the challenge. It keeps me interested in my band and playing music, definitely.

This is the second record with Jeff playing bass.

Jeff contributed a lot to the songwriting. I think last album he contributed a lot too, but he was a little shy of voicing his ideas. This one, he wrote like a madman. Half the stuff on the album he wrote a lot of the riffs, a lot of the little weird sections and stuff. Jeff’s a hell of a songwriter, so I’m really happy to be working with that guy. Plus he’s a really awesome guy in general.

How does it work blending his material and yours?

A lot of the time, we’ll have parts that connect, or he’ll write something and I’ll be, “Oh dude, hang on, I got an idea,” or vice versa. Or Des’ll have an idea too, because Des does a lot of the writing with us. It’s definitely all falling around the way he plays drums. All three of us just kind of collaborate. Albums tend to write themselves.

How much of the record was written before you went in?

We had five of the songs written before we went in there, but then, some of those songs got rearranged or added to, or I threw more vocals on top of, than what we did on the way down there. We went in there with like four hours’ worth of material but only five songs that were halfway arranged, and we finished out the record. Fidelman really helped us chop a lot of the parts we had, cut the fat on making a record. There was just so much material, it was ridiculous. We kept writing and writing and writing and not taking all our parts and honing them, so we kind of got stuck in not writer’s block, but the complete opposite. Putting it together, we got stuck and were confused about where to go with what. The pre-production totally helped with that. In pre-production, we fit the bits and pieces together.

Is that the same kind of process for Death is This Communion? Did you do the same thing working with Jack Endino?

We went into Jack Endino’s studio ready. We had all our tracks and stuff. We had the album essentially written. We didn’t write much in the studio and what we did write was kind of off-the-cuff. This one, we went in with about half an album, then rearranged the half an album we wrote so it could be even better and then wrote other songs on top of it off the cuff, like “Bastard Samurai” just happened. It took us an hour to write it and it turned out great. It just all depends.

In general, what was the atmosphere in Greg Fidelman’s studio like?

He’s phenomenal, man. He’s got a really, really good ear. He’s very meticulous, so he brings not only the creativity, but his meticulous point of view. He makes sure everything is perfect. He won’t let me double my solos unless their exact. There’s no yard sale going on (laughs). He’s a great engineer and producer. I enjoyed working with him a lot.

It seems like some of the tones he captured were a lot cleaner than on past records. Is that something you wanted going into the record?

I think that’s kind of his style of recording. It’s still a really heavy sound, but the separation between instruments. He definitely has a really clean style, where it’s heavy as fuck. Part of that is the meticulous part, where just every take he wants it perfect. He makes sure you’re exactly in tune, there’s no little wavering or anything. He makes sure every last note is doubled or tripled the right way. If you’re doubling vocals, he makes sure you do it exactly. That sound comes out of that.

That’s kind of a different approach for you guys, right?

A little bit, yeah. We’ve always been really tight, but we’ve always been real improvisational, allowing room for white noise. We’re a three piece, so we’d allow room for an extra drone thing going on. This album, we were just really, really, really, super-fucking tight. That kind of just happened. They’re just two different albums. And albums, once you start one, by the time you’re done, they write themselves. It’s really weird, but after you fuck with every little thing all the way through, you’re like, “Shit, that’s a whole thing.” We had some extra tracks that aren’t even on the CD now that kind of got cut for time and stuff like that, that we’ll probably release later and whatnot.

There was the track on the Best Buy version of the album, and a couple of live tracks. How much more material do you have?

There are two more songs that are unreleased, “Mystery of Helm” and “Speak in Tongues.” Both are really good songs, but when you’re expected to make an album so long, then the album ends up being an hour or more and everybody wants bonus tracks, so we just wrote a couple extra songs. I really like “Mystery of Helm” and “Speak in Tongues.” We’ll probably perform them live here and there, just to throw some extra shit in.

How has it been working with E1?

They’ve been really good so far. Usually, if you’ve been in the music business, you end up expecting the record label to give you some sort of red tape or some sort of crap you’ve got to deal with that’s a pain in your ass, but E1’s been really, really cool about the way they treat us. We lagged a little on the deadline, but they understood. I don’t put out shitty music, and if it takes longer, it takes longer. I can’t guarantee I’m going to have an award-winning album in one month. I wish I worked that fast, but we’re too fucking anal and picky about what we play. You gotta roll with the punches, and they were really cool about giving us a little extra time, working things out with us, and I’m glad, because it’s a better album because they gave us that time.

What’s the story behind “Fire, Flood and Plague?”

It’s the whole war, famine, fire, flood and plague. If you’ve ever seen Amsterdam’s flag with the three ‘x’s on it. That’s what the three ‘x’s mean. It’s all the weird shit the city’s survived, so I just based it off the whole 2012, the world’s gonna end, we’re all gonna be in a world war, blah, blah, blah, which we already are, kind of thing about my views on the world and the fears I think a lot of us have. Jeff wrote a lot of that one. I wrote the lyrics beforehand and then added some more in the studio. That one we pretty much had set in its way and I just changed a couple things vocally in the studio. But yeah, that’s Jeff’s little masterpiece. I threw a couple riffs in, but Jeff wrote most of that, as far as the riffs and stuff go.

You’re obviously used to bands coming out and sounding like Sleep, but more and more lately there have been bands specifically sounding more like High on Fire. Have you had any sense of the band’s growing influence?

Yeah, I acknowledge it. I know there’s some bands that come out. There’s bands that people take some of the sounds, but I think most of them did respectfully enough. We’re gonna sound like we sound anyways. No one’s gonna sound exactly like us. We’re pretty stylized and original, but people catch onto things and use them as tools, which is totally cool. I wouldn’t know how to play music without Sabbath, Slayer, Metallica or Judas Priest. That’s were how I learned to play metal. But I think it’s good to be an influence on other musicians. It means you’re good.

What’s the difference touring now as opposed to five years ago?

For me it’s the same as always. Shit. Only difference I’ve seen in our touring is we started jumping on all these big arena rock shows, and that’s definitely a different way of playing, entertaining a large crowd like that, than it is you entertaining a crowd in a bar somewhere. It’s got different energy, the sound acts different. That’s the only thing I’ve noticed that’s different on tour, just the places we’re playing.

Does that have an effect on your performance? How you approach the shows?

Oh yeah, definitely. Definitely. At a sweatbox or a club where it’s up close and personal, you don’t have to work as hard to get the crowd reaction. You have to work a little harder to get the crowd into you when you’re at these bigger places. There’s definitely a black psychology to crowd control.

I know you’re doing All Tomorrow’s Parties with Sleep. Any other plans?

Yeah. That’s just a few one-offs that we’re just doing for September, since we played the one that was over in England, we decided to do some American shows too, to let the fans who like us over here go and check us out, have a little fun and jam. Get to travel around and make a little money. I’m looking forward to that too. Definitely a week and a half’s worth of shows. It’s a small one.

High on Fire on MySpace

E1 Music

[Note: A different version of this interview will appear as the April 7 cover of The Aquarian Weekly, which is a damn good paper run by damn good people. Check them out here.]