Admittedly, I didn’t see this one coming. After releasing 2010′s Snakes for the Divine, which had its blistering moments but ultimately seemed to be working to clean up High on Fire‘s now-trademarked dirty thrash sound, the seminal Oakland outfit have announced teaming with Converge‘s Kurt Ballou for the recording of their next studio outing. One thing about Ballou: Damn near everything out of his studio sounds heavy as fuck. The prospect of a new High on Fire record just got much more interesting.

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.

Try as hard as this bastard of a planet has for the last 30-odd years, there has yet to arise a suitable substitute for thrash riffing. Everything metal has done since, from the lumbering plod of doom to the chugga-chugga dissonance of Meshuggah-derived djent, has never been able to quite tap into the same primal malevolence as a downward sloping thrash riff (though, arguably, they each have their own brand of devilry to them). Oakland, California, four-piece Hazzard’s Cure made their debut this fall with a self-titled CD and tape recorded by Greg Wilkinson of Brainoil, and as much as there are elements brought in from black metal and beer-worshiping guitar onslaughts, at its core, it almost can’t help but be a thrash album.

Before the big slowdown in the first half of closer “Great Dishonor,” Hazzard’s Cure recklessly make their way through seven tracks of blistering metal, and though I’m (predictably) more into the mid-paced groove of “Meet Me at the Mountain” than the broken-bottle blackness of “Psilocybin,” the band maintains a consistent appeal throughout, nodding at dirt metal and High on Fire and keeping a sense of fuckall behind even the mostly-clean vocal of “Clashing of Hordes.” Battle metal? A little bit, but more in that post-Matt Pike “heavy equals battle axes” lyrical mindset than any sort of grandeur in the production, despite that song’s acoustic part.

Several of the songs in Hazzard’s Cure‘s midsection bleed into each other, including “Meet Me at the Mountain” into “Tossed and Dethroned” and that song into “Clashing of Hordes,” which likewise flows easily into “Wolves’ Banquet,” and while I don’t know for sure if one is there, it’s easy enough to read a narrative into the structure of at least part of the album. I wouldn’t speculate as to how it translates onto cassette, but Hazzard’s Cure (whose lineup features members of Walken and Owl) mix genres fluidly and come out of it with something more their own than it might seem on first listen, so I thought it was worth putting the tracks from the record up in case anyone wanted to check them out.

These come courtesy of the Hazzard’s Cure page on Bandcamp. You can also check out the band’s website, if you’re so inclined. Thrash on:

Guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike formed High on Fire in 1998. It was about six months after his former outfit — a little group called Sleep — broke up, and together with drummer Des Kensel and bassist George Rice, Pike began to move in a less directly Sabbath-minded direction. The band’s first release came out in the form of a 1999 self-titled EP on 12th Records.

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.

In the spirit of their reissue of the out-of-print Early Works Compilation from Church of Misery, the vigilant Michigan label Emetic Records now plays host to a renewed edition of Failing Early, Failing Often, a collection of demo cuts and rarities from Oakland, California, sludge imperialists Noothgrush. It’s one of several releases the Noothgrush have on offer for fall 2011 – as the band also plays their first live shows in a decade, they’re unleashing a host of vinyls and CDs, including this, the Live for Nothing live album on Southern Lord, a reissue of their Erode the Person full-length, a reissue of their first demo, and a collection of unreleased songs and covers. The material on Failing Early, Failing Often, which was first released in 2001, comprises Noothgrush’s second two demo tapes and numerous contributions to splits, compilations and 7”s. Recorded over the course of a little under two years between August 1995 and June 1997, this 17-track, 70-minute CD is equal parts expansive and oppressive. Any way you cut it, it cuts you first.

The reasonable assumption when approaching a disc like Failing Early, Failing Often is that these songs — which are culled from no fewer than 14 disparate sources and put side by side — would have nothing in common, sound-wise, and that the comp would be completely haphazard as a result. Not so. Noothgrush recorded this material over the stated stretch of time, true, and with a varied lineup around drummer Chiyo Nukaga, guitarist Russ Kent and vocalist/periodic-guitarist Gary Niederhoff, but they did it all at the same studio. The entirety of Failing Early, Failing Often’s material was put to tape (over eight sessions, according to the liner notes) at Trainwreck Studios in Mountain View, California, and between that and the consistency of Niederhoff’s ultra-gnarly throat abrasions, it’s enough to lend some measure of consistency. The tracks don’t flow as easily as they might on an album, but the rough production they all receive throughout acts as a base that songs stray in various directions around, either grittier or cleaner. Mostly grittier. Noothgrush – who’ve gone underappreciated in the resurgence of sludge-influenced acts like EyeHateGod and Buzzov*en – clearly knew at the time what works for their genre, and there’s no capitulation anywhere to accessibility. Failing Early, Failing Often is 70 minutes of mud-covered fuckall to which many endurances will no doubt fall.

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If, like me, you’re feeling like a little metallic triumph to go along with your Tuesday afternoon, might I point you in the direction of Oakland, California, four-maybe-five-piece Embers. They formed in 2004 and since then have been getting off on a blend of ambient black and death metal that seems to leave just enough room for heaviness that comes from more than just squibbly guitars, screamed vocals and double-bass drumming.

To wit, “Forsaken,” from their latest self-released full-length, Shadows. Bassist/vocalist Kelly Nelson sits far back in the mix in what’s becoming the American black metal tradition, but nothing about Embers comes off as purposely lo-fi or overly posturing. Keys add ambience without symphonic silliness, and as the album moves along, the heft in the guitars of Steven DiCaprio and Timm Kennedy, as heard on the title cut, are a welcome change from the tinny-sounding genre norm.

I know they’re not really a fit with what The Obelisk usually covers, but every now and again I dig some more extreme metal and figured I’d share. The band are reportedly looking for a label and want to get the record out on vinyl, but in the meantime, can be checked out via Thee Facebooks, their own website or Bandcamp page, from which the player below was hoisted so you can stream Shadows if so inclined:

If it wasn’t enough that it was The Patient Mrs.‘ birthday and I still got to go to the show, I knew walking into The Mercury Lounge that it was going to be a good night because the dude at the door said, “Hey man, I dig your beard.” Had it been anyone else playing that night, I might have just cut my losses and gone home right then, opened up my diary (or WordPress) and written, “Today was a good day.” Instead I celebrated with an $8 Sierra Nevada.

I figured out the last time I was at the Mercury Lounge was a couple years back to see Dax Riggs, and though I expected my skin to be burned off in hipster hell, it wasn’t actually that bad. Well, maybe it was, but the last acoustic show I went to was Six Organs of Admittance, and the volume of that crowd was so loud it was offensive, and that definitely wasn’t the case here. I don’t care how ironic your flannel is so long as you’re there for the music and you’re not a dick about it.

Opening the show was Hunter Hunt-Hendrix of black metallers Liturgy doing a solo performance that turned out to be him, a looper, some vocal effects, and nothing else. His voice mimicked strings and he set up elaborate choruses of himself over the course of a couple separate pieces. It was brave, but probably not something that should be done for more than 10 minutes at a stretch, as after that the “What the hell am I doing here?” impulse kicked in and I went to the bar out front for another drink and to wait for Man’s Gin. People were in and out from the back room and I could hear just fine in case he, you know, took out a guitar or something. Nope. Semi-melodic moaning all the way.

The plan for the night was Man’s Gin, then Wino, then Scott Kelly, then Wino and Scott Kelly together, and it was a good plan by me. I dug Man’s Gin‘s Smiling Dogs record and was psyched to see the Erik Wunder-fronted outfit in their full-band incarnation after when I last caught them at Lit Lounge and it was just Wunder and standup-bassist Josh Lozano with percussion behind. Fade Kainer (Inswarm, Batillus) handled drums and Scott Edward guitar, and they were loose, but sounded good all the same.

They got a mixed reaction from the crowd, but it seemed more positive than ambivalent, which translates to triumph in Manhattan. Everyone in attendance who was conscious of their surroundings during the grunge era probably had a better idea of what they were going for than those who weren’t, whatever that says. Highlight of the set was the Neurosis-style drum jam at the end and “Doggamn.” Still waiting for them to do “The Ballad of Jimmy Sturgis” live.

It was a party when Wino took the stage, and that spirit continued through his set, numerous whoops and hollers coming from the crowd. Wino, up there by himself with just an acoustic guitar, couldn’t help but rip into a fuzzed-out solo about halfway in, but aside from playing them a bit faster (as he acknowledged he had a tendency to do in our interview), he was loyal to the versions of the songs that appear on his Adrift album. The split 7″ single he shares with Scott Kelly was mentioned as being for sale for just $5 — end of tour blowout price — and it seemed only proper to pick one up.

He covered Townes Van Zandt, as would Kelly when he took the stage later, but the highlight of Wino‘s set was probably “I Don’t Care,” which he prefaced with a story about being 15 and getting locked up in a Maryland juvenile detention center and writing the song then. It was one of my least favorite tracks on Adrift, but the performance live and the context made it a high point of the evening. I actually saw people dance. It happened.

The thing about Wino is that, even if he’s doing something else (i.e. playing acoustic), he’s a classic rock songwriter, and he can’t help but rock out. He brought the crowd along with him for the trip, and when Scott Kelly took the stage later, it was clear that, despite their apparent friendship and cohabitation in the supergroup Shrinebuilder, they’re two very different performers.

Scott Kelly plays s-l-o-w. He’s really, really good at it. The room — apart from one dude who decided it would be a good idea to accompany Kelly‘s guitar by banging on a cinderblock and eventually brought the show to a screeching halt — was dead quiet. So much so that Kelly remarked approvingly on it more than once (we did good!) as he went through his set of morose, low-key but still highly emotive songs. He covered his half of the split with Wino, taking three tries to get through the song because of the aforementioned cinderblock jackass, and by the time his version of “Tecumseh Valley” was done, my arrived-at conclusion of the evening became, “Well, I guess it’s time to buy a Townes Van Zandt record.” He made a pretty convincing argument.

I had been hoping for “Remember Me,” which originally appeared on Blood and Time‘s At the Foot of the Garden before Kelly re-recorded it for his last solo album, the brilliant The Wake. That was a no dice, but the new Shrinebuilder song Kelly brought Wino on stage to play, and the jam that ensued from there, was more than enough to make up for anything lacking. The crowd had thinned some by the time they were done, but not much, and those who were there were entranced by what they were watching. Wino took leads (higher in the mix, or maybe it was where I was standing) while Kelly played rhythms, and each guitarist seemed to enjoy most of all the chance to be on stage with the other. It was something I was glad to have witnessed when it was over.

Something I was less glad about was having lost the ticket from coatcheck. Whoops. It really is a wonder I’m not divorced by now. The Patient Mrs. and I stood, describing the contents of her coat pockets to the heavy-sighs of the girl at the rack, and eventually, we got her jacket and left. I don’t know if it was her best birthday ever, and I don’t know if it’s the only time I’m ever going to get to see Wino and Scott Kelly perform together in this fashion (they looked to be having a good enough time that I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again at some point), but man, if ever there was a time I was happy to be in New York on a Saturday night, this was it.

Originally released by Alternative Tentacles in 1992 and subsequently reissued in 1999 at the launch of the band’s Neurot Recordings label, Neurosis’ third album, Souls at Zero, is an essential document in an essential catalog. The post-hardcore (though not by the modern genre definition) approach of their first two albums, 1988’s Pain of Mind and 1991’s The Word as Law, led the seminal Oakland, California, outfit to new ground of sonic experimentation, and Souls at Zero is the first instance of that experimentation made flesh. Not even as assured as they’d be a year later on Enemy of the Sun, these songs capture a critical moment in the transition of the band. The raw immediacy of their earliest work is still there – you can almost feel the panic coming through the speakers nearly 20 years later on opener “To Crawl Under One’s Skin” – and they leaned heavily on their much-noted Swans influence, but the process of refinement that would result in Neurosis’ later career triumphs was definitely under way.

Like the 2010 Neurot Recordings reissue of Enemy of the Sun, this new Souls at Zero has been given a visual reinterpretation by Neurosis artist-in-residence Josh Graham. Sound-wise, the disc overall sounds louder and clearer, but that could just as easily be me reading into it as any change mastering/pressing technology improvements have brought about. The guitars of Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till are still distinct, and more present here than in the original is Dave Edwardson’s bass, which does much to thicken out the songs and make moments like the apex of “Sterile Vision” hit with more impact. The balance between the keyboards (then provided by Simon McIlroy, who was replaced by Noah Landis in 1995) and guitars/bass is given careful treatment on that track as well, and on “Stripped” and the chaotic “The Web,” where an underlying layer of noise seems to come through in a way it never did on previous versions of the record. Those who’ve spent significant time with Souls at Zero over the years either since its original release or previous reissue will no doubt hear things differently as well. Even if it’s the same album, it’s a new experience of it.

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The self-released third album by The Atomic Bomb Audition, Roots into the See, is a tricky proposition. In listening to its three vinyl-ready tracks – one short one and one extended one on Side A, an even more extended one on Side B – the impulse is to label it post-metal for the emphasis on ambience, mood and linear builds rather than traditional structures. That The Atomic Bomb Audition calls Oakland, California, home only adds to any Neurosis comparison one might want to make… on paper. The reality of Roots into the See is far more individualized than a superficial glance at the 38 minutes would have it, the longer tracks putting a focus on patient loud/quiet interplay and deceptively intricate layers of noise.

Each member of the four-piece – percussionist Brian Gleeson, bassist Jason Hoopes, guitarist Alee Karim, and electronics specialist/recording engineer The Norman Conquest (also of avant outfit Cosa Brava) – contribute vocals, so The Atomic Bomb Audition isn’t short on diversity of sound. As Roots into the See opens with the 3:56 “Limit,” the impression is that the band is going to specialize in a relatively straightforward modern-if-artsy brand of sludge. Practically all the ambience of the later two tracks, “Horizons” and “Bas,” is absent, as though the band decided to distill their approach to just its most abrasive moments. Vocals are screamed over loud crashes and feedback, and the general air of madness that pervades is all the more effective for its contrast to the methodical nature of the next two songs. I’m not sure its placement at the front of the record works as well as it might if the order of the vinyl were reversed – that is, “Bas” on Side A and “Limit” and “Horizons” on Side B – so that “Limit” could act as a go-between for the other two songs, but The Norman Conquest is an experienced engineer and Roots into the See is The Atomic Bomb Audition’s third album following 2008’s Light Will Remain and their Eleven Theatres debut, so one expects they have their reasoning for sequencing the tracks the way they did.

Hoopes’ bass is prevalent throughout the opening movement of “Horizons,” and its deep tone does well to set a groundwork of tension Karim’s guitar toys with and finally pays off. You can almost hear the foot pedal get kicked before the song gets heavy. That’s not to say The Atomic Bomb Audition telegraph the switch or really any of the moves on Roots into the See, just that the change comes at the right time. At their loudest on “Horizons,” they’re slower than “Limit,” and ambient vocals add to the doomed atmosphere and active percussion from Gleeson and The Norman Conquest’s engulfing electrical wash. At 6:48, the build begins anew, and for the next 10 minutes of the song’s total 17:46, The Atomic Bomb Audition execute a multi-faceted build that like that preceding, finds its ground in Hoopes’ playing but is made all the more engaging by the contrast in the drums – forward in the mix – and the ethereal psychedelia in the guitars. At these moments, The Atomic Bomb Audition sounds no more like Neurosis than they do Nancy Sinatra. It’s a rare song that runs for 17-plus minutes and still sounds like it’s cut short, but I expect “Horizons” could have just kept going till the tape ran out.

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At this point, the subgenre’s trend level has crested and most of what the specific style of music has to offer has likely been explored, but although it gets the ol’ eye-roll “not this again” treatment these days, it’s worth remembering that post-metal has produced some great, landmark albums, and that the bands who came after had solid reasoning behind being influenced as they were.

Blending post-rock elements with heavier, often crushing guitar work, the classification post-metal is as amorphous as any genre term. I’ve heard everyone from High on Fire to Ulver referred to under its umbrella, but I want to be clear that when I talk about post-metal, I’m thinking of what’s also commonly called “metalgaze,” the specific branch of metal heavily inspired by the bands below.

I wanted to do this Where to Start post not just for those looking to expose themselves to the genre, but also in case anyone who maybe is tired of hearing bands that sound like this has forgotten how killer these records were. Here’s my starting five essential post-metal albums, ordered by year of release:

1. Godflesh, Godflesh (1988): I saw the album art on hoodies for years before I knew what it was. 1989′s Streetcleaner was better received critically at the time for its industrial leanings, but Justin Broadrick‘s first outing after leaving Napalm Death has grown over time to be the more influential album. At just 30 minutes long in its original form (subsequent reissues would add bonus material), it’s a pivotal moment in understanding modern post-metal that predates most of the genre’s major contributions by over a decade.

2. Neurosis, A Sun That Never Sets (2001): Take a listen to A Sun That Never Sets closer “Stones from the Sky,” then go put on just about any post-metal record, and you’ll see many of them trying to capture the same feel and progression — if not just blatantly transposing that riff onto their own material. Say what you want about Neurosis‘ earlier material, I think if everyone was honest about it, it would be A Sun That Never Sets mentioned even more. An awful lot of the modern wave of post-metal bands formed in 2001 and 2002, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

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[NOTE: I wanted to give Neurosis' Live at Roadburn 2007 some attention because, well, it's Neurosis and that's what I do, but I was conflicted because I wrote the promotional bio for the album, got paid for it and can't even attempt to feign impartiality as I usually do. My solution is to print the bio itself; it's a review of sorts anyhow. Hope you dig it. Live at Roadburn 2007 is available now through Neurot Recordings.]

Neurosis – Live at Roadburn 2007

This will be my last letter. I’m tired of trying to make you understand. Hell, I’m tired of trying to understand. After this, you won’t be hearing from me again. I’m not coming back.

You know where everyone still has it wrong about Neurosis? The mind. Look at the legion of imitators and you’ll see they’re like children trying to build a treehouse without instructions. There are mathematical equations being done, but they’re the wrong ones. Emotion plus volume. The cerebellum gets all the credit, but this music comes from the stomach. Listen to the washes at the back of “Water is Not Enough.” Listen to the grimacing cries of “At the End of the Road,” the mortal desolation of “A Season in the Sky.” You’ll hear it or you’re a fool.

Not that it’s perfect. That isn’t the idea. It’s the humanity you’re getting here. The raw stuff of human performance. The need to transmit from one to another an idea, shape, sound. It is as close to authenticity as we come.

What do you think they called a square the first time saw it drawn in the dirt? It was a thing without a name. It was a creation inextricably tied to the one who crafted it. It was art. That’s what this is, delivered at painful volume to ears that, if they could, would scream back as if to say, “I’m here too, I can see it now. It is even on all sides.”

Imagine what it must have been like to have Neurosis step out on that stage. The 013 Popcentrum, Tilburg. Roadburn. An event unlike anything else the world over, and Neurosis with a legacy of carved granite. It must have been like rivers joining, flowing in the same direction. Forces of nature.

There are nine tracks on this release. As you listen, set aside expectation. Put away your thoughts about what you think the work should or does sound like. It is not about the definitive. It is the execution. The temporal and the fleeting. You need to understand: This is the moment, captured. Emotion plus volume. They’ve been doing it one way or another since Reagan.

If you’re still reading this, you know the deal. That year they released Given to the Rising, which was the black to The Eye of Every Storm’s grey, and to the red of A Sun that Never Sets, and the hard lines of Times of Grace, and so on. The material is fresh, vibrant and unrelenting. Even when it breathes, you don’t. Two years later they’d be asked to curate their Beyond the Pale Festival under the Roadburn banner, hand-picking the artists with whom they would share the stage for their return performance. This is the genesis of that.

Like they say: “Sun-whitened bones in a landscape of hounds.” We’re those hounds, you and I. All we can do is feast, chew endlessly and hope to get a bit of marrow. Break our teeth on it. And maybe understand. I’m tired of trying to make you understand. So tired.

–JJ Koczan

I know a lot’s been said about the Sleep shows at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn (I only went to the second of the two), and honestly, apart from the obvious — “Sleep are gods” — there isn’t much to say. If forced, I’d probably pick the cover of Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Over the Mountain” as my personal highlight of the night, if only because after coming on following a projected still photo of Tony Iommi and a medley of Sabbath riffs and solos played over the P.A., I think everyone expected them to cover Black Sabbath, so doing Ozzy was a nice twist. Plus, there’s the whole “mountain” connection between the track and the classic Sleep’s Holy Mountain that was about as enjoyable as puns get.

You’ve probably heard already that they were fucking loud, and they were. I stood upstairs in the back, probably as far away from the stage (and, more to the point, the crowd) as I could get, and even still my earplugs felt futile. Even the rumbling of Al Cisneros‘ bass between the songs shook the half-wall on which I alternately leaned and sat for the two-hour show, and Matt Pike ran Marshall amps through Orange cabs that probably would have been enough on their own to blow out eardrums, never mind piping them through the Masonic Temple sound system. Had it not been so awesome, you might’ve been able to call it cruel.

They played all of Sleep’s Holy Mountain as they were reputed to be doing on this “Marijuanaut’s Return” tour, and peppered in sections of Dopesmoker, beginning the show with that album-long piece’s lumbering opening riff. Watching Cisneros and Pike play these songs was like watching B.B. King play the blues — you were seeing two people who were the absolute best at what they do doing what they were born to do. They may not like each other (Cisneros is all meditative contemplation on stage while Pike‘s energy is every bit as frenetic as it is in High on Fire even if the Sleep songs are slower), but there’s no denying the chemistry between the two players, and anyone who thinks Neurosis‘ Jason Roeder is anything less than a suitable fill-in for original drummer Chris Hakius is just wrong. In presence, hard-hitting and technique, he is easily a match for Hakius or anyone else, and the two groups’ shared Oakland roots puts Roeder probably the closest to an original member as Pike and Cisneros could come without getting someone who was actually in the band.

Brooklyn was Brooklyn, ever as was, ever shall be. I don’t even care anymore. I’d sit here and rip on flannel-clad hipsters, but who gives a shit? Sleep got back together and played shows. I’d go see that shit at a convention of Nazis with a Star of David tattooed on my forehead, I think I can put up with the Williamsburg trust-fund crowd. Plus, it was one of those gigs that brought out a whole group of friends I hadn’t seen in a while or don’t get to see all that often, so it was hardly me against the world. Once Sleep kicked into “Holy Mountain,” it was riffs, space and good times. Everything else be damned.

With the success of High on Fire and Cisneros‘ post-Sleep ritual drone outfit, Om, I can’t for the life of me imagine either of them actually wants to bring Sleep back on any kind of permanent basis, but they at least looked like they were enjoying the chance to revisit the material in front of the sold-out crowd, which is probably more than you could ask. Whether or not they continue to proceed the weedian toward Nazareth is really irrelevant at this point, I was just happy to see a killer band I never thought I would. Any other ranting about the importance of Sleep to stoner metal or the interaction between Pike, Cisneros and Roeder on stage is secondary to that, so I’ll spare it. Was a good night I look forward to remembering fondly.

Oh wait, I’m sorry, High on Fire tour all the time. That’s not shocking at all. My mistake.

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)

I’ve been a fan of Adult Swim since the days when they showed clips of old people synchronized-swimming, and in no way is that depressing. The Cartoon Network Sunday night programming block got ahold of the as-yet-unreleased High on Fire track (somehow Kia was involved too), and posted the single as part of a series they’re doing over the course of apparently eight weeks. So, uh, thanks guys.

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.

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Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Seriously. Oh my god.

Legendary stoner rock band Sleep split in 1997 after two hugely influential albums. Members went on to form underground heroes OM and High on Fire, and more recently metal supergroup Shrinebuilder. This Fall, original members Al Cisneros and Matt Pike will be joined by drummer Jason Roeder of Neurosis to perform the seminal Sleep’s Holy Mountain album as well as selections from Dopesmoker and more.

Sleep debuted with 1991′s Volume One album, recorded for San Francisco label Tupelo. Earache Records received the band’s next recordings in the mail as a demo. The label — impressed by Sleep‘s single-mindedness and unique vision – immediately signed the band and released the tape exactly as it was received. Record stores worldwide stocked Sleep’s Holy Mountain from November 1992 to this day.

The band then signed to London Records. Their debut album for the major took the form of one mammoth 63-minute leviathan of a track titled “Jerusalem.” The band resisted the label’s attempts at radio edits and bringing in their own engineer to remix the album in view of “marketability.” London balked at the prospect of promoting what probably still is the most extreme music ever recorded for a major label, so shelved the recording and dropped the band.

SLEEP 2010 US tour
9/03/2010 All Tomorrow’s Parties – Monticello, NY
9/07/2010 Starlight Ballroom – Philadelphia, PA
9/08/2010 Brooklyn Masonic Temple – New York, NY w/ Lichens
9/09/2010 Logan Square Auditorium – Chicago, IL w/ Lichens
9/10/2010 Mohawk – Austin, TX w/ Sub Oslo
9/11/2010 Roseland Theater/Music Fest NW – Portland, OR w/ Scott Kelly, YOB
9/12/2010 Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA

Right at the end of August, when the whole world feels like that episode of The Twilight Zone where the earth is moving closer to the sun, when the haze of humidity covers the eastern half of the US like a blanket from Hell — is there any better time to reissue one of the most intense albums of all time? Neurosis‘ 1993 full-length, Enemy of the Sun — originally released on Alternative Tentacles, then reissued in 1999 on Neurot Recordings – will once again see new life through Neurot on August 30.

The tracklisting is the same as the 1999 reissue, but the album will feature newly-interpreted artwork from Neurosis‘ resident visual artist, Josh Graham. As per the PR wire:

Neurot Recordings is proud to announce the reissue of one of the most groundbreaking releases in the ever-expanding lineage of icons Neurosis, Enemy of the Sun.

With Neurosis’ earlier releases — 1987’s Pain of Mind, and even 1990’s The Word as Law — the band’s jagged and eerie blend of metallic, hypnotic, post-gutter punk was instantly recognized as wholly unique, yet it took multiple releases for the then Bay Area unit to infinitely define their sound, forcing the world to listen, then run for cover. Their 1992 full-length Souls at Zero showcased the band branching off into much more expanded songwriting, giving birth to much longer hymns, infusing them with tribal rhythms and slow-building post-doom bastardization, then breaking massive new ground for the metal world.

But it was their follow-up in 1993, the crushing Enemy of the Sun LP, that would be the album to take the pulsing, hypnotizing monoliths Neurosis was crafting down to much darker, and much, much heavier territory for the rest of the band’s still-growing roster of masterpieces. Still to this day, critics and fans of heavy and experimental metal hold this release to be one of the harshest, spine-chilling, mind-warping releases in history, and countless acts have cited Enemy of the Sun as “the one that changed everything” for them.

The eight tracks on the release was one of the most massively cavernous, crushing records the world had experienced. A mesmerizing, pressurizing, dirge-driven display of brutal riffing, thick with haunting samples, layered, anguished vocal tracks, raging multiple-member percussion contributions, and some of the most mammoth buildups ever, Enemy of the Sun was an album that left a sense of anguish in your soul long after the record was over.

Neurot Recordings are exceptionally proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Neurosis, and once again issue this classic album to the masses. 2010’s reissue of Enemy of the Sun bears a fully redesigned package by visionary artist, Neurosis live visual master Josh Graham, and will be released worldwide on August 30th, 2010.