HIGH ON FIRE – “DE VERMIS MYSTERIIS”
CENTURY MEDIA (2012)

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

High On Fire are a three-man Heavy/Stoner/Sludge combo that are not at all alien to the concept of success. Formed by the ex-Sleep guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike back in 1998, the Oakland-based lovers of all thing heavy and distorted have released quite a few commercially successful releases, such as 2005’s “Blessed Black Wings” – an album that was described by a certain high-selling music magazine as “one of the best albums of the 21st century”. It is both with such support of the music media and the German label Century Media that the three Californians have continued producing albums, the latest of which being a ten track collection of heavy/groovy material entitled “De Vermis Mysteriis”.

I had never heard any of High On Fire’s work previously, but based on the reviews of past albums that I have been reading throughout the years what I expected to come across was something truly special and that, I’m afraid, was not the case here. Let me, however, be quick in stating that, in this very case, not being special does not equal to not being good! The riffs produced by the Matt Pike are solid and graced with a dirty distorted sound and their groovy/atmospheric themes will please most fans of the genre. The main problem here is that, with minor exceptions, the material on offer cannot be described as either fresh or innovative and, also in most cases, the choice of lead guitar solos chosen to accompany the above-mentioned monster riffs was either rushed or not well thought through, creating unnecessary ‘complications’ during the listening process.

“Serums Of Liao” provides a very dynamic start for the album as it is based on a dirty-sounding up-tempo riff whose chorus features a catchy vocal theme – shame that the ensuing lead solo sounds does not meet with the same standards. The follow-up “Bloody Knuckles” is another groove-laden piece, based on a clever melody and not having one of these dreadful lead solos featuring in it helps it stand out when compared to songs like “Fertile Green” and the same-titled “De Vermis Mysteriis”. In “Madness Of An Architect”, the tempo slows down significantly and Black Sabbath’s influence becomes clearly audible, while the bass tunes of the instrumental piece “Samsara” add some much-needed atmosphere to the proceedings. “Spiritual Rights” might indeed be an impressive dynamic offering but it is the slow groovy melodies of the dramatic vocal performances in “King Of Days” that constitute the first real highlight of the album. The album closes with two very important compositions, the Sabbath infused “Romulus And Remus” and the five and a half minutes epic “Warhorn” – a song filled with layers upon layers of clever leads, massive riffs and atmospheric bass guitar tunes of the utmost quality and which is by far the best composition of the album.

If you like your Doom/Stoner Metal to be heavy, dirty and noisy then there is no way that you are not going to like “De Vermis Mysteriis”! High On Fire have made a career of crafting such sounding riffs and melodies and so those who have supported the band from day one will have no reason whatsoever to cease such activities now. My main problem with this album is that I only really felt ‘wowed’ on a couple of occasions, something that cannot be justified for a band of both the calibre and reputation attributed to these Californians. A good listening experience but not one as monumental as the one I had prepared myself for.

John Stefanis

Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)

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