High On Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis

Third review on the backlog, this time for an album that quickly faded after its hype. All in all, looking back, I think I might have overestimated how good it was, seeing as I never actually picked it up again. It's an ok album. King of Days is still a kickass song though, I'll link it below.

Check out my other archived reviews here and here.

High On Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis (2012)


The kings of electric stoner metal are back, and their latest album is a slap to the face and a punch to the groin. The good kind.

For those not living under stone, High on Fire is the influential metallic child of Matt Pike (who played guitar in Sleep), and can be best described as “Stoner Metal meets Motörhead”. It’s frantic, it’s heavy and it’s fun. It’s also pretty unique, in that great way where you can recognize a High on Fire song from a mile away.

Now a careful listener might think High on Fire went as heavy as it could get – maybe Matt is getting older, man, calm it down a bit. Nope. De Vermis Mysteriis is strong, powerful and metal in every way you grab at it, as its opening statement “Serums of Liao” clearly shows. Trash ain’t dead, people.

But even though its four first songs are the gist of what High on Fire is all about, it’s from then on that De Vermis Mysteriis gets interesting for me. “Samsara”, song number 5, is an instrumental piece that carefully introduces us to the next half of a slower, heavier, fuller album that really gnaws your teeth in. Madness, man – I really do love this second half. More so than the first, if only because this is where King of Days –a brutal, brutal song – really finds its place.

I can’t wait to see this bad boy in action. By which I mean watching High on Fire play this album live. Also, if you’re not sold on the hysterical experience that is Matt Pike, I still say that the slower second half makes up for an album just on its own – and you still get that delightful trashy four-track goodness up front.

Great album overall. Grab it while it’s hot – If only for King of Days*.

*Don’t buy it just because of this song; that would be pretty stupid. The other songs are great too.