Blessed Black Wings - High On Fire

This majorly heavy stoner trio have been critically acclaimed through this album as creating a masterpiece of stoner metal riffery and song-writing. Any fans of the band sleep will be familiar with vocalist and only guitarist Matt Pike who's vocals suit the music brilliantly and although extremely throaty they often carry a melody line to the music. The drums have a heavy tribal feel throughout with a continued rolling rhythm at the beginning of the monster track that is "Devilution". Stoner metal isn't a massive genre and there's a reason that these guys are breaking it. The album is far from just a pure wall of sound. Pike's songwriting makes for a ...  Read the complete review

High on Fire were formed by vocalist and guitarist Matt Pike in the wake of Sleep, and this more recent band takes a heavier and faster approach to stoner doom metal, a far cry from the fuzzy atmosphere of bands such as Electric Wizard and comparable to the work of Dax Riggs, were he a bit more evil. Pike's vocals are gravelly and completely suited to the heavy, down-tuned guitar tone he uses throughout, complimented by the hard-hitting drums on songs such as the title track. 'To Cross the Bridge' is convincingly hellish and finale 'Sons of Thunder' has a great atmosphere, but for the most part, the music is more concerned with a direct impact through heavy ...  Read the complete review