Product Description European version includes four bonus tracks: 'Eyes And Teeth' [Live], 'Comet Down Hessian' [Live], 'Blood of Zion' [Live] and Speak in Tongues. 2012 album from the Bay Area Metal band. Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at God City Studios in Salem, MA, the record marks the next devastating chapter in High on Fires gloriously unhinged Metal saga. The album's title (translation: The Mysteries of the Worm,) is a nod to a fictional grimoire conceived by the late, great Psycho author Robert Bloch in 1935 and later incorporated into horror master H.P. Lovecraft's renowned Cthulu Mythos. Review It always feels like a new album from High on Fire should be heralded by battle drums, natural cataclysms or a stirring of ancient deities. While many metal acts lose their edge as the years take their toll, it seems theirs has never been keener.Much of the responsibility for this rests on the shoulders of rock‘n'roll lifer Matt Pike, who, despite being a rather cheerful, unassuming fella sounds like he’s had to weather frost, fire and the grasping claws of giant scorpions on the way to the recording studio.His is a commanding voice that rumbles between Lemmy-ish grunts of discontent and the hymnal commands of a tentacled Old One, while his musicianship foregoes guitar store wizardry and instead suggests the swarthy physicality of a barbarian warlord wrassling some mythic beast to the floor before pummelling its thorny skull with the haft of a broadsword.This said, the album doesn’t quite start by putting its best hoof forward. Opener Serums of Liao is perhaps the album’s sole weak point, a borderline rote number that thunders along but doesn’t quite click. Thankfully this false start quickly shifts into the roiling torrents and avalanche percussion of Bloody Knuckles, a resounding hammer blow of a track that sets a far better precedent for the heavy metal mastery to follow.As with each of the band’s albums, De Vermis Mysteriis showcases a gauntletful of subtle evolutions while the essential Motörhead-meets-Celtic Frost kernel remains untouched. Madness of an Architect, for instance, indicates a slow, smoke-fugged nod towards Pike’s previous – and semi-resuscitated – outfit Sleep, while the instrumental Samsara has Jeff Matz in full Cliff Burton bass demigod mode.Maybe the most significant departure, though, comes with King of Days, whose unfamiliar baritone and funereal countenance see the band grappling with the trad-doom of Candlemass or modern upstarts Pallbearer.Combining such songcraft and impeccable riffmanship with a frankly lunatic narrative arc (hint: it involves Jesus’ dead-in-the-womb twin and the kind of space-time continuum-defying logic that’d have Scott Bakula weeping as he repeatedly tries and fails to strangle Dean Stockwell’s hologram) it’d be hard to see how De Vermis Mysteriis could possibly disappoint and, put simply, it doesn’t. Once more they’ve turned sludge, slime and slurry into heavy metal gold with alchemical prowess, proving beyond all doubt that this, right here, is a band you can truly believe in. --Alex Deller Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off in a new window
A**S
More vital metal from the overlords of 21st Century heavy metal!
Hopefully I can offer a review somewhere in between the extensive first one and the utterly lacking other reviews. I'll begin by stating that I love High on Fire. They are one of the most vital sounding and straight-forward metal bands on the planet at the moment. Their output is staggeringly consistent, which is remarkable given how frequently they release albums. I own most of their previous albums and think this is right up there with their others.High on Fire don't seem to want to commercialise, unlike many other metal bands, for which I applaud them. They do, however, manage to change their approach enough on each album to make it different, though no less powerful than its predecessors. The most notable song on this album is King of Days due to the fact that Matt actually sings on it. It is this song, in my opinion, that makes this a must have album. When I listen to it I can visualise myself in the aftermath of a colossal battle. It is incredibly uplifting and I suggest you listen to it immediately. The other songs on this album are quite different, far more the standard High on Fire fare, but there are plenty of great riffs and massive hooks, such as in Madness of an Architect or the vocals in Serums of Liao. As ever, Des Kensel's drumming is top notch and is a major part of the band's sound, as he plays with an almost militaristic tribal feel. I'm not sure how those two words go together for you, but to me this is how it sounds.I really need to listen to the album more to give a more detailed breakdown, but I would rate this as consistently good as Blessed Black Wings or Death is this Communion. It is more consistent than their previous album, Snakes for the Divine and I'd say I am more inclined to listen to this in its entirety. Snakes had some incredible, massive tracks (in my opinion) but this caused an imbalance as I'd tend to pick my favourites to listen to rather than listening to the whole album. In contrast, De Vermis Mysteriis holds together better as a whole album I'd say.This is a band that I cannot recommend highly enough. Anyone who enjoys their metal sludgy, yet ferocious and melodic, should check out High on Fire. I'm yet to buy a bad (or even an average!) album by them,
U**6
Brings the fire back
After losing High on Fire for a few releases while I was searching other oceans I came back to High on Fire on this release and it revived the great sounds I found on surrounded by theves and Blessed black wings. They must of been bobbing for riffs in the sludgy doom soup they grew this album out of.
M**D
Four Stars
nice bit of guitar on this album
K**R
High On Fire - unstoppable
Another fantastic album from this powerhouse of a band, just as raging and crushing (and unique) as their previous efforts, this time with a tiny bit more diversity. Matt even approaches `singing' at times on this opus, and it works really well! If you love this band, you WILL love this new album.
D**G
Five Stars
Perfect as always
K**N
Five Stars
Heavy!!!
K**N
Four Stars
Very good, quick delivery
H**E
Five Stars
Awesome! A++
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