Universally recognized as one of the most potent acts in music today, High on Fire creates dynamic metal that merges primal fury and aggression, hesher bombast and hall of fame heaviness. Described as “a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume,” High on Fire has rewritten the hard rock rule book since its formation in 1998, forging a style and sound that is both critically celebrated and unique.
“I think this band’s always had a really good drive,” states vocalist/guitarist Matt Pike. “We’re all just really ambitious. It’s definitely a specific type of person that is going to listen to a High on Fire record. I don’t think it’s meant for the whole of society to consume. It’s a little bit rough for the radio sort. It’s a different entity. It’s its own thing. Which, I think, makes all of us very proud to be a part of it. It’s not an average band.”
It has been more than five years since the band’s revered LP, ‘Electric Messiah’, earned High on Fire ‘Best Metal Performance’ at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards placing the unit among the ranks of groups such as Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and Metallica as winners of the prestigious award, presented by The Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the music industry.
“Being nominated for a Grammy was pretty mind blowing, but winning one was truly surreal,” says bassist Jeff Matz. “A Grammy win was certainly not something we were aiming for, but it’s quite an honor to be recognized in that way, and we are grateful. In terms of how it’s affected us, it has definitely opened some new doors—we’ve gained some new fans and wider recognition, but it hasn’t changed how we approach our craft. We’ve always tried to create uncompromising music that feels good to us, and is in line with what we would want to listen to.”
In the half decade since the band’s Grammy nod, the world has seismically shifted and is a different place. The same can be said for High on Fire. The band’s musical archetype has been modded, morphed, and evolved; its blast radius widened. Bassist Jeff Matz joined Mutoid Man and traveled abroad to study and learn the techniques of Middle Eastern folk music and the plucked string instrument, the bağlama (or saz), Matt Pike formed a solo band, released an LP, and toured the U.S., and world-renowned percussionist, Coady Willis, he of Melvins, Big Business, and Murder City Devils united with Pike and Matz to breathe new life into the group a quarter century into its captivating career.
