U.S. rockers HIGH ON FIRE have released the official music video for the title track of their upcoming album, “Cometh The Storm”. The clip was directed by Phil Mucci of Diabolik Films and can be seen below
“Cometh The Storm” will be released on April 19 via MNRK Heavy. The Grammy Award-winning group, celebrating its 25th anniversary, recorded the LP at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts with producer Kurt Ballou. The 11-song effort — the band’s ninth studio album — marks the release of the first new HIGH ON FIRE music since 2018’s “Electric Messiah” and the first to feature drummer Coady Willis (BIG BUSINESS, MURDER CITY DEVILS),alongside bassist Jeff Matz and guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike.
“‘Cometh the Storm’ was built from a riff I started playing on bass at practice,” Matz commented. “I was noodling around with this melancholic harmonic minor line, just hammering the notes with my left hand, when Matt yelled out, ‘Are we recording this!?’
“The chorus riff was something Coady and I came up with when we were jamming in L.A.,” he continued. “Matt then came in and worked up some rough lyrics and came up with the vocal line. For the chorus, I used this fretless bass I’d acquired. The weight of the low frequencies this thing produced was insane — how it blended with the guitars and drums, it was like being hit with a sledgehammer.”
HIGH ON FIRE “Cometh The Storm” track listing:
01. Lambsbread
02. Burning Down
03. Trismegistus
04. Cometh The Storm
05. Karanlık Yol
06. Sol’s Golden Curse
07. The Beating
08. Tough Guy
09. Lightning Beard
10. Hunting Shadows
11. Darker Fleece
“I think this band’s always had a really good drive,” stated Pike. “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.”
“Being a fan of each other’s bands for a long time, it feels like all bets are off and anything goes which is a liberating feeling,” shared Willis. “That feeling of making something out of all of these imperfect parts and it becomes this magical, weird, new idea that none of us ever anticipated. Against all odds. That’s the joy of it.”
“It’s interesting, whenever there’s a lineup change in a band,” offered Ballou. “It can take a little while to rebuild. But it’s also an opportunity to reinvigorate the band and I think that’s what’s happened here.”
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. The group features vocalist and cult guitar hero Matt Pike (also a founding member of the famed underground band SLEEP) singular bassist Jeff Matz and powerhouse drummer Coady Willis.
HIGH ON FIRE‘s most recent studio album, “Electric Messiah”, was released on October 9, 2018, and won a Grammy for “Best Metal Performance”, placing HIGH ON FIRE among the ranks of groups such as BLACK SABBATH, MOTÖRHEAD and METALLICA as winners of the prestigious award, presented by The Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the music industry.
HIGH ON FIRE also recently announced U.S. headlining tour dates in support of “Cometh The Storm”.
The spring trek will launch on May 4 in Orlando, Florida and feature support from Venezuelan post-rock outfit ZETA and Massachusetts crossover crew HIGH COMMAND.
HIGH ON FIRE comments: “HIGH ON FIRE legion! We are stoked to take the stage in a city near you as we bring ‘Cometh The Storm’ to life. Looking forward to a triumphant run of shows and reuniting with friends. See you soon!”
HIGH ON FIRE tour dates:
May 04 – Orlando, FL – Conduit
May 05 – Columbia, SC – The Senate
May 07 – Greensboro, NC – Hanger 1819
May 08 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry
May 10 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
May 11 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
May 12 – Jersey City, NJ – White Eagle Hall
May 13 – Cambridge, MA – The Middle East
May 15 – Albany, NY – Empire Live
May 16 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
May 17 – Detroit, MI – The Magic Stick
May 18 – Chicago, IL – 3 Floyd’s Brewing (Dark Lord Day feat. HIGH ON FIRE, ABBATH, FUGITIVE, 1349, SPIRITWORLD)
Photo credit: James Rexroad