Few bands other than High On Fire have proven to be such worthy torchbearers of both the heaviness of Black Sabbath and the speed and grit of Motorhead. The trio’s last album Luminiferous came out in 2015, but a fervent cult following means they don’t need a new album to support tour. This time around it was a brief jaunt through the Pacific Northwest that brought High On Fire to the Hawthorne Theater in Portland on Sunday, January 22.
High On Fire’s set was more or less the opposite of guitarist Matt Pike’s other project Sleep. Sure, there is a sludginess, but in place of droning stoner doom we are given the musical equivalent of methamphetamine. This is the brilliance of Pike as a guitarist; he is able to effortlessly go back and forth between one of the slowest and one of the fastest metal bands ever. The perpetually shirtless shredder was in peak form on Sunday night as he led the band through eighty minutes of blistering heavy metal. While the set was dominated by songs from Luminiferous, the band managed to touch on nearly all of their LPs. The combination of Pike, drummer Des Kensel, and bassist Jeff Matz proves to only get better with age, and onstage the trio conjured a storm of lightning fast drum beats, bass lines, and punishing riffs. Pike, whose abrasive vocals hit like a glorious gut punch, demonstrated his ability to play as many notes at once on his guitar as viciously as possible. On songs like “Carcosa” and “Rumors of War” his relentless torrent of sludge and razor sharp solos created a wall of noise. At other moments Pike showed his ability to tone things down with beautiful solos that felt more nuanced and expansive. Closer “Snakes From The Divine” was one of the best examples of this with its soaring introduction. The crowd at the Hawthorne was eager to embrace everything the band could throw their way, moshing along in cheerful savagery.
As they enter their 20th year, High On Fire are still one of the heaviest, most brutal bands in metal. Their set in Portland was only further proof that even younger acts can hardly hold a candle to their speed, aggression, and tightness as a trio. Sunday night’s show was also perfect timing, as many of us needed a break from the cesspool of “alternative facts” being spewed. Luckily, High On Fire swooped in to provide Portland with a chance to take a load off and revel in the riff.
