High on Fire – Blessed Black Wings (Relapse)
Wow! Metal! Pure heavy metal! Formed out of the ashes of Sleep, local and now with Joe Preston (Melvins, Earth, and These Arms are Snakes) on bass. The drummer hits his drums harder than I think I’ve heard anyone hit them, the guitars have an amazing tone and worship the riff, and they’ve sped things up a little having more of an old-school thrash sound. The sound is mix of Celtic Frost, Motorhead, and Black Sabbath. Loud, heavy, and straight forward.
**1. Drums fad in to begin the track, then a big pick slide on guitar into a great speedy thrash riff. Damn this heavy and relentless.
2. Slower with a slight groove. Never speeds up and good guitar solo.
**3. More melodic guitars and the vocals are more sung than screamed. Sabbath-like solo.
**4. Opens with clean guitar arpeggio which turns into another speedy thrash track like track 1.
**5. The title track, the longest track, and one of the better heavy guitar riffs I’ve heard in years. After the opening riff, where the drums/bass trade off with the guitars, and then a bit of a jam, there is even a quiet doom part before the vocals. Honestly, if the chorus wasn’t so simple and stiff this would be one of the best metal songs I’ve ever heard. The track changes for the last 1.5 minutes into a rockin thrash track a lot like faster Motorhead.
6. Simpler riff and a slower pace. The track doesn’t change much from the opening 20 seconds.
7. Clean, slightly middle eastern sounding guitar to start the track. Then a slow, somewhat discordant riff. The track speeds up and gets more riff centric towards the end.
**8. “Riffs have come, your fate is sung, don’t even try”. Lurching, pummeling sound to begin which changes into somewhat raw thrasher.
9. Clean, quiet guitar to begin. Into a slow melodic but heavy sound. Catchy instrumental.
Great stuff!! -mph