HIGH ON FIRE has released “Spewn From The Earth,” another new single from their upcoming LP, Electric Messiah, exclusively via ADULT SWIM. This is the second and final song the band will release from the new LP due out this Friday.
“Spewn From The Earth” is the seventh installment of the Adult Swim 2018 Singles Program, which will feature new music from a variety of artists, learn more here.
“Cryogenically frozen giant kings of old, awake and smash through the bowels of Earth to free themselves,” says vocalist and guitarist Matt Pike. “In a campaign to usurp their throne from man, and impregnate the populace once again.”
High On Fire just kicked off a European co-headlining tour this month alongside ENSLAVED. The band will then head back to The States to participate in this year’s Adult Swim Festival this coming weekend at The Row in Downtown Los Angeles before heading back to the UK.
High On Fire will tour in North America this fall on the “Speed of the Wizard” tour, presented by Revolver Magazine. The dates will be co-headlined by MUNICIPAL WASTE with Toxic Holocaust and Haunt in support. The three-week trek will kick off in Dallas, TX at Canton Hill on 11/2/18, hitting both coasts before wrapping up in San Diego, CA on 11/25/18. Tickets are now on sale.
“Spewn From The Earth” and “Electric Messiah” are now available on all streaming services and as iTunes instant grat tracks. Meaning, if you pre-order the LP on iTunes, you will receive both songs as instant downloads. High On Fire will release Electric Messiah via Entertainment One (eOne) on Friday, October 5, 2018.
“I had a dream about Lemmy,” says Pike, explaining the inspiration behind the title of High on Fire’s title track, “Electric Messiah.” “When Lemmy was still alive I always got compared to Lemmy,” the gravelly-voiced guitarist elaborates, “so I had this dream where he got pissed at me.”
“He gave me a bunch of shit, basically, and was hazing me. Not that he didn’t approve of me, but like I was being hazed. The song is me telling the world that I could never fill Lemmy’s shoes because Lemmy’s Lemmy. I wanted to pay homage to him in a great way. And it turned out to be such a good title that the guys said we should call the album ‘Electric Messiah.'”
Electric Messiah will serve as the follow-up to Luminiferous released in 2015, which went on to be one of the band’s most critically acclaimed albums. NPR said about Luminiferous, “For High On Fire to exude this much vigor 17 years into its existence only reaffirms the band’s mastery of the form.” Pitchfork called the collection of songs “among the most enthusiastic and bracing of the Oakland metal band’s career.”
Finally, Rolling Stone said it was “a ferocious blast of charging guitars, blasting drums and Pike’s inimitable hoarse roar” in their feature outlining the 20 Best Metal Albums of 2015.
Electric Messiah reunites the band once again with producer Kurt Ballou (Converge, Torche, Kvelertak) for the third time. “Kurt just has a knack for us, man,” Pike says. “We all work really well with him. Even if we have differences about how we want to record something, he works with us and understands what we do. We’ve been sticking with him because we haven’t made a bad record with him yet.”
It feels absurd to think that this late into their career High on Fire has hit a new career peak, but that’s what happens when you have a trio that works this well together. For all of Ballou’s sonic wizardry, Electric Messiah is all about the evolution of Pike, Matz, and Kensel. They simply cannot be denied a permanent spot among American royalty.
“This band keeps evolving,” Pike enthuses. “This is by far the best record I’ve ever made with the High on Fire stamp. It just keeps getting better and better. We just try to outdo ourselves. I’m not saying the old work is progressively worse, it’s just that we get better every time instead of burning out, which is a common finality for a lot of bands. This album is fucking excellent, I just love everything on it, I’m not bummed about anything. It’s great when you think that about your record.”
