I bought Snakes for the Divine about six months ago and am already getting High on Fire cravings on a daily basis. Ghost Neck and Snakes are two of the best brass-tacks metal tracks of the past 10 years.

I really do love Snakes For The Divine, but it kind of pisses me off that they're getting this kind of recognition when it should have been for the previous album. I mean, yes, they did receive a lot of accolades for Death Is This Communion, but it's nothing compared to what they're getting for Snakes..., and not rightfully so if you ask me.

For one, the production on Snakes... is not really all that good standing on it's own, let alone being compared to the top notch work of Jack Endino on DITC. That and the vocals are the most noticeable pitfalls of the album. Relatively speaking, DITC was just all-around better written. Snakes... had a few moments that completely blow DITC out of the water (the intro/outro to the title track for one), but it also has waaaay more "Where the hell are they going with this?" moments. Everything seemed to just flow perfectly with DITC, and it was consistent 100% of the way through, not to mention a more dynamic sound to it. It's easy to say Snakes... was a more varied album, but I found the only real "variation" in it was merely tempo, not much more. DITC had the mandolins, or "tambour", the mellotron, as well as a very cool, tribal sounding drum interlude. Listening to it has the same feeling as reading a book in a way, it felt like it took you somewhere, Snakes... just feels like a collection of songs.

Needless to say my interest in Snakes For The Divine sort of peaked. When I first heard it I was severely disappointed, then it grew on me, now it just makes me want to listen Death Is This Communion.

Agree with Doc for the most part. I really like Snakes..., but i love Death.... perhaps removing all the secondary stuff made for more focused songs, but all the other stuff made for a more gripping album overall. but every band hits a high-water mark some point in their career.

Yeah, and I guess HoF have hit that, the sad thing is, Snakes... is probably going to be viewed as their high-water mark in years to come.

More Jack Endino worship...
He was the best producer HoF could ever have. Every single Endino-produced album has his thumbprint on it; it's earthy, organic, and very old-school sounding. No over-compression or tinny-ness to it. Though I think it works both ways, I don't think HoF will create nearly as good of an album as they have with Endino, and I don't think Endino is ever going to produce something more fitting to his style than High On Fire. I wouldn't mind seeing them do an album together again.

I like Snakes and Death about equally. Both have a distinct flavor and are incredibly different. I think Snakes is more intense and the songs are more epic (long intros, tempo shifts, multiple movements), but I think Death is more varied and has a few more songs that are well crafted. Turk makes me want to break shit. That's cool.

Still haven't listened to Death is this Communion. Making a trip to the local shop to buy it once I have some spare cash. Snakes is making me do it. It wants me to give High on Fire more money.

Bought it the other day.

Gonna join the bandwagon here and say that it is better. Love Snakes, but Doc's choice adjective "earthy" is spot on. Death's got more dirt, grime, grunge, etc. I don't mind the production on Snakes at all, but it does somehow lack the character that Death is this Communion has. I guess that's to be expected from the dude who mixed Death Magnetic and some of the Spiderman 3 soundtrack, though.

HOF are back in the studio again per a Facebook update.

Boom. That's awesome. I wonder where they're going with this one? As much as I hate to see bands repeat themselves, I really, really, really hope they go back to the fuzzier production as opposed to that sharp sort of sound they had with Snakes... HoF have put out solid album after solid album, so the only thing that really has me concerned is the production/mixing. Something I feel really kept Snakes... from being all that it could have been.

Yep I saw the update as well.
I enjoyed snakes, I mean it wasn't HoF usual, production wise and they seem to be moving away from the older style, but it still was fucking heavy.
Man, and the bass tone.

New high on fire on NPR
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/25/148593780/first-listen-high-on-fire-de-vermis-mysteriis

HOF coordinating with Three Floyds Brewery on "Razorhoof" beer. sounds win to me.

Written by BitterCOld on 21.08.2013 at 07:28

HOF coordinating with Three Floyds Brewery on "Razorhoof" beer. sounds win to me.

Ah, could they have been recording a jingle for this?
There was a picture doing rounds on the net of them in the studio. A new album sounds even better. Beer Jingle, not so much.

Is that new reissue of The Art Of Self-Defense worth getting? Looks pretty sweet.

Listening to Blessed Black Wings Right now, It's better than I remember. It's growing on me you could say.

Matt Pike's such a legend. Here's a cool video from just 4 months ago, in which Matt Pike and Jeff Matz jam away at their favorite riffs!

I've never listened to their music before, but since they're set to perform at Mystic Festival 24 in Gdańsk, and I enjoy Sleep, I'll definitely give them a shot to see if it makes sense to include them in my festival agenda. I'm wondering where to start...

Written by mde017 on 09.11.2023 at 14:03

I've never listened to their music before, but since they're set to perform at Mystic Festival 24 in Gdańsk, and I enjoy Sleep, I'll definitely give them a shot to see if it makes sense to include them in my festival agenda. I'm wondering where to start...

In my opinion, The Art of Self Defense and Death is This Communion are the best. You can't go wrong with one of those

Written by F3ynman on 09.11.2023 at 14:05


In my opinion, The Art of Self Defense and Death is This Communion are the best. You can't go wrong with one of those

My opinion remains unchanged from (looks above... gulp!) 12 years ago. Death Is This Communion remains my favorite as well, even with me liking all the subsequent releases.