Thursday, November 18, 2010

Get high!

I think I'm becoming more of a metal fan as I get older. I've been listening to a lot of black metal (Woe, Happy Days, Leviathan, Xasthur, Weakling, Blood of Kingdu, Ash Pool, old and new Darkthrone), 1980s American stuff like Icon and Assassin, classic Canucks such as Razor and Anvil and the usual and unusual NWOBHM suspects: Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, Bleak House, Dark Star, to say nothing of more recent acts like Sunn0))), Corrupted, Wolves In The Throne Room, Slough Feg, Cauchemar, Christian Mistress, Hammers of Misfortune, Bison B.C. Reverend Bizarre, The Obsesessed, St. Vitus and Wino's other various outlets ... but all that's just mostly in the last five years. I always listened to Black Sabbath, Voivod and Motorhead, but there's one act that bridged the gap between listening habits new and old, and that's High on Fire. I was one of the few to catch them when they played Ottawa last time around, opening for Voivod on a frosty 1990s night, and have stuck with them since — not hard to do since there albums to date have all been top-notch.

Here's the mainman Matt Pike himself, with drummer Des Kensel behind him.

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Over on the left side of the stage, Jeff Matz.

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Fiery action!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Des hits!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Monitors, still mostly for standing on.

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Matt sings (or perhaps "bellows" would be more accurate).

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

The whole lot!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

High on Fire's stage crew were kind enough to let me go down front.

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Brace yourself!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

More Matz!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Time for a bit of chit-chat.

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Feedback action!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Them amplifiers!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

Roof-raising action!

High On Fire at Capital Music Hall

A killer show.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should add Black Anvil to that list.

A.C. said...

Thanks for the recommendation; I've heard a little from them already - actually they'll be in the vicinity (well, Montreal) in a few weeks time.