Last week, Atlanta doom titans Zoroaster rolled out the info on their new album, Matador, and they’re following it up today with a 34-second preview clip of the heaviness to come courtesy of the PR wire. Matador is out July 13 on E1 Music. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got half a minute to kill, so let’s do this thing:
…And just to be clear, Canada is the “Great White North” because of the snow. Not a racist thing.
Anyway, High on Fire, who kick off their European dates as the support act for a little band no one’s ever heard of called Metallica tonight, have already announced their next move, which as you might have guessed involves a Canadian tour. Having just seen the band at their recent New York show, I can safely say that you, my Canuck amigos, are in for a treat. Quoth the PR wire:
High on Fire has announced a summer headlining tour of Canada. The two-week tour will launch on July 8 in Vancouver, BC and is scheduled to run through July 24 in Montreal, QC where the band will share the stage with Alice Cooper, Slayer, Rob Halford and more as part of the 2010 Heavy MTL Fest.
High on Fire w/ Metallica:
May 11 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 12 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 14 Budapest, Hungary Puskas Ferenc Stadium
May 16 Zagreb, Croatia Hippodrome
May 18 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 19 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 22 Tel Aviv, Israel Ramat Gan Stadium
May 23 Lyon, France Halle Tony Garnier
High on Fire summer Snakes for the Divine Canadian headlining tour:
July 8 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre #
July 10 Edmonton, AB Starlite Room #
July 11 Calgary, AB The Republik #
July 13 Winnipeg, ON Royal Albert Arms #
July 14 Thunder Bay, ON Crocks (Skeletonwitch supports)
July 16 Toronto, ON Opera House %
July 17 London, ON London Music Hall %
July 18 Windsor, ON The Blind Dog %
July 20 Hamilton, ON The Casbah %
July 21 Kingston, ON Time to Laugh %
July 22 Quebec City, QC Le Cercle %
July 23 Ottawa, ON Capital Music Hall %
July 24 Montreal, QC Heavy MTL Fest – Parc Jean Drapeau %
(# = features support from Russian Circles, Skeletonwitch)
(% = features support from Priestess, Skeletonwitch)
I think, if events play out according to their normal course, Zoroaster will be the first band to have been interviewed twice on The Obelisk. When/if it happens (the subject hasn’t even yet been broached, so who knows, they might decide not to do press at all), the topic of discussion will inevitably be their new album, Matador.
With production from Sanford Parker, mastering by Collin Jordan, artwork by Brian Mercer and a release via E1 Music — this is the first Zoroaster album the band isn’t releasing on their own — Matador is high-profile right out of the gate, and from what I hear there are some sonic shifts the band has undergone to complement. As a fan of the band, I can’t wait to hear how it all plays out. Here’s some info from the PR wire:
Celebrated Atlanta, GA psych metal band Zoroaster has completed work on its sophomore album. Entitled Matador, the record is set for a July 13, 2010 North American release date via E1 Music.
With Matador, Zoroaster dares to defy genre-classification and proves that the band’s formidable reputation precedes it for a reason. Matador is a magnetic tour-de-force, blending vivid rhythms and radiance with the band’s classic use of dynamics and power. Creative, distinct, graceful and strong, Matador features the traits of a benchmark release. From the cosmic march of album opener “D.N.R.” [one assumes it’s not a Testament cover – ed.] through to the leviathan-like closing title track, it is immediately evident that Zoroaster has joined friends — and fellow Atlanta natives — Mastodon and new label mates High on Fire as a unit determined to push modern heavy music into new and uncharted realms.
Matador track listing:
1.) D.N.R.
2.) Ancient Ones
3.) Odyssey
4.) Trident
5.) Firewater
6.) Old World
7.) Black Hole
8.) Odyssey II
9.) Matador
Zoroaster tour dates:
Brooklyn Vegan and Roxwel present:
The Summer Southern Burn tour
Featuring Zoroaster, Black Tusk and Dark Castle
June 15 Birmingham, AL The Nick
June 16 Memphis, TN Hi Tone Café
June 17 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory
June 18 Dallas, TX The Lounge on Elm St.
June 19 Austin, TX Emo’s
June 21 Albuquerque, NM Burt’s Tiki Lounge
June 23 Ramona, CA Ramona Mainstage
June 24 W. Hollywood, CA Viper Room
June 25 Oakland, CA Oakland Metro
June 26 San Francisco, CA Thee Parkside
June 28 Portland, OR Satyricon
June 29 Seattle, WA Funhouse
July 1 Salt Lake City, UT Club Vegas
July 2 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
July 3 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
July 4 St. Paul, MN Turf Club
July 6 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
July 7 Newport, KY Southgate House
July 8 Pittsburgh, PA 31st St. Pub
July 9 New York, NY The Studio at Webster Hall
July 10 Philadelphia, PA The Khyber
July 17 Atlanta, GA The Earl (*Matador CD release show!)
I don’t know if I thought this myself or saw it posted somewhere else the other day, but I had it in my head recently one way or the other that it was about time High on Fire hit the road opening for Metallica. Hell, Machine Head did it. Down did it. Mastodon did it. And if High on Fire are to enter that upper echelon of this generation of metal — which they seem poised to do on their new album Snakes for the Divine — this rite of passage simply can’t be ignored. Wouldn’t you know, along comes the PR wire with the news that such a tour is already booked.
Note the family-friendly language in the band’s statement. Can’t have the AP picking up a story where Matt Pike talks about bashing arena crowds with the spiked end of a fucking mace, I guess:
World renowned power trio High on Fire will tour Europe this May with Hall of Fame metal band Metallica. High on Fire has been hand-picked by the legendary group to support it on a number of just announced live dates set to launch on May 11 in Belfast, Ireland.
High on Fire and Metallica will pair up for a slew of concerts over an almost two week span including live performances in Hungary, Croatia, Portugal, Israel and France.
“High on Fire is ecstatic to join Metallica on its upcoming tour,” said the band in a statement. “We are honored to be chosen by James, Lars, Kirk and Robert and look forward to introducing their loyal crowds to our brand of heaviness.”
High on Fire w/ Metallica
May 11 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 12 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 14 Budapest, Hungary Puskas Ferenc Stadium
May 16 Zagreb, Croatia Hippodrome
May 18 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 19 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 22 Tel Aviv, Israel Ramat Gan Stadium
May 23 Lyon, France Halle Tony Garnier
They are the most potent power trio in metal. Oakland, California thrashers High on Fire seem to accomplish a career’s worth of heavy with each album they put out, and 2010’s Snakes for the Divine (the band’s first release on E1 Music) in no different. The guitar playing of Matt Pike (ex-Sleep), accompanied by the ferocious rhythms of drummer Des Kensel and bassist Jeff Matz (ex-Zeke), has been responsible for some of this century’s most furious riffs and solos, and has almost single-handedly proven that it’s possible to shred in this day and age without sound like a total ProTools jerkoff.
Simply put, they made guitar metal cool again.
Snakes for the Divine introduces a new side of High on Fire. With cleaner production courtesy of Greg Fidelman (Slayer, Metallica), Pike, Kensel and Matz have a crispness to their attack that was never there before. Songs like “Frost Hammer” and “Fire, Flood and Plague” have all the power and drive of the best work on preceding albums Death is This Communion (2007), Blessed Black Wings (2005), Surrounded by Thieves (2002) and The Art of Self-Defense (2000), but with the added clarity and improved vocal technique from Pike, they move High on Fire into a different echelon of heavy metal bands. They are quickly becoming a more influential act, and in the years to come, don’t be surprised how much you see their name tossed around in interviews with other bands. The level of their impact is only beginning to reveal itself.
So, as we embark on yet another era of High on Fire, as rife as ever with battle axes and epic tales of death and war, Matt Pike was kind enough to check in from Florida for a phone interview. Despite a craptacular connection (the reasons behind which are a story for another time), the guitarist opened up on the band’s developing processes, working with Fidelman and what makes touring today different than it was five years ago. Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.
It’s the first Zoroaster album they won’t be releasing on their own, and expectations are high as the band have definitely proven in both the studio and live arenas they’re ready for that elusive next step on the path to world dromination. Voice of Saturn was eminently killer, and I see no reason why Matador shouldn’t be the same. Here’s hoping, and here’s a boatload of PR wire info:
Critically acclaimed “psych metal” band Zoroaster has entered Atlanta’s Living Room Studios (Mastodon, The Black Lips) to begin the recording of its hotly anticipated new album, Matador. A July release via E1 Music is expected.
Zoroaster is working with producer Sanford Parker (Pelican, The Gates of Slumber) on the new album, which will be mastered by Collin Jordan (Black Moth Super Rainbow, Nachtmystium) at The Boiler Room in Chicago, IL. Matador’s drums and bass are being laid to tape at Atlanta’s Glow in the Dark Studios. Housed in the former location of the renowned Cheshire Sound Studios — the first dual 24 track facility in the Southeast – the recording complex has been home to projects featuring Prince, The Georgia Satellites, Steve Walsh and more. Zoroaster’s new material is said to be “more direct, more intense and absolutely enveloping.”
Zoroaster will debut a number of new songs at its upcoming SXSW live performances which kick off on Wednesday, March 17 as part of the Action! PR SXSW Showcase (@ Mohawk: 912 Red River St., Austin, TX). The all ages event will be open to the public as well as SXSW badge and wristband holders.
When asked for comment on Matador, Zoroaster guitarist / vocalist Will Fiore dished, “As a whole, these are the strongest songs we’ve ever put together and they really encompass everything we’ve done until now as a band. There are some really heavy, slow creepers and some of the faster, more driving songs. The new material ranges from really aggressive to more melodic and trippy.” “It’s going to be a pretty straight-forward rock album and I think it’s what we wanted to create with both Dog Magic and Voice of Saturn rolled into one,” offers drummer Dan Scanlan. “There will be a lot of shorter tracks that are very straight forward and hard-hitting — it’s a lot less of a droning record than what people are expecting. The album title Matador sums up the feel of the album perfectly. It’s an ‘epic’ sort of title; strong and powerful, but graceful.”
I’ve been waiting for High on Fire to finally get a budget for a video. Not that “Rumors of War” from Death is this Communion was bad, but it was pretty much the shortest song on the album and the video was basically the band playing in a warehouse. If it doesn’t have a battle axe, it hardly seems appropriate.
The ensuing clip for “Frost Hammer,” from the band’s much-lauded Snakes for the Divine LP, seems to have the cure for anyone wanting of the epic. To wit:
And sayeth the PR wire:
Filmed on location in both Los Angeles, CA and NYC with director Kevin Custer for Toaster in the Tub, High on Fire’s “Frost Hammer” video showcases intense performance footage of the award-winning band juxtaposed alongside “the epic tale of a warrior’s sojourn to the cold and barren Plateau of Leng where he secures the fabled Frost Hammer that will be used to enact the final rites and complete the dark rebirth and reign of the Frost Child.” [Duh. – ed.]
Despite hearing “Frost Hammer” well beforehand and streaming about half of the title track when that was put online, I held off listening to High on Fire’s fifth full-length, Snakes for the Divine (their first offering on new label E1 Music) until I could hold the disc in my hand. Since production was my major concern going into the record – how it would actually sound, in other words – I didn’t want to waste time on the poor quality of a MySpace stream or something like that. Plus, sometimes it’s better to wait. Builds the anticipation.
And anticipation was certainly at a fever pitch for High on Fire this time around. I don’t think there’s a headbanger over drinking age for whom Snakes for the Divine wasn’t right near the top of the list of albums being looked forward to in 2010. It was right up there for me as well, and as the reviews started coming out and everyone seemed to be in accord on the level of kickassery, I wanted to hear it all the more. Having now finally had that chance, to sit with Snakes for the Divine and try to understand where it’s coming from, as an avid High on Fire fan since their early Relapse Records days, I will honestly say this latest effort is a mixed bag.
While we’re being honest, I was hesitant to even post a review of the record after listening to it, since I’ve no doubt that for the vast, vast majority of those who will hear it, Snakes for the Divine will more than surpass expectation – not to mention that, with a release this huge, my opinion is of minus relevance, so I’m basically pissing in the wind. Nonetheless, here we are.
