HIGH ON FIRE
The Art of Self Defense
(Tee Pee)
NEBULA
Dos EPs
(MeteorCity)
When stoner rock boutique label Man's Ruin went under last year, it put a lot of excellent heavy rock records out of print. Fortunately, other labels that specialize in that special brand of sludge have resurrected some of these primal hunks of igneous rock.
Tee Pee has done the metal world a great service by rescuing The Art of Self Defense, the debut album by High On Fire. Led by Matt Pike, former guitarist for stoner metal pioneer Sleep, HOF is one of the leading lights of the metal underground. The California trio is one of the few that seems to be expanding on the foundation built by Black Sabbath, instead of merely emulating it. Pike is simply brimming with bludgeoning, down-tuned guitar riffs that recall classic practitioners like Tony Iommi without photocopying them, and his solos instinctively balance structure and skronk. His thick Les Paul tone is so fuzzed out it's almost sensual. Though there's nothing poppy about this record at all, Pike's songs sport actual melodies. Spacey spiritual treatises like "10,000 Years" and "Blood From Zion" and merciless pounders like "Master of Fists" and "Baghdad" almost inspire you to hum along while you flash your devil sign. Pike won't be shooting to the top of any "Best Male Vocalist" lists anytime soon, but his treebark growl is perfectly serviceable, especially when placed low in the mix, effectively adding to the textural tonnage. This edition of The Art of Self Defense boasts not only brand-new packaging, but two bonus tracks: the appropriately-titled rocker "Steel Shoes" and a reasonably faithful cover of unheralded extreme metal icon Celtic Frost's "The Usurper." We should feel lucky that not even Man's Ruin's bankruptcy could keep this titan underground.
Nebula's Dos EPs collects and remixes the tracks from its Man's Ruin EP Sun Creature, as well as the threesome's half of a split CD with Lowrider, plus three new tunes. The band's psychedelia-laced power trio rock was still in its formative stages during the sessions that produced most of these tracks; the remix gives propulsive rockers like "Full Throttle" and "Rollin' My Way to Freedom" and trippy dirges like "Fly On" and "Anything From You" more of a visceral punch than they'd previous possessed. Though the band has previously pledged more loyalty to primal thudmeisters Blue Cheer and the Stooges than to Sabbath and its ilk, the mix—by Matthias Schneebe and the band—definitely emphasizes guitarist Eddie Glass' heavy riffs and effects-laden solos over crunching rhythms. Frankly, that's to the band's advantage. Though Glass has been careful to distance the band from the stoner rock scene, he's got to know Nebula has the ambition and talent to step in and take over at any time. (If only Glass was a better singer...) Still, not being closely associated to a scene also diminishes expectations, which will make the overt boogie stylings of "Rocket," "Long Day" and "Bardo Airways," the trio of nifty new cuts, easier for hardcore doomsludgephiles to take. A good thing, too, as those songs represent the next step in Nebula's evolution. The combination of old and new goodies makes Dos EPs one of the band's best albums.
The Man's Ruin catalog is still ripe for the plucking—hopefully MeteorCity, Tee Pee and other fine labels will continue to keep great records like these on the shelves for as long as headbangers can bear it. Michael Toland
For fans of:
High On Fire: the Obsessed, Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard
Nebula: the Atomic Bitchwax, Masters of Reality, Scorched Earth
