High on Fire have unleashed the title track off their upcoming ninth LP, Cometh the Storm, Matt Pike and Co.'s first album in six years and first with new drummer Coady Willis, of Big Business and the Melvins fame. The song is a straight-up rager that bassist Jeff Matz accurately describes as "epically heavy," and it arrived today accompanied by a fittingly bombastic music video, directed by Phil Mucci for Diabolik Films, which visualizes the conflict between Man and Mother Earth.
Watch and listen above.
"'Cometh the Storm' was built from a riff I started playing on bass at practice," Matz commented. "I was noodling around with this melancholic harmonic minor line, just hammering the notes with my left hand, when Matt yelled out, 'Are we recording this!?'
"The chorus riff was something Coady and I came up with when we were jamming in L.A. Matt then came in and worked up some rough lyrics and came up with the vocal line. For the chorus, I used this fretless bass I'd acquired. The weight of the low frequencies this thing produced was insane — how it blended with the guitars and drums, it was like being hit with a sledgehammer."
Mucci added of the music video: "High on Fire lyrics can always be interpreted in a number of ways, so I started by trying to define 'The Storm.' A huge list of visual ideas got whittled down to the two essential characters at work, The Man and Gaia, representing duel ends of the spectrum — with a very destructive crossover. I always try to keep things light and encourage everyone to come with ideas — like Coady's burning cymbal idea! No better way to end your High on Fire shoot than with exploding cymbals!"
Cometh the Storm is due out April 19th via MNRK Heavy.
Shortly thereafter, on May 4th in Orlando, Florida, High on Fire will kick off their U.S. headlining tour dates in support of the album. The trek will feature support from Venezuelan post-rock outfit Zeta and Massachusetts crossover crew High Command. Check out the full itinerary below.
High on Fire 2024 North American tour dates:
May 4 - Orlando, FL - Conduit
May 5 - Columbia, SC - The Senate
May 7 - Greensboro, NC - Hanger 1819
May 8 - Richmond, VA - The Broadberry
May 10 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
May 11 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
May 12 - Jersey City, NJ - White Eagle Hall
May 13 - Cambridge, MA - The Middle East
May 15 - Albany, NY - Empire Live
May 16 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
May 17 - Detroit, MI - The Magic Stick
May 18 - Chicago, IL - 3 Floyd's Brewing (Dark Lord Day feat. High on Fire, Abbath, Fugitive, 1349, Spiritworld)
