High On Fire will release its new studio album, "De Vermis Mysteriis". on April 3. Recorded in Salem, Mass. at GodCity Studios with producer and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, the 10-song effort is the band's sixth studio recording and the follow up to 2010's "Snakes For The Divine".
"De Vermis Mysteriis" takes its title from a fictional grimoire created by "Psycho" author Robert Bloch and incorporated by H.P. Lovecraft into the lore of the Cthulhu Mythos. The album carries a deeply mystical undercurrent, incorporating fantastical themes and lyrics detailing, among other things, time travel, a serum called liao that is made out of a black lotus and "a Jesus twin who can see the past through his ancestors' eyes". And that's just scratching the surface!
Musically, "De Vermis Mysteriis" promises to showcase High On Fire's thundering roar and expanded harmonic and rhythmic palettes while the songs move confidently through multiple riffs and movements. When asked to comment on the album, vocalist/guitarist
Matt Pike somewhat cryptically replied, "
Prepare for your dark journey."
"De Vermis Mysteriis" tracklisting:
01. Serums Of Liao
02. Bloody Knuckles
03. Fertile Green
04. Madness Of An Architect
05. Interlude
06. Spiritual Rites
07. King Of Days
08. De Vermis Mysteriis
09. Romulus And Remus
10. Warhorn
In advance of the new album's release, High on Fire will perform a number of live dates as part of the 2012 SXSW Music And Media Festival in Austin, Texas. The band is expected to preview new material at the SXSW shows. The just-announced dates are as follows:
03/13 - Austin, TX - Emo's East (Non-SXSW headline show)
03/14 - Austin, TX - SXSW (MetalSucks day party)
03/15 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's
03/16 - Austin, TX - SXSW (Brooklyn Vegan day party)
03/17 - Austin, TX - SXSW TBA
03/18 - Austin, TX - SXSW (High Times day party)
Thanks for the report to Noisecreep.com.
