High on Fire
Snakes For The Divine

"Who the hell are ... the Iron ???"

The vaguely Maiden-like attack (like "Flash Of The Blade"?) might bring this thought to mind when listening to the self-titled opentrack of this splendid and mature fifth work by High On Fire. The tribute, whether intentional or not, we cannot say, is, however, confined to that riff repeated and entrenched two more times in a powerful eight-minute Motorhead-esque gallop of authentic furious enjoyment. For the rest, the sounds of the entire work unfold with renewed effectiveness through doom swamps ("Bastard Samurai" and the epic Sabbathian gallop "How Dark We Pray") and especially on searing thrash metal and stoner coals. And here, be careful not to unscrew your head to the notes shot in your face at supersonic speed and with gratuitous insolence of "Ghost Neck".

Or how could one not wish for "Frost Hammer" (my favorite... But it's hard to choose) as a soundtrack while imagining using the invoked hammer on your boss's skull... Sublime. A special mention also for "Fire, Flood & Plague," another piece of rare power. In short, it's a record where it is impossible to find lapses in intensity or sterile quotations; always supported by a drumming so imposing that it almost materializes the sound itself, leading me to rave that Kensel must be equipped with six arms like the goddess Kali. Also enriched by the angry croak of Matt Pike, hoarse and mean but never sounding like my grandfather as Lemmy annoyingly does, "Snakes For The Divine" represents a step forward compared to the excellent previous production.

Indeed, despite its extreme roughness, it shows a greater attention to detail and a more pronounced focus on the structure of the songs themselves. These epigones of the aforementioned sacred monsters, among whom I would not forget to include Metallica and (why not?) Melvins in their tremendously angrier version if you'll allow me, confirm to be the best evolution that metal has brought in our times. If you love the genre and you too have some "slight reasons" for acrimony, it is unmissable.