Ardent Oakland metallers High On Fire’s latest release De Vermis Mysteriis is as inventive as it is ferocious. A concept album inspired by Robert Bloch and H.P Lovecraft, it melds time travel with quasi-religious themes, and also delves into Chinese alchemy and tells the story of the discovery of fictional historical relics.
Not bad work for a guitarist and vocalist who is well known for his hedonistic ways, with his unique tattoos and destructive riffage, Matt Pike thrashes his way across continents.
However, in recent times Pike has attempted to curb his drinking with a stint in a rehabilitation centre. A very centered and ambitious Pike spoke from his Bay Area home about the new album, the state of the world address, and his recently stolen signature Les Paul guitar.
High On Fire are a heavy band, however Pike has an eclectic taste when it comes to refining his craft. “We’re influenced by all kinds of stuff,” he says calmly. “Music from the Middle East, classical, jazz, blues, just about anything you can name that helps you learn how to play.”
“I love music and I’m influenced a lot by authors like Philip K Dick and H.P Lovecraft,” he continues, “I’ve studied comparative religions and mythology, so I try to intertwine all of that as much as possible and apply it metaphorically to real life.”“I was kind of spoilt because I moved to the Bay Area when it was really booming with The Melvins, and Neurosis, and all the killer bands… I got to see a lot of fucking bitching shows and that’s the foundation of where High On Fire came from.”
Born in Denver, Colorado, Pike had a vibrant, anti-establishment fueled youth before moving to the heart of the thrash scene in California. “I had to move,” he says. “I was in trouble. I went to Juvenile Hall for a while, started Military School and then I had to move out to the West Coast because I had to be with my father for the last year before I turned 18 because I was on probation and from there I just stayed here because I really loved it.”
Once Pike was embedded in the Bay Area scene things began to move quickly as the drinks, long hair and creative juices flowed. “In California it’s easy to be who you are. It’s not like living in the Mid West where if you’re slightly different people tend not to accept it as much.”
It was the state’s burgeoning music scene that helped plan the seeds of Pike’s career in music. “I was kind of spoilt because I moved to the Bay Area when it was really booming with The Melvins, and Neurosis, and all the killer bands that were coming out of this area. I got to see a lot of fucking bitching shows and that’s the foundation of where High On Fire came from.”
Since his days as a rebellious youth, Pike seems to have harnessed this questioning of authority during his creative years. “I feel more analytical about the world and about the politics I subscribe to, and about the religious or spiritual beliefs I subscribe to, and about who and what are speaking truths in this world, and what’s a fucking big farce,” he explains clearly.
“What makes me frustrated is what our technology feeds us via the media and politicians, and the way the banking system for this whole world works,” he adds with frustration. “It’s a big fucking load of bullshit.”
Pike sounds relaxed as the conversation then flows naturally towards what could possibly be done to change this current state of ‘bullshit’.
“I’d like to say you can vote but that doesn’t really do much either,” he laughs. “You can bitch about it and maybe make a change if you’re one of those strong, lucky people that god willed to change the face of the Earth somehow, but you know that’s one in every billion.”
“I don’t know how things are going to go in this world,” he chimes in with his West Coast drawl. “It seems like the only way anything ever changes is if it’s overthrown and the people in charge have so much power it would be hard to overthrow, so we’re kind of stagnant.”“Americans are the fucking worst… it’s just fucking Walmart and fucking McDonalds, burp and there you go.”
“The people in power are also at the point where they’re fucking up societies’ economy so badly they don’t know what to do about it and our planet is so fucked we don’t know what to do about it and it’s almost too late to reverse,” says the frontman.
“I believe humanity is a little over populated,” Pike adds. “It’s also a little too self-centered to be advanced enough to have a society that works properly. It’s kind of a shame that people are arrogant and not very educated about what really happens in this world, they just buy everything that’s fed to them.”
“Americans are the fucking worst,” he spits, “it’s just fucking Walmart and fucking McDonalds, burp and there you go. Have some fucking punch if you think that’s the living truth.”
Pike’s music is his truth. Tommy Iommi-fueled, drone heavy and most of all honest. The band’s latest release, De Vermis Mysteriis (produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou) nicely balances the different elements of the group’s sound shown on previous records, leading to some high critical praise.
“Shit!” he exclaims. “People seem to really like it, lots of people think it’s our best one. I don’t know, I just think it’s in the same vein as all the other records. We get better at organisation and we get better at writing and putting it together as we go…”
So does its success help him deal with ‘the bullshit?’ “Yeah, it’s kind of a trip.”
De Vermis Mysteriis is out now through Shock Records.
