High On Fire

Two-volume set Spitting Fire is the first official live release from doom/stoner metal heavyweights High On Fire. The record was recorded at a pair of performances that took place in late 2012, at NYC's Bowery Ballroom and Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg; Spitting Fire does an admirable job capturing some of the sodden, smoky tones and wild, wretched energy the band wield in a live setting. There's ugliness to the recording, a hissing messiness that enhances the sound rather than obscures it. Mixed by Greg Wilkinson and Kurt Ballou, there's just the right amount of rank dirt clinging to the riffs, the right amount of gargling ferocity in Matt Pike's voice. Pike sounds rougher and more ragged than usual, having just completed a stay in rehab before this tour, which adds a sense of triumph to the collection, making Spitting Fire even more interesting to fans as a marker of an important moment in High On Fire's history.