High On Fire - The Art Of Self Defense

Stoner rock. You know the score, a heavy distorted groove with bear-in-throat like vocals and a strong headache for the neighbors. Much like hardcore punk and most forms of metal, stoner is a genre that's incredibly easy to play but so fuckin' hard to perfect. High On Fire's "The Art Of Self Defense" is probably my favorite balls out Sabbath worshipping record since the days of Sleep. All the fundamentals are here and tuned to perfection. From the doom driven lyrics that only a man with a bong could come up with to the always reliable and heavy as hell guitar work.

Here's the first two tracks from their debut album and it's debateable that it's their only good one. Many problems would come when they took a complete shift in sound and abandoned their stoner roots. Some might argue that the band needed a sound change to avoid redundancy. Me? I'm not quite sure. I need to spend more time with the next two albums before I can make a real decision on the matter. So basically, if you're in to heavy stoner, this album's essential. If you're up for something more experimental, approach "Surrounded By Thieves" and "Blessed Black Wings" with some level of caution.

High On Fire - The Art Of Self Defense
High On Fire - 10,000 Years

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