High On Fire and Converse team up for a very heavy tour
Rarely will you find the sentence, "wow, Converse is pretty metal," uttered by mosh pit addicts. However, when you add the name High On Fire to the mix - Oakland's finest stoner/doom/power trio - you might have a legitimate chance of extracting that feeling once fans learn about the Converse Rubber Tracks Live Tour, the sneaker company's latest foray into concert promotion. Yes, it may be a soulless corporation, but it's hard to rage against the capitalist machine when they're supporting the same anti-establishment bands that, well, rage against the capitalist machine...It's like a paradox or something. Either way there's [...]
Review and Photos: High On Fire, Goatwhore @ Slim's, 12/22/12
'Twas December 22nd and all through the house, no one was sleeping cuz I was blasting High On Fire to get ready for the concert that night. I mean seriously, what better way to ring in the holidays? High On Fire mastermind/guitarist/singer Matt Pike came out on stage at Slim's shirtless and ready to rock. One look at him and you can just tell that this guy is the real deal. He lives for metal. He is metal. To the bone. As his tight, three-piece band blasted through classics both old ("10,000 Years" from 2000's The Art of Self Defense, [...]
High On Fire is back in action, playing Slim's on 12/22/12
After a stint in rehab, High On Fire frontman Matt Pike is back and looking for trouble – which means, of course, that his band is back on the road. The East Bay metal outfit is embarking on a tour across the continent that will end with a December 22nd gig at Slim's. Full tour dates after the jump. Here's the video for "Fertile Green", off the band's most recent album De Vermis Mysteriis. The video, which premiered on VICE, follows the story of "Balteazeen, the Christ Twin, who sacrificed himself to give Jesus life. Forever hunted, he roams the [...]
Ticket Giveaway Wednesday: The Frail, Music for Animals, The Mother Hips, High on Fire
To enter any contest submit an email to contest[at]thebaybridged.com with your full name in the body and the concert you’re entering the contest for in the subject line. You may only submit your name to one contest. Winners for each show will be decided using the guidelines listed below. Thursday, December 16th The Frail, Music For Animals, Fans of Jimmy Century, Return to Mono @ Slims To win a pair of tickets to the show be the SECOND person to enter! The show starts at 8pm, $13, 6+. Purchase advance tickets here. Friday December 17th The Mother Hips, The Blank [...]
Shredification: Sleep at the Regency Ballroom 9/12, 9/13
I always thought Sleep was one of those bands that I would just never get to see, like Zeppelin, or the real Guns 'n' Roses. The members disbanded in 1995, fed up with the intractability of their label, London Records, which refused to release Dopesmoker, the band's hour-long stoner metal odyssey of an album -- the sort of artistic endeavor that the phrase "magnum opus" was invented to describe. The members moved on to other projects -- guitarist Matt Pike to High on Fire; bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Haikus to Om. For fans of the doom genre, even [...]
Shredification: Spring Metal Preview
Spring is wending its way towards San Francisco, and the improved weather will be accompanied by an array of exciting metal albums and the tours that follow in their wake. Bands both local and national will have new wares on display -- here are a few of the choicest to anticipate. Jucifer - Throned in Blood (April 6th, 2010, Nomadic Fortress Records) No matter how many times I enumerate Jucifer's essential details, they're still completely captivating. To wit, Amber Valentine and Edgar Livengood are the world's heaviest husband-and-wife team. As if that weren't quirky-cool enough, they're also officially nomadic, having [...]
Shredification: High on Fire promise sonic immolation with Snakes for the Divine
When you see Matt Pike play guitar -- snaggle-teeth glinting, baby-beer-belly inching over belt buckle, sweat dripping across numerous just-better-than-jailhouse tattoos -- you realize that he was put on the earth to be a fucking rock star. Even without hearing the inspired, arresting sounds emanating from his funky-looking, custom-made nine-string guitar, the fact is undeniable. Once the mutton-chopped visage is audibly coupled to the hair-raising Motor-Sabbath destruction of Pike's Bay Area power trio High on Fire, the slack-jawed showgoer becomes aware of something headbangingly transcendent transpiring before their very eyes. High on Fire first made waves with 2005's Blessed Black [...]