It’s hard to believe at one point people could refer to Matt Pike as “that guitarist who used to be in Sleep” or High on Fire as “former Sleep guitarist Matt Pike’s new band.” A time period where the shirt ripping when coming on stage and concept albums about Jesus’ twin quantum leaping through time had not happened. A time where Pike could be considered the Lemmy of his generation. Yet the legend of High on Fire and by extension founder and guitarist Matt Pike needed to begin somewhere. That somewhere was their sophomore album Surrounded by Thieves. That’s the album where both High on Fire and Pike truly came into their own. However, High on Fire’s debut album The Art of Self Defense remains an important piece in Pike’s career. Pike as an artist had to transition from the sideman to the front man. He needed to go from the lumbering, monstrous riffs of Sleep to the speedy, ferocity of High on Fire. MNRK Heavy’s reissue of the High on Fire debut reminds both new and old listeners of that brief period where Pike had to figure out how to come up with his own sound.
Before High on Fire, Matt Pike was the guitarist for Sleep. Today that band is rightly considered a key influence on doom and stoner metal. In 1996, they were three guys recording a single hour-long epic song about going on a weed fueled spiritual quest into the desert called Dopesmoker. Pike and his bandmates, bassist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Haikus, wanted to release it as a single hour-long track. Their record label at the time wanted to split the track into multiple songs. Neither the label nor the band could come to a compromise and the fight over Dopesmoker would see Sleep disband in 1998 and wouldn’t reform until 2009. Cisneros and Haikus would reunite as Om in 2003. Pike formed the initial line up of High on Fire not long after Sleep’s break up with Pike on guitar, George Rice on bass, and Des Kensel on drums. They recorded a three-song demo in 1999; “10,000 Years,” “Blood From Zion,” and “Master of Fists.” These songs would get rerecorded for their 2000 debut album The Art of Self Defense.
For anyone unaware of The Art of Self Defense, it might be a bit of a shock. Anyone familiar with their more recent albums like Lumineferous and Electric Messiah are in for a surprise when the fuzz and heavy bass of The Art of Self Defense’s opener “Baghdad” comes out of the speakers. Billy Anderson, who produced Sleep’s Holy Mountain and Dopesmoker, brought a more bottom-heavy sound to this album than future High on Fire releases. Anderson’s production though creates a bridge from Pike’s work in Sleep to his future with High on Fire. The High on Fire that we now know and love exists throughout The Art of Self Defense. It’s just that this iteration of the band and these songs are the heaviest the band ever sounded. The bass riffs that open tracks like “10,000 Years” and “Fireface” sound like something that Matt Pike worked on in his time from Sleep. “10,000 Years” sounds like a Sleep holdover but as soon as “Fireface” erupts into furious guitar shredding you know you’re in for something new. “Last” opens side B with the kind of fury you expect from High on Fire. Some of the eastern mysticism from Dopesmoker pokes into the first half of the album with songs titles like “Baghdad,” “10,000 Years,” and “Blood of Zion.” Pike’s future lyrics would stay in the realm of mysticism but get even weirder. Again, we’re talking about a songwriter who made an album about Jesus’ quantum leaping dead twin. The album closes with “Master of Fists,” an ode to Bruce Lee, which is an all-time great album closer, and one of High on Fire’s best tracks. It’s ten minutes of lurching bass riffs, and Pike shredding. Working through these things were important for High on Fire, and more importantly Matt Pike, to become their own entity. Every road to becoming a legend starts somewhere.
The Art of Self Defense has been out of print for awhile so having it available again is important for folks who have never heard this version of High on Fire. Like the Southern Lord reissue from 2012, this reissue includes the 1999 demos of “10,000 Years,” “Blood From Zion,” and “Master of Fists.” These early versions of the songs sound pretty much like their album counterparts if a little rawer. Unlike the Southern Lord reissue from last decade, MNRK Heavy’s reissue comes with instrumentals of each of the album tracks. It’s a strange inclusion since Pike’s bellow and growls are such a key element of High on Fire’s sound. Still this sounds like the definitive version of this album. Where previous versions kept the more bass heavy mix from the original edition, this remaster and remix makes a better balance between the George Rice’s heavy bass playing and Matt Pike’s heavy guitar work. The two don’t don’t sound like they’re fighting for who can be the loudest and heaviest. Des Kensel’s drums still bring the thunder. This version even takes out the goofy kung fu sample from “Master of Fists” and simultaneously reminds us all why it’s a classic.
The current iteration of High on Fire are currently in the studio working on their ninth album. Matt Pike has remained the sole person from The Art of Self Defense to remain in the band and last year released his first solo project. Still, listening to this album it’s obvious High on Fire was always an outlet for his own ideas. Though a debut album for a band, The Art of Self Defense represented a transition point for Matt Pike as an artist. No longer could he just be the guitarist in the band. He now had to step up to be the primary creative force. With The Art of Self Defense, Pike proved to metal fans that he could do this.
— D. Morris
This reissue of The Art of Self Defense is available now on MNRK Heavy. For more information on High on Fire, visit their Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter.
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