High On Fire

High On Fire were formed in Oakland in 1998 by guitarist Matt Pike, following the break-up of his previous band Sleep, together with drummer Des Kensel. The band’s debut album, The Art of Self Defense, was released in 2000 on Man’s Ruin Records, and their second, Surrounded by Thieves, followed on Relapse Records in 2002.

Through the 2000s and early 2010s the band kept up a steady pace of releases with Blessed Black Wings (2005), Death Is This Communion (2007), Snakes for the Divine (2010), De Vermis Mysteriis (2012) and Luminiferous (2015). Bassist Jeff Matz joined during this period and has remained alongside Pike since.

The eighth album, Electric Messiah, was released on 5 October 2018 through Entertainment One. It was produced by Kurt Ballou, his third time working with the band, and its title track was written as a tribute to Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister. The song “Electric Messiah” won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards in February 2019.

In July 2019 Des Kensel announced that he was leaving the band after 21 years, saying he wanted to focus on new opportunities and his family. Coady Willis of Big Business became the band’s new drummer in 2021.

The ninth studio album, Cometh the Storm, was released on 19 April 2024. Recorded with Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts, it was the first High On Fire album with Willis on drums. In June 2026 Pike’s former band Sleep announced a new line-up without him.