Pike vs The Automaton is the riff-icon’s first solo record. Rushmore of riff lords, right next to Lord Iommi himself. So, thirty years in, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to put him on the Mt. Who, outside of Tony Iommi, is his peer in this department? People might be tempted to point to Josh Homme, due to his work with Kyuss, equally influential, but Homme went the commercial radio, hanging-out-with-rock-royalty route, while Pike kept it grimy, heavy, and underground. I mean, Pike is a full-blown riff lord and an absolute shred king. My first experience seeing Pike live.) and went on to influence an entire generation of stoner rockers.Īdditionally, Pike kept pushing forward, always evolving High On Fire’s sound and songwriting, without sacrificing one iota of the relentless, crushing power that comes blasting out of his signature Les Paul.

All of twenty people were there and HOF blew the fucking roof off the place as you can imagine. I mean, shit, The Art Of Self Defense dropped in 2000 (personal note: I saw HOF on this tour at a Man’s Ruin Records showcase, along with Acid King, and Porn (Men of) at the, since destroyed by the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, OK Hotel in downtown Seattle, July 2000. High On Fire, I’d argue, are no-less influential.

Automaton review no spoilers