While the band formed back in 1998, it wasn't until their 2007 release Death Is This Communion that I heard of the diverse metal group. On that record, they did a great job of combining elements of a plethora of different metal sub-genres. Those same sub-genres are incorporated just as much, if not more in their newest album as well.
Luminiferous kicks off with a bang as the intro track The Black Pot combines thrash oriented riffs with incredibly raw vocals and some hard hitting drums. The combination of raw and raspy vocals met with guitar that will instantly have you head-banging is a summary of what you can expect throughout the project, as those two elements shine on almost every track.
One of the biggest changes from the bands earlier material to this album is the increased amount of melody that goes into Pike's vocals, mainly during the choruses. While the band played with melodic elements in the past, I feel as if this album is quite a big change sonically from the rest of their discography. Much like you'd expect from the band, the guitar playing and vocals do soar over the rest of the instrumentation, and despite the fact that Des Kessel does a great job behind the drum set throughout the album, it goes almost unnoticeable behind the blazing guitar tracks through the first few listens.
The third track, The Sunless Years is certainly a stand out to me. The instrumentation is very sludgy, reminding me quite a bit of something that you'd hear on a Mastodon or perhaps even an Acid Bath album. By no means is that a negative thing, as High On Fire do a great job of diversifying their sound from other members of the sludge scene as the album continues.
The next track, Slave The Hive is a very thrashy take, and leads into another stand-out for me, The Falconist. One of the slower cuts on the LP, The Falconist makes for a great change of pace, and allows you to really catch your breath before returning to the hard hitting tracks, as the album returns back to it's ways immediately after with the following track The Dark Side of the Compass.
The album steamrolls forward very strongly, as the next two songs continue to provide hard hitting high energy heavy metal music, and is finished off with the near nine minute cut The Lethal Chamber. While High On Fire fans have come to expect songs of this length from the band, it drags on a little too long for what it is, and I can't help but find myself becoming somewhat bored of the take before it finishes off, making for a bit of a lacklustre conclusion to the album.
Regardless of that, the album will most definitely scratch that itch if you're looking for a great hard hitting heavy metal album that combines tons of different elements into one unique sound. This release was a actually somewhat of a surprise for me, and will certainly challenge Death Is This Communion as the best album in their discography for me.
Rating: B+
Favorite Tracks: The Black Pot, Carcosa, The Sunless Years, Slave The Hive, The Falconist, Luminiferous
Least Favorite Tracks: The Lethal Chamber
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