Their self-titled album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005. In the Future was a finalist for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize and was also nominated for "Best Alternative Album" in the 2009 Juno Awards. The song "Stay Free" from In the Future was featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack.
In 2005 the band opened for Coldplay on their Twisted Logic Tour for three weeks, with their final opening in San Diego.
In September 2010 Black Mountain performed in an amphitheater located in the woods of Oisterwijk at the Incubate (festival) in Tilburg, Netherlands.
Leader Stephen McBean also heads another similarly named band, Pink Mountaintops, who are the more experimental side of McBean's musical abilities. Black Mountain is the front line band for Black Mountain Army, a collective of musicians, artists and friends in Vancouver. In an interview the band said "Black Mountain is just the five of us. The Black Mountain Army… which has kind of gotten blown out of proportion, it was kind of just a joke, because everybody thought we were this hippie collective, like we all lived in one house. But it’s basically just our friends at home in Vancouver, just our extended family of creative people that we know."
Several members of the band have, for as long as a decade, worked for organizations that meet the basic living requirements of the chronically poor, drug addicted and mentally ill in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood, such as Insite. In an interview, the band said: "After work we all try not to think too hard about the effect it has on our lives. It keeps us grounded."
Wilderness Heart was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.
March 11, 2014 The Black Mountain song "Wucan" was featured on season 2 of the FOX drama "The Following" during the eighth episode entitled "Messenger".
The Black Mountain song "Druganaut" is featured in a June, 2014 Father's Day commercial for J.C. Penney.
Stormy High
Black Mountain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The witch is on your trail, my lord
Stormy stormy high
You've been dying to be set free
Oh curse those honeyed hands
Whoaaah
It wasn't the doctors that finished the pills
He wants the ones that don't crack
But they're dangerous like barbed wire ties
Oh stormy stormy minds
Well, oh, it wasn't us, though, that torched to flames
The fried daughters of oh, no oh
Well you've been up since the last motel
You've been up for so long
Oh
[x13]
Stormy stormy high
The lyrics to Black Mountain's "Stormy High" appear to be discussing a witch's curse and the effects of drugs on the mind. The opening line, "The witch is on your trail, my lord," seems to reference a curse or hex that has been placed on the subject of the song. The repeated "Whoaaah" throughout the song creates a sense of urgency and tension, as if the subject is being pursued or threatened.
The chorus, "Stormy stormy high," reinforces this idea of danger and turmoil. The use of the word "high" is particularly interesting, as it could refer to a drug-induced state or a spiritual ascent. Given the lyrics that follow, it seems likely that the former is the intended meaning.
The second verse seems to address the dangers of drug use. The line "It wasn't the doctors that finished the pills" implies that the subject has been taking medication without medical supervision. The subsequent lines mention the desire for stronger drugs and the potential harm they can cause. The phrase "stormy stormy minds" suggests that drug use can create a chaotic or unstable mental state.
Overall, "Stormy High" seems to be a cautionary tale about the perils of addiction and the consequences of seeking escape through drugs.
Line by Line Meaning
Whoaaah
Expressing a feeling of excitement or emphasis
The witch is on your trail, my lord
Someone is trying to catch you and you need to run
Stormy stormy high
Feeling overwhelmed with emotions
You've been dying to be set free
You want to escape from something or someone
Oh curse those honeyed hands
Cursing someone who is deceitful and manipulative
It wasn't the doctors that finished the pills
The doctors did not cure you completely
He wants the ones that don't crack
He wants something that is strong and durable
But they're dangerous like barbed wire ties
They are harmful and can cause harm
Oh stormy stormy minds
Feeling conflicted and lost in thought
Well, oh, it wasn't us, though, that torched to flames
We were not responsible for the fire that started
The fried daughters of oh, no oh
Something terrible has happened that is irreversible
Well you've been up since the last motel
You have been awake for a long time
You've been up for so long
You have not slept in a very long time
Oh
Expressing an emotion of surprise or revelation
Stormy stormy high
Feeling overwhelmed with emotions
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Amber Erica Webber, Jeremy Victor Schmidt, Joshua Mark Wells, Matthew Camirand, Stephen Gordon McBean
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patience
I used to have this album somewhere but I lost it. I rediscovered this song thanks to Spec Ops, and I forgot how awesome this song was.
Chummy 8
I was pretty stoked when I heard this song start playing during that one mission in Spec Ops. Glad to see these guys get the attention.
Maverick
Do you feel like a hero yet?
Enrico Tiberi
the beauty of this album never get old
ddaavviidd17
Black Mountain and Crippled Black Phoenix are the two best bands this old child of the seventies has heard in a lomg time.
Tutor World Liverpool
Wow
70s prog rock brought into the future....love it
ghiblisesse
I still listen to this really loud when the wind freaks me out.
ghiblisesse
@Pete Curran that's beautiful... Wind breaks windows and breaks doors open
Pete Curran
https://youtu.be/nqGrcHpLYEg
Pete Curran
Interesting comment, the wind never freaked me out till I started windsurfing. Mind power, using nature to provide energy. And then it reminds me, that I can only go with it. A wind gust or shift still causes slight panic