The Oakland, California band formed in 1998 and released 'The Art of Self Defense' on Man's Ruin Records, in March 2000. After Man's Ruin Records folded, the album was re-released via Tee-Pee Records on CD and vinyl with new artwork and two bonus tracks: Steel Shoe (an original) and The Ursurper (Celtic Frost).
Following, the band signed with Relapse Records and released 'Surrounded by Thieves' in 2002, with production help from Billy Anderson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Anderson_%28music%29). Founding member and bass player George Rice, would leave the band shortly before recording the next album.
In 2004, Relapse and Throne Records released the 'Live from the Contamination Festival' CD and LP (respectively) which was recorded in Philadelphia, PA. The CD is limited to 2000 copies and the LP only 1000.
'Blessed Black Wings', produced by Steve Albini, was released in early 2005, and was their first and only to feature Joe Preston (Earth, Melvins, Thrones) on bass. The vinyl version as well as the Japanese CD version of this album had the Judas Priest song Rapid Fire as a bonus track.
In early 2006, Joe Preston left the band and was replaced by Jeff Matz of Zeke. High On Fire then went on to release the Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden) produced and recorded album, 'Death is This Communion,' in September 2007. To celebrate this release, and the start of their tour for the album, the band played a free show at San Francsico's Amoeba records.
The band released their fifth full-length album Snakes For The Divine in February 2010 through E1 music. The album was produced by Greg Fidelman and stripped away much of the acoustic textures and layering of the previous album, leaving a monolithic heavy sound to the record.
On April 3rd, 2012, High on Fire released their sixth studio album, De Vermis Mysteriis.
Last
High on Fire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And they sucked from your body the poison
Then the Cyclops arrived there to warn you
And the Whore entered in to adore you
Seems like life has dawned to fade away
Ice bards' ship the frozen bodies
And the ones in the Son are immortal
You were born to this day from the cradle
Seems like life dawned to fade away
Reaper's scythe harvest time is upon you
No more use for abuse in this body
Father Time gives the wings now to free you
In the coffin your destiny's beat you
The lyrics of the High on Fire's song Last are difficult to unravel, as they are very surreal and abstract. However, one possible interpretation is that the song describes the journey of a person who is facing death, and how different forces of the world are interacting with them during this process. The first verse talks about a serpent sucking poison from the person's body, which could represent medical treatment or some other type of intervention. Then, a Cyclops arrives to "warn" the person - perhaps a metaphor for the unfeeling inevitability of death. Finally, a "Whore" comes to "adore" the person - this could be interpreted as a poetic way of saying that death itself is welcoming him.
The second verse seems to continue the story. We hear about a ship that carries "frozen bodies," which could represent the idea of the dead being transported to the afterlife. The line "the ones in the Son are immortal" could be interpreted as a religious reference to those who have found salvation, and are thus guaranteed eternal life. The mention of a needle being passed by skeleton hands also implies some medical intervention, or perhaps drug use. The final line of the verse, "You were born to this day from the cradle," is somewhat cryptic, but could be interpreted as a way of saying that death is a natural, unavoidable part of life.
The final verse brings the theme of death to its conclusion. The "Reaper's scythe" refers to the idea of death itself as a figure who is harvesting souls. The line "no more use for abuse in this body" suggests that the person who is dying has experienced some type of addiction or self-destructive behavior in life. Father Time is referenced as the figure who gives the person "wings" to fly away from this mortal coil. Finally, we hear the dark and poetic line "in the coffin your destiny's beat you," which describes the unavoidable end that awaits us all.
Line by Line Meaning
And you crawled in the room with the serpent
You willingly entered a dangerous situation
And they sucked from your body the poison
You were subjected to harm or manipulation
Then the Cyclops arrived there to warn you
Someone tried to alert you to the danger
And the Whore entered in to adore you
Someone tried to distract you from the danger
Seems like life has dawned to fade away
Your situation seems dire, like death is approaching
Ice bards' ship the frozen bodies
A metaphorical vessel carries the dead to the afterlife
And the ones in the Son are immortal
Believers in a higher power may have eternal life
Then the skeleton hands you the needle
Death may come unexpectedly
You were born to this day from the cradle
Your entire life has been leading to this moment
Seems like life dawned to fade away
Your situation seems dire, like death is approaching
Reaper's scythe harvest time is upon you
Death is imminent
No more use for abuse in this body
Pain and suffering will soon be over
Father Time gives the wings now to free you
Time has run out and you will be released from life's struggles
In the coffin your destiny's beat you
Death is the final outcome of our existence
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
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