new High on Fire video, pics from the Action PR & Prosthetic Records SXSW showcases, more

words & photos by BBG

Matt Pike of High on Fire @ the Mohawk

Want to make my life simple? Put two killer showcases in the same venue. Well, unfortunately it wasn't three showcases in the same venue (Relapse was going on over at Red 7 - pics coming soon). Following the big bang of the BrooklynVegan day party at Emo's, I hightailed it over to the Mohawk on 3/17 (right next door to our quieter official BrooklynVegan showcase going on at Club DeVille...) (editor's note: ...that was often drowned out by the metal sounds blaring over the wall while bands like the The Middle East were playing soft sets...) for a double bill of mayhem with the Action PR Showcase on the outdoor stage and the Prosthetic Records showcase on the indoor. The night at the Mohawk show was marked by competing headlining sets: the great Landmine Marathon (who played the BV day party that day) and none other than High On Fire (one of their only appearances at the fest).

Also along for the ride were such notable greats as The Gates of Slumber, Withered (who also played Emo's), Zoroaster, Naam, Priestess, The Funeral Pyre, and many others. Not a single bad apple in the bunch. Of those, I had never seen The Funeral Pyre or Clinging To The Trees of A Forest Fire - both were impressive. TFP did blackened death with such intensity, it was hard to not be compelled to head nod. Clinging did abstract and atonal grindcore in the best way.

Although I missed Landmine Marathon (who would probably be in the running), best performance of the night goes to High On Fire who blazed through new material and old including the epic "Baghdad" (!) from their debut The Art of Self Defense. As their set progressed, it seemed that the band got looser on their instruments, and as a result, much tighter and more cohesive.

In related news, High On Fire recently dropped the new video for "Frost Hammer". View it, as well as other vids and some pics from the epic show, below...