Snakes for the Divine

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Snakes for the Divine
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 23, 2010
StudioThe Pass Studios (Los Angeles)
GenreSludge metal, thrash metal
Length45:55
LabelE1 Music
ProducerGreg Fidelman
High on Fire chronology
Death Is This Communion
(2007)
Snakes for the Divine
(2010)
De Vermis Mysteriis
(2012)

Snakes for the Divine is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band High on Fire.

History and recording[edit]

Snakes for the Divine was recorded at The Pass Studios in Los Angeles[1] with producer Greg Fidelman. The album cover art and track listing were revealed on the band's Myspace page on January 6, 2010. The album was released on February 23 through E1 Music.

Theme[edit]

In an interview, frontman Matt Pike stated: "The title 'Snakes for the Divine' is based on the premise that Adam and Eve weren't the first people on Earth, and Adam having a wife that was a Reptilian named Lilith. They were the first two people to take the reptilian DNA, and make shape-shifting human beings that go between the fourth-dimensional, the Anunnaki, and human beings. Eventually, from ancient Mesopotamia, this spawned a thing called the Illuminati - the enlightened ones - coming up through the centuries, and choosing the kings, controlling your media, controlling your banking, blah blah blah. It's just theory at most points. I thought it'd make a great metal song, so I just went ahead and started writing about that. That's how the record came about, as far as the theme.."[2]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[4]
AllMusic[1]
Blabbermouth.net[5]
Drowned in Sound[6]
Jukebox:Metal[7]
Pitchfork Media[8]
PopMatters[9]
Rock Sound[10]

Exclaim! named Snakes for the Divine the ninth-best metal album of 2010.[11]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by High on Fire

No.TitleLength
1."Snakes for the Divine"8:23
2."Frost Hammer"6:07
3."Bastard Samurai"6:37
4."Ghost Neck"5:01
5."The Path" (instrumental)1:20
6."Fire, Flood & Plague"6:08
7."How Dark We Pray"8:06
8."Holy Flames of the Fire Spitter"4:13
9."Mystery of Helm" (bonus track)4:01
10."Eyes & Teeth (Live)" (Best Buy bonus track)4:31
11."Cometh Down Hessian (Live)" (Best Buy bonus track)4:33

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b AllMusic review
  2. ^ "High On Fire's Matt Pike: Lyrics 'About Exorcising My Own Personal Demons' | Interviews @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  3. ^ "Snakes for the Divine by High on Fire". Metacritic.
  4. ^ Pacheco, George. "Review: 'Snakes for the Divine'". About.com. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Bergman, Keith. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  6. ^ Gardner, Noel. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  7. ^ Andy Lye. "Jukebox:Metal review". Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  8. ^ Breihan, Tom. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  9. ^ PopMatters review
  10. ^ Rock Sound review
  11. ^ "Year in Review: Metal". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.