Electric Messiah is the eighth studio album by American metal band High on Fire, released on October 5, 2018, through Entertainment One Music. It is the band's third album to be produced by Kurt Ballou,[8] and it serves as a tribute to Lemmy Kilmister of the band Motörhead.[9] On August 6, 2018, Electric Messiah's title track was released early for streaming.[10] On October 3, 2018, the band released "Spewn from the Earth" as the album's second single.[11] The song "Electric Messiah" won the Best Metal Performance at the 2019 Grammy Awards.[12] It is the band's last album with founding drummer Des Kensel, who announced his departure in July 2019.

Electric Messiah
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 5, 2018
Recorded2017–2018[1]
Genre
Length56:52
LabeleOne
ProducerKurt Ballou
High on Fire chronology
Luminiferous
(2015)
Electric Messiah
(2018)
Cometh the Storm
(2024)
Singles from Electric Messiah
  1. "Electric Messiah"
    Released: August 6, 2018
  2. "Spewn from the Earth"
    Released: October 3, 2018
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubA−[4]
Exclaim!8/10[5]
Pitchfork7.8/10[6]
PopMatters7/10[7]

Background

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In July 2018, a few months after High on Fire frontman Matt Pike's other primary band, Sleep, released its comeback album,[13] Electric Messiah was announced.[14] Pike called it "the best album we've ever done, by far", and described its flow as "one stream of High on Fire consciousness".[1]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Spewn from the Earth"3:59
2."Steps of the Ziggurat / House of Enlil"9:21
3."Electric Messiah"4:16
4."Sanctioned Annihilation"10:29
5."The Pallid Mask"5:15
6."God of the Godless"5:20
7."Freebooter"4:57
8."The Witch and the Christ"6:32
9."Drowning Dog"6:43
Total length:56:52

Personnel

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High on Fire

  • Matt Pike – lead vocals, guitars
  • Jeff Matz – bass, backing vocals
  • Des Kensel – drums, backing vocals

Technical personnel

Accolades

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Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
The A.V. Club The Best Metal Albums of 2018
N/A
Consequence of Sound Top 25 Metal/Hard Rock Albums of 2018
20
Kerrang! Top 50 Albums of 2018
38
Loudwire Top 30 Metal Albums of 2018
16
Revolver Top 30 Albums of 2018
15

Awards

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Charts

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Chart (2018) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 184
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] 73
US Billboard 200[23] 127
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[25] 23

References

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  1. ^ a b M., Chrs (July 12, 2018). "Interview with Matt Pike of Sleep and High on Fire". DCHeavyMetal.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "Electric Messiah by High on Fire – Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  3. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "High on Fire – Electric Messiah". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  4. ^ Dowd, A. A. (October 5, 2018). "Lil Wayne's Long-Overdue Tha Carer V, Plus High on Fire and More in This Week's Music Reviews". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  5. ^ Smith-Engelhardt, Joe. "High on Fire: Electric Messiah". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  6. ^ O'Connor, Andy. "High on Fire: Electric Messiah Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  7. ^ Brown, Dean (October 5, 2018). "High on Fire's 'Electric Messiah' Is Home to Some of the Metal Band's Fastest Songs". PopMatters. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  8. ^ "High on Fire: 'Electric Messiah' Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  9. ^ Neilstein, Vince (August 6, 2018). "Listen to the Ripping New High on Fire Track 'Electric Messiah!'". MetalSucks. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  10. ^ Gotrich, Lars. "High On Fire's 'Electric Messiah' Pays Homage to Motörhead's Lemmy". NPR. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  11. ^ Rettig, James (October 3, 2018). "High on Fire Share New Song 'Spewn from the Earth'". Stereogum. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Velez, Jennifer. "High On Fire Win Best Metal Performance For "Electric Messiah" | 2019 GRAMMYs". Grammy.com. Recording Academy. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Breihan, Tom (August 6, 2018). "High On Fire – 'Electric Messiah'". Stereogum. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  14. ^ Kennelty, Greg (July 18, 2018). "Matt Pike Reveals High on Fire's New Album Is Called Electric Messiah". Metal Injection. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Dowd, A.A; Anthony, David (November 27, 2018). "The Best Metal Albums of 2018". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  16. ^ "Top 25 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2018". Consequence of Sound. December 6, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  17. ^ "The 50 Albums That Shook 2018". Kerrang!. December 18, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  18. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (November 26, 2018). "The 30 Best Metal Albums of 2018". Loudwire. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  19. ^ Epstein, Dan (November 26, 2018). "30 Best Albums of 2018". Revolver. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  20. ^ "High On Fire Win Best Metal Performance". GRAMMY.com. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – High on Fire – Electric Messiah" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  22. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  23. ^ "High on Fire Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  24. ^ "High on Fire Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  25. ^ "High on Fire Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2019.