High on Fire - Bat Salad (2019)Release ID: 24690

High on Fire - Bat Salad (2019) Cover
Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / February 15, 2024 / Comments 0 / 0

OK, an EP may not be the best way to discover a band, but it's what I've chosen after stirring up some curiosity from the stoner/speed metal sound of Mutoid Man's new album Mutants and that band's new bassist being part of this one. And it really paid off! I never knew until now how perfectly mesmerizing it is to blend stoner/sludge metal with speed/thrash metal, despite me going the Straight Edge-like path of staying away from drugs (you know what the deal is about stoner rock/metal).

High on Fire has been active for over 25 years and inspired many metal bands including Mastodon who first formed in one of High on Fire's earliest shows. This Oakland band won a Grammy award for the title track of their 2018 album Electric Messiah, so what's next? A 3-track EP consisting of an instrumental and two covers, that's what!

Bat Salad starts with its title instrumental which, as if the title's reference to that Black Sabbath instrumental isn't enough, pays great tribute to that band with blend of sludgy heavy/stoner metal. Absolutely nothing wrong there! The band's cover of "Into the Crypts of Rays" by Celtic Frost (whose album cover for To Mega Therion is parodied for the EP) does proper justice to that band's earlier sound and is an excellent cover, sealed by the gravelly voice of frontman Matt Pike (also the guitarist for Sleep). Another cover, "Don't Bother Me" from Bad Brains' demo album Black Dots is another terrific thrashy cover that shall certainly delight fans of that band.

So what we have is a stoner/sludge instrumental and two thrashy cover songs. The two sounds aren't combined together, but when put into the same EP, they perfectly fit side by side. Totally worthwhile and smashing for a short EP!

Favorites: all 3, but I certainly enjoy the title instrumental

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Release info

Release Site Rating

Ratings: 1 | Reviews: 1

5.0

Release Clan Rating

Ratings: 0 | Reviews: 0

0.0

Cover Site Rating

Ratings: 4

3.9

Cover Clan Rating

Ratings: 3

3.5
Release
Bat Salad
Year
2019
Format
EP
Clans
The Fallen
The Pit
Sub-Genres

Stoner Metal (conventional)

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Thrash Metal (conventional)

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Sludge Metal (conventional)

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