High on Fire understands the art of making fine stoner rock which is brought back to the base. The hypnotic groove which goes on and on. “Surrounded by Thieves” is the second release from this stoner three piece. Their debut “The Art of Self Defense” was released in March 2000, but unfortunately never came to my ears. Their music is best described as a combination between rough and heavy stoner rock with an experimental touch. The riffs on this record never seem to stop and always come back in a different variation. Picture yourself walking through the desert with the boiling sun. “Surrounded by Thieves” could be a perfect soundtrack. Inspirited by bands as Black Sabbath High on Fire knows how to groove with great songs as “Thraft of Canaan” (with up-tempo pieces, and a very diverse sounding bass line) or “Hung, Drawn and Quartered” (subtle drum intro).

Vocally Matt Pike (Sleep) sounds like a combination between the vocalist of Clutch and Lemmy from Motorhead, and that of course ain’t bad to listen to. The production is very over the top, but sounds nice and filthy and reminded me vaguely of Blind Dog releases. Most of the songs are really long, but that only supports the carrying character of the riffs. I expect that High on Fire will do well amongst the stoner fans that need a soundtrack for watching liquid projections.