The first six songs of this album were recorded for and released by the legendary Man’s Ruin label. After the label went bankrupt Tee Pee Records re-released them and added two songs. Among which a thunderous version of Celtic Frost’s ‘The Usurper’. Guitarist/singer Matt Pike used to be in the cult doom band Sleep. High On Fire is a lot heavier than Pike’s former band. His voice has changed as well. It’s somewhere between Motorhead’s Lemmy and Slapshot’s Jack Kelly Aggressive, dirty and low. The music is powerful and brutal.

Still there’s a high-powered groove that sets it apart from the typical slow doom we’re used to by other bands in the genre. Just listen to ‘Last’, ‘Fireface’ or ‘Steel Shoe’ and you know what I mean. It’s crushingly heavy but there’s an energetic drive as well. The sound is a bit muffled (a typical Billy Anderson production. I always brighten the sound up with a little treble when I play an Anderson produced album) but that doesn’t matter: This is as rock ‘n’ roll as doom can get.