Cometh the Storm

Cometh the Storm is the ninth studio album by High on Fire, released on 19 April 2024 through MNRK Heavy. It is their first record since co-founder Des Kensel left in July 2019 and the first with Coady Willis of Big Business and The Melvins on drums. Five and a half years had passed since Electric Messiah. The band's sludge and stoner metal is mixed here with Turkish folk and Middle Eastern music; the fifth song, "Karanlik Yol", is Turkish for dark road. The reviews were good. Dom Lawson at Blabbermouth.net gave it 8.5 out of 10 and said the band deliver the punishment their admirers crave. Nick Russell in Kerrang! scored it 4 out of 5, concluding that when they stampede at you like this, when you can hear their blood pumping and smell their breath, few bands on Earth can match them. Max Morin of Metal Injection gave it 8 out of 10 and credited it with avoiding the pitfall many of the band's imitators fall into, letting the music relax into a slow-motion dirge. MetalSucks also gave 4 out of 5, Qobuz made it album of the week and so did Stereogum.