Goergia’s Kylesa able opening set warmed the crowd sweetly with an intricate blend of stoner metal, classic rock and downtuned chugs. Miami’s Torche, in turn, damn-near annihilated the venue with a seemingly bottomless well of playful energy and chops (drummer Rick Smith’s kit was nearly flung from the stage during a final, feedback-fed climax).
The stars of the night were, of course, headliners High on Fire. The trio crisscrossed through their discography highlighting slow-burners “Blessed Black Wings” and “10,000 Years” as well as treating the gnarly pits with mosh-ready tunes such as “Snake for the Divine” and “Cometh Down Hessian.”
That there was steam-room sweat, spilled beer and, eventually, vomit, in the front rows, the band threw down one hell of a show. Vocalist-guitarist Matt Pike’s Lemmy-esque shout was as ace as his ear-drilling solos, all executed with a kind of badass mastery and class. Their set was short, concise and, to be unavoidably cliché, left you craving much, much more.
