Southern Lord Announces Limited Edition Re-Issue of High On Fire’s “The Art of Self Defense”

The monumental first recordings from Grammy™ award-winning band High On Fire – titled The Art of Self Defense – will once again be available in limited edition colored vinyl formats, remastered and restored, via Southern Lord Recordings. Initially released in the early aughts with a subsequent re-issue (with bonus tracks) in 2012, this double-LP has been out of print for at least four years; this time returning in “shirtless”, “green”, and “black” limited edition colorways. Pre-orders are available now from Southern Lord and Bandcamp. A “blue” variant will be available via Gimme Radio’s ‘Gimme Metal’ vinyl club.

A cornerstone of heavy music, High On Fire was formed by former Sleep guitarist Matt Pike in late summer 1998. Birthed out of the need to simply play guitar again, Pike jammed with and settled on a line-up of powerhouse drummer Des Kensel and longtime guitarist friend George Rice, who made the switch to bass to round out the trio. They had scarcely been together for a few months before demo-ing three songs. That demo, featuring “Master of Fists” and instant classics “10,000 Years” and “Blood from Zion,” became among the most sought-after tapes in the underground metal scene.

High on Fire got straight to the point, bashing away with a neanderthal sense of purpose and creating hypnotic, droning waves of powerful riffs and low-end thunder of the likes not heard before. High On Fire recorded their debut with Sleep engineer/producer Billy Anderson at Shark Bite Studios in Oakland, CA. The Art of Self Defense served up a rock-hard, unorthodox form of modern metal cloaked in strange religious theology and the trio’s style was unique, distinct, and absolutely crushing. The album immediately became a cult classic and not even the the closure of the label that released the album (Mans’ Ruin) could stop the powerhouse that had been unleashed. Tee Pee records reissue the album in 2001 with two bonus tracks: “Steel Shoes” and a ripping cover of the Celtic Frost song, “The Usurper.”

Southern Lord has once again re-pressed this landmark album on double LP format with a gatefold jacket and printed inner-sleeves; another meticulously packaged vinyl release from the masters of the craft. The Art of Self Defense is, without question, one of the most paramount releases in the history of Southern Lord and the label is excited to bring it back into print once again.

Pre-order this limited edition double-LP directly from Southern Lord or pre-order on Bandcamp, and stay tuned for more news and updates.