The Iconoclast

Matt Pike has known label bullshit and what buckling to it means to a musician. It's no secret that when his former band, Sleep, a stoner-metal doom-machine trio, recorded its magnum opus, Jerusalem, for London Records and promptly got dismissed as being too weird, Pike was pissed. That Jerusalem would be released half a decade after it was recorded and well after Sleep disbanded will not be suffered in Pike's plans. With High on Fire, his back-to-basics metal trio, the new formula is simple: marry the innate thunder-chunk of the Melvins and Acid King with the amphetamine-glazed attributes of master ass-kickers Celtic Frost, Venom, and Motörhead. High on Fire will not be buckling to anyone: With three solid full-lengths and a lengthy tour scheduled for the coming months, it'll be cold in hell if this trio of Pabst-swilling ne'er-do-wells ever conforms to outside pressures.

High on Fire will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at Churchill's Hideaway Pub, 5501 NE Second Ave., Miami. Also performing will be Goatwhore and Watch Them Die. Call 305-757-1807.