Matt Pike Aims to Release New Sleep + High on Fire Albums in 2017

Mighty riff master Matt Pike is attempting a feat never done before. In a new interview, Pike revealed he hopes to release new Sleep and High on Fire albums — both in 2017.

It’s been a long 17 years since Sleep came out with a full-length of entirely new music, as 2003’s Dopesmoker is a variation of 1999’s Jerusalem. Sleep surprised fans with a 10-minute track, “The Clarity,” in 2014 in conjunction with Adult Swim, and if Sleep’s next album sounds anything like “The Clarity,” we’ll be sitting pretty in 2017. As for High on Fire, the band has been steadily releasing material since 2000, with the excellent Luminiferous being the sludge merchants’ latest.

“[Sleep] need to have a few more boot camps in between now and when we’re going to try to record in March,” Pike tells CBS San Francisco. “And I don’t want Sleep and High on Fire to both have albums coming out at the same time, so I’m going to be recording with High on Fire right after that. We’ll get the Sleep album out and do a little tour with Sleep when that pops up, and then get the High on Fire record out and do extensive touring with High on Fire.”

Pike continues, “I want to finish the Sleep one in March and then finish the High on Fire one in June. That way they can be staggered as far as when they come out. We’ve got bills to pay on both sides and families to feed on both sides, so I’ve got to make sure everybody is operable and working. It’s kind of a difficult thing, but whatever. It’s kind of how my life is anyway.”

“It’s going to punish me,” the guitarist says about making two albums in 2017. “But hopefully I can buy a house and have some chill time [laughs]. Not a lot of people are giving me a whole lot of chill time. If we make it to 2018, I’m going to take some time off for sure. But I’m a workaholic.”

High on Fire will support Meshuggah on the band’s upcoming North American tour. Check out the full list of dates here.

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