Snakes for the Divine

Snakes for the Divine
Snakes for the Divine
Studio album by High on Fire
Released	February 23, 2010
Studio	The Pass Studios (Los Angeles)
Genre	Sludge metal, thrash metal
Length	45:55
Label	E1 Music
Producer	Greg Fidelman
High on Fire chronology

Snakes for the Divine is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band High on Fire.

History and recording[]

Snakes for the Divine was recorded at The Pass Studios in Los Angeles^[1] with producer Greg Fidelman. The album cover art and track listing were revealed on the band's Myspace page on January 6, 2010. The album was released on February 23 through E1 Music.

Theme[]

In an interview, frontman Matt Pike stated: "The title 'Snakes for the Divine' is based on the premise that Adam and Eve weren't the first people on Earth, and Adam having a wife that was a Reptilian named Lilith. They were the first two people to take the reptilian DNA, and make shape-shifting human beings that go between the fourth-dimensional, the Anunnaki, and human beings. Eventually, from ancient Mesopotamia, this spawned a thing called the Illuminati - the enlightened ones - coming up through the centuries, and choosing the kings, controlling your media, controlling your banking, blah blah blah. It's just theory at most points. I thought it'd make a great metal song, so I just went ahead and started writing about that. That's how the record came about, as far as the theme.."^[2]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100^[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	^[4]
AllMusic	^[1]
Blabbermouth.net	^[5]
Drowned in Sound	^[6]
Jukebox:Metal	^[7]
Pitchfork Media	^[8]
PopMatters	^[9]
Rock Sound	^[10]

Exclaim! named Snakes for the Divine the ninth-best metal album of 2010.^[11]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by High on Fire.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Snakes for the Divine"	8:23
2.	"Frost Hammer"	6:07
3.	"Bastard Samurai"	6:37
4.	"Ghost Neck"	5:01
5.	"The Path" (instrumental)	1:20
6.	"Fire, Flood & Plague"	6:08
7.	"How Dark We Pray"	8:06
8.	"Holy Flames of the Fire Spitter"	4:13
9.	"Mystery of Helm" (bonus track)	4:01
10.	"Eyes & Teeth (Live)" (Best Buy bonus track)	4:31
11.	"Cometh Down Hessian (Live)" (Best Buy bonus track)	4:33

Personnel[]

Matt Pike – guitars, vocals
Jeff Matz – bass
Des Kensel – drums
Greg Fidelman – production
Arik Roper – album cover

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b AllMusic review
^ "High On Fire's Matt Pike: Lyrics 'About Exorcising My Own Personal Demons' | Interviews @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
^ "Snakes for the Divine by High on Fire". Metacritic.
^ Pacheco, George. "Review: 'Snakes for the Divine'". About.com. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
^ Bergman, Keith. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
^ Gardner, Noel. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
^ Andy Lye. "Jukebox:Metal review". Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
^ Breihan, Tom. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
^ PopMatters review
^ Rock Sound review
^ "Year in Review: Metal". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.

[allmusic-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b AllMusic review

[2] "High On Fire's Matt Pike: Lyrics 'About Exorcising My Own Personal Demons' | Interviews @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved March 9, 2012.

[MC1-3] "Snakes for the Divine by High on Fire". Metacritic.

[Ab-4] Pacheco, George. "Review: 'Snakes for the Divine'". About.com. Retrieved February 27, 2010.

[Bm-5] Bergman, Keith. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved February 27, 2010.

[DiS-6] Gardner, Noel. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2010.

[jm-7] Andy Lye. "Jukebox:Metal review". Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2013.

[Pitchfork-8] Breihan, Tom. "Review: Snakes for the Divine". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 8, 2010.

[9] PopMatters review

[10] Rock Sound review

[Metal-11] "Year in Review: Metal". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

show v t High on Fire
Matt Pike Jeff Matz Joe Preston George Rice Des Kensel
Studio albums	The Art of Self Defense Surrounded by Thieves Blessed Black Wings Death Is This Communion Snakes for the Divine De Vermis Mysteriis Luminiferous Electric Messiah
Live albums	Live from the Relapse Contamination Festival
Related bands	Sleep Om Kalas Melvins

show v t Adam and Eve
Source	Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis Adam Eve
Offspring	Cain and Abel Luluwa Seth Awan Azura
Related theology	Fall of man Original sin Garden of Eden Tree of the knowledge of good and evil Serpents in the Bible Forbidden fruit Apple Fig leaf Figs in the Bible Adam's ale Adamic language Camael Protevangelium Rosh Hashanah Seed of the woman Shamsiel Lilith Tree of life Allegorical interpretations of Genesis
Other cultures	Adam–God doctrine Adam and Eve (LDS Church) Adam in Islam Adam in rabbinic literature Al-A'raf Book of Moses Endowment Manu (Hinduism) Mashya and Mashyana Serpent seed Tree of Jiva and Atman Tree of life (Quran) Our Lady of Endor Coven
Television	"Probe 7, Over and Out" (1963) "Adam & Eve" (1992)
Film	Mama's Affair (1921) Good Morning, Eve! (1934) The Broken Jug (1937) The Original Sin (1948) The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960) El pecado de Adán y Eva (1969) La Biblia en pasta (1984) The Annunciation (1984) Adipapam (1988) Adam (1992) Babs (2000) The Last Eve (2005) Year One (2009) The Tragedy of Man (2011) Adam and Dog (2011) Tropico (2013)
Plays	Le Jeu d'Adam (12th century) The Broken Jug (1808) The Tragedy of Man (1861) The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972)
Musicals	The Apple Tree (1966) Dude (1972) Up from Paradise (1973) Children of Eden (1991)
Compositions	The Creation (1798) structure La mort d'Adam (1809) Ève (1875) Genesis Suite (1945) Lilith (2001)
Literature	Apocalypse of Adam Book of Moses Book of Abraham Books of Adam Book of the Penitence of Adam Cave of Treasures "El y Ella" Genesis A and Genesis B Harrowing of Hell Life of Adam and Eve Testament of Adam Testimony of Truth (3rd century) Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (6th century) "Old Saxon Genesis" (9th century) "Adam lay ybounden" (15th century) Paradise Lost (1667) Le Dernier Homme (1805) Extracts from Adam's Diary (1904) Eve's Diary (1905) The Book of Genesis (2009) The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve (2017)
Art	Bernward Doors (1015) Tapestry of Creation (11th century) Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1425) Vienna Diptych (15th century) The Last Judgment (1482) The Garden of Earthly Delights (1504) Adam and Eve (1507) Paradise and Hell (1510) The Creation of Adam (1512) The Haywain Triptych (1516) Eve, the Serpent and Death (1510s or 1520s) Adam and Eve (1528) The Fall of Man (1550) The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617) The Fall of Man (1628) The Four Seasons (1660s) The Koren Picture-Bible (1692–1696) Paradise Lost (19th century) Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1828) The First Mourning (1888) Adam and Eve (1905) Eve (1931) Adam and Eve (1932) The Serpent Chooses Adam and Eve (1958)
Songs	"Dese Bones G'wine Rise Again" "Adam-ondi-Ahman" (1835) "Forbidden Fruit" (1915) "The Garden of Eden" (1956) "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (1968) "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" (1970) "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" (1979)
Albums	The Cainian Chronicle (1996) Visions of Eden (2006) Snakes for the Divine (2010)
Geography	Adam-ondi-Ahman Tomb of Eve
Biology	Mitochondrial Eve Y-chromosomal Adam The Real Eve
Story within a story	Doraemon: Nobita's Diary on the Creation of the World Island of Love The Visitors
Games	Demon: The Fallen (2002)
Other	Pre-Adamite Generations of Adam Cave of the Patriarchs "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" "Simpsons Bible Stories" Second Time Lucky Adam and Eve cylinder seal Timeline of Genesis patriarchs Genealogies of Genesis Carnal knowledge Legend of the Rood Ystorya Adaf Ransom theory of atonement