Luminiferous is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band High on Fire, released on June 23, 2015, through Entertainment One Music. The album was produced by Kurt Ballou who handled production on the band's previous release, De Vermis Mysteriis (2012).

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The Austin Chronicle
The A.V. ClubA−
Exclaim!9/10
Now
Pitchfork8/10
PopMatters

Luminiferous was met with critical acclaim. The album received an average score of 82/100 from 13 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". Thom Jurek of AllMusic praised the album, writing, "One reason that High on Fire don't get accused of resting on their laurels is that they always come out hungry, anxious to refine their sound and remove anything that is not absolutely essential to their purposes. Luminiferous accomplishes that as well." Writing for Pitchfork, Grayson Haver Currin called the album "masterful" and said, "Featuring mammoth riffs and hooks, it feels like a classic compendium of High on Fire's successes." Denise Falzon of Exclaim! wrote, "Heavy metal at its finest, Luminiferous is a brilliant, dynamic release, showcasing High on Fire's penchant for diverse, thoughtful songwriting and impeccable musicianship." In his review of the album, Richard Giraldi of PopMatters considered Luminiferous nothing new, but still extremely refined and "some of the finest metal on the planet". In a more lukewarm review, Now's John Semley considered the album a passable distraction while Pike's other band, Sleep worked on their reformation.

After its release, Luminiferous appeared on several year-end lists.

Accolades

YearPublicationCountryAccoladeRank
2015DecibelUnited States"Top 40 Albums of 2015"4
2015PitchforkUnited States"The Best Metal Albums of 2015"18
2015PopMattersUnited States"The Best Metal of 2015"9
2015RevolverUnited States"20 Best Albums of 2015"8

Track listing

All tracks are written by High on Fire.

No.TitleLength
1."The Black Plot"5:31
2."Carcosa"7:11
3."The Sunless Years"5:06
4."Slave the Hive"3:50
5."The Falconist"6:06
6."Dark Side of the Compass"5:30
7."The Cave"7:40
8."Luminiferous"4:03
9."The Lethal Chamber"8:49
Total length:53:45

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

High on Fire Matt Pike – lead vocals, guitar Jeff Matz – bass, backing vocals, bağlama (7) Des Kensel – drums, backing vocalsGuest musicians Kurt Ballou – backing vocals (4) Robert Cheeseman – backing vocals (4) Jason Zucco – backing vocals (4) Scott Evans – backing vocals (4)Technical personnel Kurt Ballou – production, recording, mixing Robert Cheeseman – engineering assistance Jordan Barlow – illustrations Paul Grosso – creative direction Andrew Kelley – art direction, design