High on Fire’s Matt Pike is Sure to Pack Zero Shirts for His Upcoming Solo Tour

Stoner metal legend, High on Fire and Sleep guitarist, and bare torso enthusiast Matt Pike released a solo album earlier this year and he’s taking it out on the road next month.

For one week in November, Pike will start in Dallas, Texas on November 13 and finish his quick jaunt in support of his psych-rock release Pike Vs. The Automaton on November 20 in Iowa City, Iowa. In a prepared statement, Pike said he was excited to get the word out on his solo album and play some of those tunes in front of a live audience.

“Actions speak louder than words. We’re going to let our music do the talking. See you at the shows.”

Describing his solo effort as “a psychedelic rock record that Sleep and High on Fire fans would like,” Pike said its title “wasn’t an ego thing for me,” but rather that it was just a decision that his name should be part of the title.

“The album title, Pike vs. the Automaton, wasn’t an ego thing for me. Billy and Jon said, ‘Dude, you should use your name in this. This is your solo project.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to do that.’

“The Automaton, in Greek mythology, is the big robot that’s the guardian of the Gods, basically. It’s a soulless, big machine named Talos. The big machine that’s working against mankind at this moment. In Jason and the Argonauts, Jason and the Argonauts have to battle this big machine guy that protects the island. Basically, what the album title is saying, metaphorically, is ‘Pike against the World.’”

You can check out Matt Pike on his solo tour at one of the following dates:

11/13 – Dallas, TX @ Amplified Live
11/14 – Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern
11/15 – Memphis, TN @ Growlers
11/17 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies
11/18 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
11/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
11/20 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s

Pike vs. the Automaton tracklisting:

1.) Abusive
2.) Throat Cobra
3.) Trapped In A Midcave
4.) Epoxia
5.) Land (feat. Brent Hinds)
6.) Alien Slut Mum
7.) Apollyon
8.) Acid Test Zone
9.) Latin American Geological Formation
10.) Leaving The Wars Of Woe