Matthew Lance Pike (born June 3, 1972) is an American musician best known as the guitarist of stoner/

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band

Sleep Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain Sensory nervous system, sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with th ...

and the vocalist and guitarist of

High on Fire High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with thei ...

. With High on Fire, Pike won the 2019

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Metal Performance for the song "Electric Messiah".

Early life

Pike was born in

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

. He moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

after spending time in military school while living with his mother in

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. Arriving in San Jose, he realized the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

and heavy metal scenes were more active than the ones in Colorado. He made friends, attended shows, and eventually joined the

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom or simply sludge) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, down-tuned guitars and nihilis ...

band Asbestosdeath. When playing around the Bay Area they developed a much heavier and slower sound more akin to

. The quartet soon gained a following and changed their name to

Career

Sleep

upPike performing with Sleep in 2019 When fellow Sleep guitarist

Justin Marler Justin Marler (born July 29, 1972) is an American musician. He is known for being a founding member of the stoner rock band Sleep and for leaving a burgeoning career in music to become a monk in an Eastern Orthodox monastery. In 1990, Marler j ...

quit the band, Sleep became a

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

. The band's second album, ''

Sleep's Holy Mountain ''Sleep's Holy Mountain'' (also known as ''Holy Mountain'') is the second studio album by the American stoner doom band Sleep. It was released in November 1992 in Europe and March 1993 in the US through Earache Records. Release and reception ...

'', illustrated Pike as a young

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...

, playing

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

-styled riffs. As a result of the increased press, the band's demographic and following widened greatly, and major label deals soon began surfacing. However, instead of following a path to mainstream exposure, the band fled further underground, turning down countless major label deals and submitting the one-song, full-length record ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

'' in mid-1996. In 1997, the band called it quits after

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

refused to release the ''

Dopesmoker ''Jerusalem'' and ''Dopesmoker'' are two versions of the third studio album by the American stoner doom band Sleep. The former title was released in 1999 by The Music Cartel and the latter was released by Tee Pee Records in 2003. The music for ...

'' recordings and the pressure the members were experiencing became unbearable. Pike couldn't come to terms with the break-up and became depressed. He soon realized that his career as a musician was far from over, and began inviting people to jam in his garage. Deciding to work in a power trio again, he brought in Desmond Kensel (drums) and an old friend George Rice (bass) to play in his new band. Within six months, the jams were headed to fruition and

was developing from a simple need to play guitar again.

High on Fire

While Pike's guitar tone remained largely the same in his new band,

, he began playing faster and more aggressively than he had in Sleep. Pike handles both guitar and vocal duties in the band, as well as writing a bulk of the material.

Kalas

Pike was the frontman of the Bay Area psychedelic-metal band Kalas (formerly Scum Angel) that featured members of Econochrist,

Samiam Samiam (pronounced "sam-I-am") is an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, active since 1988. History Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the 924 Gilman Street, Gilman club mainstay Isocracy (band), Isocracy. Their ...

, and Cruevo. Pike set aside the guitar for Kalas, as they already featured two guitarists; his vocals were surprisingly melodic, especially compared to his snarling growls in High on Fire. After only releasing a self-titled album, Kalas split by October 2006.

Other work

As a guest star, Pike provided the voice of a Klokateer in the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

rock comedy ''

Metalocalypse ''Metalocalypse'' is an American Musical film, musical adult animated television series created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha for Adult Swim. It premiered on August 6, 2006. The television program centers on the larger-than-life melodic deat ...

''.

Personal life

In 2012, Pike made his problems with addiction public as he dropped off the Rockstar Mayhem Festival during the summer and went into rehab. He cited health problems caused by his heavy consumption of alcohol as the reason. He admitted to having "fallen off the wagon" a few times since. In addition to this, he has admitted to suffering from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, and has sustained bodily injuries from relentless years of touring. In 2018, Pike's band

announced they would be cancelling their upcoming tour due to Pike needing a partial amputation of one of his toes. Again on January 7, 2019, they announced via their

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

that High on Fire would be cancelling their 2019 Electric Messiah tour because of Pike's risk of losing his big toe or part of his foot, due to complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. On August 17, 2019, Pike married musician and tattoo artist Alyssa Maucere in a small ceremony in Las Vegas. He also has a daughter from a prior relationship. Through her, he has one granddaughter.

Discography

;Sleep *1991: '' Volume One'' *1992: '' Volume Two'' (EP) *1992: ''

'' *1999: ''

'' *2003: ''

'' *2014: '' The Clarity'' (single) *2018: ''

The Sciences ''The Sciences'' was a magazine published from 1961 to 2001 by the New York Academy of Sciences. Each issue contained articles that discussed science issues with cultural relevance, illustrated with fine art and an occasional cartoon. The perio ...

'' *2018: '' Leagues Beneath'' (single) *2019: ''Vault Package #39 – Sleep Live at Third Man Records'' *2022: ''Vault Package #52 – Sleep Dopesmoker'' ;High on Fire *2000: '' The Art of Self Defense'' *2002: '' Surrounded by Thieves'' *2005: '' Blessed Black Wings'' *2005: '' Live from the Relapse Contamination Festival'' (live album) *2007: ''

Death Is This Communion ''Death Is This Communion'' (stylized as ''Death•Is•This•Communion•'') is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band High on Fire. It was released on September 10, 2007, in Europe and September 18 in the United States. The fi ...

'' *2010: '' Snakes for the Divine'' *2012: '' De Vermis Mysteriis'' *2015: '' Luminiferous'' *2018: '' Electric Messiah'' *2024: '' Cometh the Storm'' ;Asbestosdeath *1990: ''Dejection'' (EP) *1990: ''Unclean'' (EP) *2007: ''Unclean Dejection'' ;Kalas *2006: ''Kalas'' ;Pike vs. the Automaton *2022: ''Pike vs. the Automaton''

References

External links

*
2013 interview with Matt Pike

2016 interview with Matt Pike
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Matt American lead guitarists Musicians from Denver Living people 1972 births Grammy Award winners American heavy metal guitarists American heavy metal singers Guitarists from Colorado High on Fire members Sleep (band) members Asbestosdeath members 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists Thrash metal musicians People with bipolar disorder