Matt Pike

Matt Pike (born June 3, 1972) is an American metal musician best known as the guitarist of the influential doom metal band Sleep and the frontman of High on Fire. He is quite well known in the metal scene for never wearing a shirt during live performances.

History

Pike moved to California after spending time in military school while living with his mother in Golden, Colorado. Arriving in the Silicon Valley, he realized the hardcore punk and heavy metal scenes were more active than the ones in Denver. He made friends, attended shows, and eventually joined the sludge metal band Asbestosdeath. When playing around the Bay Area they developed a much heavier and slower sound more akin to doom metal. The quartet soon gained a following and changed their name to Sleep.

Sleep

When fellow Sleep guitarist Justin Marler decided to quit, Sleep became a power trio. The band's second album, Sleep's Holy Mountain, illustrated Pike as a young Tony Iommi—Playing Black Sabbath-styled riffs that invariably made a profound impact on the developing stoner metal/doom metal scene.