Matt Pike

Matt Pike (born 1972) is an American rock musician best known as the guitarist of the influential doom metal band Sleep and frontman of High on Fire.

Pike moved to California after spending time in Military School while living with his mother in Golden, Colorado. A self-proclaimed juvenile delinquent at one time, he was stealing car stereos in order to feed a developing drug habit. When he arrived to the Silicon Valley, realizing that the hardcore punk and heavy metal scene was much more active than the one in Denver, he quickly made friends and began going to shows. Pike joined a sludge metal band called Asbestosdeath. After playing around the bay area they developed a much more heavy and slow sound. Dubbed doom metal by the press, the quartet soon gained a following and changed their name to 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 — generating ear-shattering Black Sabbath-styled riffs that invariably made a profound impact on the developing stoner metal/doom metal scene.

As a result of the increased press, the band’s demographic and following widened greatly, and major label deals soon began surfacing.