HIBERNAUT is a sludge/stoner/doom metal band from Salt Lake City, Utah. They formed in 2020 and are already dropping this massive beast of a debut album called 'Ingress.'
Two of the members, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Dave Jones and drummer Zach Hatsis, are from SubRosa so right away I was a thousand percent sure this album would be heavy as a bomb made from anvils and thick as frozen molasses.
Well I was wrong but only in the sense that it is even heavier that I imagined. The vocals are clean but born of pure sludge so they still have a lot of throaty might behind them. Musically, the band isn't afraid to play at a faster paced when need be but, of course, there are plenty of slow to mid paced moments. I'd say riff wise, it is doom at heart but the sheer abrasiveness of it is coated in the sludgiest sludge that ever sludged a sludge.
The production is basically perfect: loud and powerful without being overbearing and just raw enough to give the music a hefty underground atmosphere. The mix is on point too, each instrument bringing out the best of the other instruments so they can all come together to rock these songs balls out.
'Stygian Nectar' begins the album with a mid paced groove, throbbing bass and drums that are as stalwart as the hoover dam. This being doom/sludge, the music moves ever forward with the singular goal of moving the earth and crushing anything that won't get out of the way.
The mid part of the song relies on the bass and drums to set the mood as a sinister riff comes in from the background. As these elements swirl together, the song speeds up a bit and acts as a battering ram until the end.
'Projection,' builds up with the rolling snare as a stoner guitar solo cuts through the muddy riffs. This song seems to feed upon its own energy, constantly reach for an apex only to begin on another journey to an even greater height of action. The mid section is a wonderful movement of stoner bliss. Oh did I mention the chorus is catchy as hell? Because it is. The song ends wonderfully too, a slick guitar solo winding it down.
'Nor'easter,' is a true epic and one of the best songs on the album. The first twenty seconds or so is blissful bass before the song throws down a blanket of distortion while a guitar solo glides above. This whole opening is slick as shit and twice as heavy, revealing a band that is much better at song writing that many others in this style.
The first few minutes are mountains riffs and a pounding rhythm section but then it moves into a more stoner/pysch doom territory but it transitions smoothly and still feels right at home next to the more abrasive first half.
'Mines' is stuffed with explosive drumming and groove that could kill a full grown yak. Do yaks get big? Am I even sure what an yak is? Ok, enough groove to kill, Optimus Prime, or something. The bass is nearly sweltering the vocals have just enough acidic edge to them. As the song continues, the riffs get dizzying as the song falls down the rabit hole of sludge/doom. Another personal favorite from the album, this song just doesn't quit. Nor do I want it to do so.
The final song is 'Spherical' and it is a burner. The combination of the blazing guitar solo and the drums is enough to making even the most jaded metal listener die from head trauma from all the BANGING. This one definitely has a punk sludge feel to it, not unlike the faster paced stuff from CROWBAR.
All in all, this a towering debut album and any fan of stoner, sludge, and/or doom would do well to pick this might album up.
https://hibernaut.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/hibe
https://www.facebook.com/profi
https://twitter.com/hibernautb
https://www.tiktok.com/@hibern
https://www.youtube.com/@hiber
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