Hibernaut - Obsidian Eye

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Hibernaut is a sludge/stoner/doom metal band from Salt Lake City, Utah.  They formed in 2020 and “Obsidian Eye,” is their second full-length album. I reviewed their 2023 debut album, “Ingress,” and gave it high remarks.  How does this one fair?  


“Obsidian Eye,” takes everything that was great about their debut and injects it with steroids and gunpowder.  The foundation of their stoner/psychedelic tendencies remain intact but their sludgy doom has turned into a whole never lifeform.  Seriously, this album is intense as hell and surprisingly aggressive.  


Of course, with the subject matter asking the question of “who decides to die” then the music is going to be very abrasive!  The album, according to the band, is a conceptual journey into death, decay and the perversion of rebirth…heavy subject matter!  


The production/mix is on fucking point too.  It has a bottomless feel to it, which helps the guitars/bass sound deeper than the ocean.  But the drums and vocals don’t get lost in this seemingly endless immensity—both are very pervasive and powerful.  I usually listen to music in my car or with a pair of headphones; no matter what way I chose with this album, I could feel my atoms vibrating apart as their wall of sound smacked into my body.


The album opens with “Engorge Behemoth,” and I love the little sparks of melodic bass that creep through the distortion’s build up.  These little psychedelic nuggets go a long way with establishing the band’s sound and they help make the music even more heavy once the song’s kick in.  Speaking of which, a barrage of drums kicks this song up a few notches as the band settles into a monster groove with a sweet mind-bending solo.  The vocals are clean but very heavy cleans that hit as hard as the instruments.  This song is a massive wall of sound and the experience with it using a good pair of headphones make it a nearly surreal experience. 


“Venatic Rite,” begins just as the previous song ends—very cool.  In fact, all the songs do this!  I think this makes the album an opus but one that is also a smooth listening experience.  Anyway, this song has a kick ass intro—the power of the fuzz compels me!  The lead guitar adds smatterings of psychedelic elements as the song hits full stride by the 1:21 mark.  The stoner elements are in heavy supply here but most stoner bands can only dream of getting this crazy.  The vocals force their way through—this song is nearly exhausting, and I mean that in a good way.  At the 5:27 mark, a guitar solo burns its way through as it rides atop a wave of furious drums and growling bass.


“Pestiferous,” is one of my favorites on the albums—the bass and double bass are both very numbing in their sonic attacks.  Those riffs could move mountains–and maybe they did, I wouldn’t doubt it.  The way this song is just one unrelenting moment after another is impressive but after the 5 minute mark, the song gets insane with one thunderous jam after another.


Ah, yes…the title track!  Ridiculous in the best ways possible.  The sound effect of the gong makes the impact of the riffs all the more potent.  Is that a chainsaw I hear too?  Oh no, that’s just the bass.  Maddening!  


The rhythm of this song is hypnotic as hell too.  Around the 6:15 mark, the band suddenly kicks the tempo up for a pulse pounding passage before showcasing a slick solo and the thunderous rhythm. 


There is little time to catch a breather before “Revenants,” begins.  The bass leads the way on this song but when the lead guitar gets into the mix, it’s almost chaotic.  The double bass drips venom, driving the song into a groovy frenzy.  As usual, the song gets more intense as it gets closer to the end but the rhythm takes the cake here and eats it too.  Super, super heavy song. 


The album ends with “Beset,” and it really does contain everything that makes this album, and the band, so great.  It has an old school vibe to it with a lot of lead guitar and simple but effective rhythms.  It’s more methodical than the other songs but never loses any of the album’s heavier qualities.


Hibernate’s “Obsidian Eye,” is a stellar follow up to an already strong debut but with this album the band has definitely solidified their place in modern doom. 


Rating: Excellent















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