HIBERNAUT ~ Obsidian Eye (2025)

 BIO

Hibernaut is a heavy hybrid of doom, stoner, and sludge metal hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah. The band formed in 2021 when guitarist/vocalist Dave Jones (Subrosa, Dwellers, Oxcross) and drummer Zach Hatsis (Subrosa, Dwellers) reconnected creatively after years of collaboration. Joined by bassist Josh Dupree and, later, lead guitarist Matt Miller (Thunderfist, Oldtimer),

Their 2023 debut album Ingress was recorded with producer Andy Patterson and landed at #15 on The Doom Charts, with tracks like “Lantern Eyed” and “Spherical” praised for their crushing weight and psychedelic depth. Now, the band is set to release their second full-length record, Obsidian Eye, on July 11, 2025—an even darker, more expansive chapter in the Hibernaut saga. With a growing live presence and deep roots in the underground, Hibernaut continues to evolve, building a reputation as one of the West’s most promising heavy bands.

For fans of: High On Fire, YOB, Mastodon, SLEEP, Neurosis

FFO: Doom metal, Sludge, Stoner rock, Psychedelic heaviness

Review

A momentary howl of granular feedback with the subsequent shock wave of hulking doom sets the tone for one of the highlights of the stoner / doom scene so far this year. An added outpouring of aural molten sludge straight to the brain would likely induce a catatonic state if it wasn't for the remarkable increases in tempo of the tracks 'Pestiferous' 'Obsidian Eye' and 'Revenants' adding an element of spite to the sound particularly when solos pierce the leaden grooves spiked with vitriol rather than reverb.

I do love this genre but after many years of listening to and reviewing it, I often feel it's like slipping on a well worn pair of comfortable slippers but the record 'Obsidian Eye' has an edge to it. Fuzz has been largely stripped away leaving each track sounding fresh, hungry and engorged with immense power and heaviness. 

A richly deserved #7 in July's Doom Charts

BLIND MESS ~ The Storm Within (2025)

 Modern sounding stoner with attitude foregoing traditional  fuzz, instead fuelled from a high octane QOTSA like power source. With 'The Storm Within' Blind Mess has effectively blended delightful melodies with prominent punk angst wrapped in tight metallic riffs swept along on a wave of good 'ol gutsy Rock n Roll.

SWEETBEAST ~ Illusions (2025)

BIO ~ SweetBeast is a psychedelic fuzz rock band comprised of four talented musicians who claim to have been placed on this earth for the sole purpose of creating music.

Powerful vocals, fuzz heavy guitars, and a rhythm section that will keep you moving all night long, SweetBeast creates tunes akin to an acid trip in the 70s, ideal for headbanging and perfect for getting lost in

MY THOUGHTS ON ILLUSIONS BY SWEETBEAST ~ A myriad of licks moulded into countless structures, some pitted with acid, some meandering into the far reaches of your consciousness while others are whisked into a sonic frenzy, interwoven through a backdrop of smooth, bluesy, fuzzy heavy psych that  tumbles into stoner territory often etched in weedian doom.

The essence of the band is captured by absorbing, almost crooning vocals complimenting an undulating heavy groove vying with blissful melodies and laced with those amazing jams.

Illusions by Sweetbeast is an absolute delight.

PYROGARIC ~ The Serpent (2024)

 

Following the raw offerings of  earlier releases 'Home' and 'Far Away' Pyrogaric is back with more Welsh stoner doom Druidry in the form of the album 'The Serpent'. This album is a more polished affair, with simple song structures embellished with the vocals of Jamey-Leigh Butcher who also sits behind the drum kit. Squeeze the deep, moistened, humid riffs and they'll drip Sabbath, Saint Vitus and Pentagram fleshed out with an earthy swagger.

Pyrogaric has just finished a tour to promote 'The Serpent' and their live performances have been described as 'powerhouse' After listening to 'The Serpent' who am I to doubt it?

VOLUME ~ Joy Of Navigation (a trip through the eternal unknown) 2024

Originally formed in 1993 by ex-Fu Manchu singer Patrick Brink, the band on this recording features Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell, drummer Mike Amster (Nebula) and production/keyboards by Dave Catching, so you could say that VOLUME is something of a Stoner Rock supergroup

'Joy of Navigation' is the band's latest album and contains five songs of immersive psychedelic stoner. The opening track 'Mercury Pull' is a real slow burner. When it first started I thought I was listening to something by Hawkwind but the celestial petals soon unfold into a Samsara Blues Experiment like stimulant, lazily dissolving into the cosmic ether before the emotion of the song dramatically changes into a ripping, heavy rocking roller coaster.

'Mercury Pull' turns out to be the calm before an extremely fierce storm of  strutting, barrel chested riffs with fuzz  more or less stripped away exposing a diamond hard metallic core. This enables the album to breathe and reveals the most interesting aspect of an already thoroughly absorbing record. If you listen closely, the soloing hardly ever stops. It's either in the background like incessant chatter or posturing wildly above the mayhem, often mutated by special effects pedals.

'Joy Of Navigation (a trip through the eternal unknown)' definitely hits the perfect spot, evolving from the album 'Requesting Permission To Land' which was a musical child of its time (also an essential buy) into a modern, dynamic, sonic force. 

ATOMICHAND ~ Live At La Parroquia (2024)

For me to get excited about a split record it has to be pretty exceptional. Lo and behold! Here's one genre bending amalgamation of the heavy stoner psych of Iglesia Atomica and deathly, thrashing grindsters Out Of Hand, that fits the bill perfectly. 

Iglesia Atomica opens the album and I've never heard them rock harder than this. A constant chatter of barbed jams squeal and shriek from the speakers, mutated from the incessant use of the wah pedal and groaning under the weight of stoner riffs, the heaviest I've heard from the band yet. 

Out Of Hand surprisingly features two members of Iglesia Atomica but any other similarities stop there. This section of the album spits deathgrind of the most poisonous kind. Angry, spiteful, with a penchant for exploring the HM-2 sound. A rollercoaster deathride, Out Of Hand live is a raging assault one minute before churning out merciless breakdowns the next.

So, a split featuring two completely different styles of music where Iglesia Atomica fries your brain in acid while Out Of Hand tramples all over the smoking remains.

CANNABUS ~ Other Side EP (2024)

 

2023's 'The Maple Spliff Sessions' was one of my top 12 albums of that year. I loved the fuzz, the groove, the reverb and wah, it was everything you'd want in a stoner record, so when I was given the opportunity to listen to the band's new EP I was both excited but slightly nervous, I mean, 'The Maple Spliff Sessions' is a tough act to follow. Well I'm happy to report that 'Other Side' has exceeded my expectations and then some. It's all there, fuzz, groove, reverb and wah but with a more cantankerous edge. The fuzz is still thick  but edged with barbs, pierced by blazing reverb and wah both shrieking in agony. 

With 'The Maple Spliff Sessions' Cannabus was a band born of lava lamps and bell bottoms, a (Canna)bus ride through sun and surf but 'Other Side' leaves those bell bottoms stained and the journey has taken a turn through darker landscapes.  

CEASED SUNFIRE ~ The Divide (2023)

Mountainous riffs and a pummelling rhythm section combine to create a tectonic shifting of  Finnish stoner sludge. Any influence of weed however has been crushed by sheer brute force. There is a surprising amount of groove punctuated by some well executed lead guitar work on The Divide but it tip toes between slabs of swollen sludge.

DEMON & ELEVEN CHILDREN ~ Demon Demo

I don't know much about this Chinese band but I can only assume the name comes from the title of a Blues Creation album. Indeed, although from China, Demon & Eleven Children is obviously influenced by the Japanese and early Italian doom sound, drizzled with acid  and fried in a 70's proto doom sauce until dry and crispy. This demo ep crackles with lo fi attitude and is an absolute delight.

CANNABUS ~ The Maple Spliff Sessions (2023)

On hearing the opening track 'Cannabust' I felt I was drifting in a Hermit Mage's meandering, psychoactive dream of weed, acid and fuzz. The next track, a bluesey number called 'Feeling Alright' was more scathing but still couldn't escape the acidic, fuzz knotted sound and I have to tell you, these knots are pulled TIGHT all through The Maple Spliff Sessions. Seething licks that sizzle and pop as hard as any of the Japanese freak out bands, bite and scratch their way out from the clutches of fuzz leaving each track scarred and pitted. 

It's been a while since I've heard an album as tight as The Maple Spliff Sessions, even my tinnitus broke out in an acid sweat.

VOLCANA ~ Goddess of Flame (2017)

Originally released in 2017, Goddess Of The Flame, by U.S band Volcana has been given the vinyl treatment by Glory Or Death Records. Red blooded, gritty riffs and twin guitar leads entwined into vicious barbs, career from one genre to the next, often within the same track. The main ingredient resonates with a Thin Lizzy'ish metal/rock sound but Goddess Of The Flame also leaves an aftertaste of doom and stoner as well as the occasional thrash crunch. 

DEATHRATTLE PODCAST DIRTY 30 ~ A Stoner Playlist

Volume 1 of the Deathrattle Podcast Stoner Playlist to download and enjoy. Expect extensive use of the wah pedal, fuzz occasionally laced with doom and psych and overly long jams!!

AATHMA - Mah (Avesta 2017)

BAARDVADER - Walking On The Moon ( Baardvader 2020)

CABESAURIO - Gerli Valley ( Gerli Valley 2017)

DAEVAR - Leviathan (Delirious Rites 2023)

EARTH WITCH - Green Torch ( Out Of The Shallow2017)

FABRICANTES - El Mago Del Desierto/Hormigon Armado ( La Selva Incrustada 2016)

GAIA - Desolution (Reality Field 2014)

HAAZE - Acid Queen (HAAZE 2017)

I, CAPTAIN - Stugon Pt II (Mantras For Mindlessness 2016)

JACK HARLON & THE DEAD CROWS - The Tale Of ( The Magnetic Ridge 2021)

K2 - Nuevo Mutro ( At Mini P's 2014 )

LA IGLESIA ATOMICA - Hijo Del Sol ( Gran Muro de Sol 2018)

THE MACHINE - First Unique Prime ( Drie 2010)

THE NAKED HIGH - Moon Turns Red (Tap Into The Evil 2020)

OAK - Smoke (Oak II 2016)

PALACE IN THUNDERLAND - The Word Unspoken ( The King Of The Empty Aeon 2019)

RAIKINAS - Rokka - ( Arcadia 2016)

SAADE - Coming Home (You Are Coming Home 2010)

T.H.U.M.B - Wasted Worlds ( Lunar Flight 2004)

US CHRISTMAS - In The Night ( Run Thick In The Night 2010)

V-8 COMPRESSOR - Don't Break My Fuzz (Don't Break My Fuzz 2017)

WAINGRO - Mercury Six ( Mt Hood 2015)

YAJAIRA - Atormentándonos (Post Tenebras Lux 2017)

Z28 - Race With The Devil ( Mach II 2022)

10000 YEARS - Dark Side Of The Earth (II 2021)

1000 MODS - Into The Spell ( Repeated Exposure to. 2016)

1782 - Priestess Of Death ( From The Graveyard 2021)

18 SPEED TRANNY - Stoner Rock Chick ( Fluid 2003)

1968 - War Dogs (Fortune Havana 2017)

2 HEADED DOGS - Fly With Me ( 2 HEADED DOGS 2016)

BLACK MOON CIRCLE ~ Leave The Ghost Behind (2023)

Thoroughly engrossing Norwegian stoner jams from an alternative dimension. This is one of those rare albums that absorbs time and space into a minute nucleus of existence. I became totally lost in it, just closed my eyes and let it cast me adrift far into the stratosphere. This isn't chill out music, far from it, the liberal waves of psychedelic acid guitar and licks that scratch and bite make sure of that as does the pulsating, stoner rhythm. The tracks are long, divergent and compelling, boundless in complexity, this is an album that begs to be listened to in it's entirety rather than in sections to get the full brain frying, psychedelic experience.

BRETHREN HOGG ~ Relative Swine (2022)

There's nothing soft and mushy about Brethren Hoggs's brand of stoner. Fuzz has been stripped away leaving rusty bare metal that rocks hard. Each face Brethren Hogg shows us is uncompromising, stoner riffs have a grungy groove, forays into doom are lean and heavy with slow paced thrash like riffs laced with a faint whiff of Mastodonish prog.

STONED VOID ~ Throbbing Rhythm of the Doldrums (2022)

I've been playing a lot of nasty, filthy stuff recently and it feels quite pleasant sometimes to just kick back and soothe my ears with some jams. 'Throbbing Rhythm of the Doldrums' the new album from French stoner psych band Stoned Void fits the bill perfectly. As I close my eyes and let the music wash over me I can hear emotive guitar jams of all types, the one I'm listening to now on the track 'Lonely Mountain' sounds like its off a Mahogany Rush live album but on 'Throbbing Rhythm of the Doldrums' the mood changes in an instant, one moment gentle and tender, the next spraying you in flecks of angry spittle! What makes this album stand out however is the frequent onset of heavy stoner heft with the coma inducing rhythm section of bass and drums throbbing higher in the mix giving an overall more immersive sound.

CRUA - CHAN ~ Crua - Chan (2018)

I played a track from this album after it popped up on my iTUNES 'shuffle', it had been filed away and forgotten over the passage of time. As the track 'Resplandor' tore from my speakers, I took a glance at Crua - Chan's Bandcamp page to see if I'd missed any other releases and was amazed to find that the usual suspects you would normally rely on to discover the delights of albums such as this, are largely absent. Anyone who checks this album out, and surely you must, can expect their eardums to be spanked by rampant, quick fire stoner scraping away most of the fuzz, leaving a masticated hard rock foundation spitting out destructive passages of doom and thrashy sludge coiled in off kilter soloing that gives Crua - Chan their individual slant on what extreme music should sound like.

DEER CREEK ~ Menticide (2022)

Six tracks of  doom riffs engorged with sludge and consummated with humid stoner dissonance. Surprisingly, Deer Creek manages to dredge some semblance of groove from the lumbering colossus that is 'Menticide' particularly with the final track 'The Working Man Is A Dead Pig' which has a rather clever version of Rush's 'Working Man' hidden within its bloated bosom.

SEA OF FLAME ~ Ballast ( 2018 )

Most albums of this type are blues based. 'Ballast' is no exception. However, the blues in this record has been beaten to within an inch of its life by granite hard stoner rock riffs then lacerated from the various scorching guitar licks that lurk, coiled and ready to strike. 

OGU MALU ~ Nulla Rimane (2022)

Italy is my flavour of the month for extreme music. Almost every current release from that area of the globe, and there have been plenty of them, has been exceptional and here is another in the shape of  Ogu Malu. Their album Nulla Rimane is a fine example of  how to ladle on the sludge nice and heavy yet keep it interesting by adding a stoner ingredient that loosens the whole record up making the oppressive tone sound almost groovy. 

SAMÁN ~ II. Montaña Roja (2022)

From the Andes mountains, Samán has created a landslide of  heavy driving stoner fuzz stretched to breaking point from the  frequent bursts of particularly heavy doom but often tempered with gloriously subtle progressive jams. For example, listen to the track 'Camino a la piedra' and tell me you can't hear Tool in there. The most striking thing about II. Montaña Roja is how seamlessly it switches tempo, the album sounds so smooth even when hitting the brick walls of doom. This is really excellent!