I’ll admit it. I was never into The Obsessed. And considering the bands that shaped my musical identity (Kyuss, in particular), it’s a pretty obvious oversight on my part that I never indulged in the sweet ear nectar that Scott “Wino” Weinrich and company were producing. But here we are, 30+ years after their formation and 13 years since their last studio opus and redemption on my part is at hand.

“Sodden Jackal”, the opener of The Obsessed’s latest slab of doom metal perfection however makes me regret tenfold my not so blissful ignorance of such a killer band. The first album to feature drummer Brian Constantino and bassist Reid Raley, Sacred proudly stands tall next to the other juggernauts in The Obsessed discography.

“Punk Crusher” is so smooth with its delivery and has an instant classic rock feel soaked with Easy Rider vibes. “Cold Blood” is a bad mammer jammer that would put the doom rawkers of today to shame…..and it’s an instrumental! The title track is yet another scorcher featuring some of Weinrich’s finest guitar work as is “Perseverance”.

Then “Stranger Things” saunters in with its acoustic plucked intro morphing into a wall of riffage. Is there such a thing as “Feel good doom metal”? This song would encapsulate that feeling if that were a thing. “Razor Wire” is all Southern-fried boogie rawkin’ while later still, the beyond epic “On So Long” proves why the world needed new music from The Obsessed and why the band is still one of the leading luminaries of doom metal.

Sacred is out on April 7th via Relapse Records. Yours can be gotten here. And be sure to head on over to their official Facebook page to see where you can catch them on the road with Karma To Burn, Lo-Pan, and Fatso Jetson this spring!