Hibernus Mortis
Encyclopedia
Hibernus Mortis was a band started in December 1995 by Cesar Placeres and Ralf Varela. The band took its name from the ancient Latin translation for "Dead Winter". Starting out, the South Florida band's primary goal was to create some of the most crushing and extreme music ever recorded. Taking influence from a variety of sources, musically the band took inspiration from the old-school death metal
bands like Incantation
, Autopsy
, Morbid Angel
, Death, Dismember
, Immolation
, Entombed
, Obituary
, Vader
and Suffocation
just to name a few.
The band's sound is mainly categorised as death metal
, with definite black metal
and doom metal
influence. Hibernus Mortis has been a staple of the legendary Florida death metal scene for over a decade and have fans all around the world from as far away as Germany
, Norway
and Iceland
, Cuba
, to South Africa
, Singapore
, and Australia
. The band has always retained an underground low-key status, but definitely sporting a modest cult following. The band is currently based out of Hialeah, Florida.
(2005 - )
Alex Campbell - Vocals and Guitar
David Miller - Guitar and Vocals
Adrian Esquivel - Bass
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(2004–2005)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Alex Campbell - Guitar
David Miller - Bass and Vocals
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(2000–2003)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
David Miller - Bass and Vocals
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(1999–2000)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(1998–1999)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
Yasser Morales - Bass
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(1996–1998)
Adam Fleury - Vocals
Ralf Varela - Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
Yasser Morales - Bass
Cesar Placeres - Drums
, death
, suffering
, revenge
, solitude
, and hatred
.
On rare occasion the band has been known to get lyrical inspiration from movies. Two movies in particular have inspired songs: The Prophecy
and Urotsukidoji: Legend Of The Overfiend.
sound. Hibernus Mortis was one of the pioneers of the still-rare practice of tuning to "G". Aside from the ultra low tuning, the band achieves their trademark guitar sound through the use of thick strings and unconventional equipment.
Even though this sound has been praised by many, there are still certain detractors who dismiss it as muddy noise .
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
bands like Incantation
Incantation (band)
Incantation is an American death metal band that was formed by John McEntee and Paul Ledney in 1989. They are one of the leaders in the New York Death Metal scene along with fellow bands Suffocation and Immolation, even though the band is currently located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.The band has...
, Autopsy
Autopsy (band)
Autopsy is a death metal band, founded in 1987 in the United States by Chris Reifert. They disbanded in 1995, but have reunited as of July 2009.-Biography:...
, Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
, Death, Dismember
Dismember (band)
Dismember was a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1988. They are well known in the death metal underground. They split up in October 2011.-History:...
, Immolation
Immolation (band)
-History:The band formed in May 1986 by Andrew Sakowicz and Dave Wilkinson under the name Rigor Mortis . The name was changed to Immolation in April 1988, after the Warriors of Doom demo which was recorded as Rigor Mortis and Demo I which was recorded as Immolation...
, Entombed
Entombed (band)
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
, Obituary
Obituary (band)
Obituary is an American death metal band formed in 1984 in Tampa, Florida under the name Executioner, then changed the name's spelling to Xecutioner, and later changed their name to Obituary in 1988. The band comprises vocalist John Tardy, drummer Donald Tardy, guitarists Trevor Peres and Ralph...
, Vader
Vader (band)
Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn, formed in 1983. According to Piotr Wiwczarek, the band's founding singer and guitar player, the band's name was inspired by Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series. Lyrical themes include stories by H. P. Lovecraft, WW2, horror and anti-christian...
and Suffocation
Suffocation (band)
Suffocation is an American death metal band that was formed in 1989 in Long Island, New York. The band comprises vocalist Frank Mullen, guitarists Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais, drummer Mike Smith and bassist Derek Boyer. Suffocation rose to prominence of death metal and created a blueprint for...
just to name a few.
The band's sound is mainly categorised as death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, with definite black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
and doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
influence. Hibernus Mortis has been a staple of the legendary Florida death metal scene for over a decade and have fans all around the world from as far away as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The band has always retained an underground low-key status, but definitely sporting a modest cult following. The band is currently based out of Hialeah, Florida.
Members
Over the years the band has gone through several line-up changes, with the only core member being Cesar Placeres.(2005 - )
Alex Campbell - Vocals and Guitar
David Miller - Guitar and Vocals
Adrian Esquivel - Bass
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(2004–2005)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Alex Campbell - Guitar
David Miller - Bass and Vocals
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(2000–2003)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
David Miller - Bass and Vocals
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(1999–2000)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(1998–1999)
Ralf Varela - Vocals and Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
Yasser Morales - Bass
Cesar Placeres - Drums
(1996–1998)
Adam Fleury - Vocals
Ralf Varela - Guitar
Doug Humlack - Guitar
Yasser Morales - Bass
Cesar Placeres - Drums
Subject matter
The band's lyrics as well as overall presentation and imagery have always been set in a bleak and morose atmosphere. The band's songs deal with a wide variety of topics including the apocalypseApocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
, death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, suffering
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
, revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
, solitude
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
, and hatred
Hatred
Hatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike, directed against a certain object or class of objects. The objects of such hatred can vary widely, from inanimate objects to animals, oneself or other people, entire groups of people, people in general, existence, or the whole world...
.
On rare occasion the band has been known to get lyrical inspiration from movies. Two movies in particular have inspired songs: The Prophecy
The Prophecy
The Prophecy is a 1995 fantasy horror-thriller film starring Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen. It was written and directed by Gregory Widen, and is the first motion picture of The Prophecy series including four sequels...
and Urotsukidoji: Legend Of The Overfiend.
Guitar sound
Since the beginning, one of the band's most distinguishing qualities was their ridiculously de-tuned and ferocious guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
sound. Hibernus Mortis was one of the pioneers of the still-rare practice of tuning to "G". Aside from the ultra low tuning, the band achieves their trademark guitar sound through the use of thick strings and unconventional equipment.
Even though this sound has been praised by many, there are still certain detractors who dismiss it as muddy noise .
Discography
- Into The Thresholds Of Dead Winter (1998)
- Live Manslaughter (2000)
- The Existing Realms Of Perpetual Sorrow (2002)
Concert history
Even though the band rarely performs, Hibernus Mortis has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the genre.Related bands
The members of Hibernus Mortis have played in several previous bands, as well as current side projects. Here is a list of some of the bands Hibernus Mortis members have been linked to.- Los Bastardos Magnificos
- Thrash or Die
- Mehkago N.T.
- Consular
- Enemy Against Enemy
- The Sonny Chiba Death Cult
- Acrimonium
- DevastatorDevastatorDevastator may refer to the following:Vehicles* TBD Devastator, a World War II-era torpedo bomber* USS Devastator , a mine sweeper of the United States Navy* USS Devastator , a mine sweeper of the United States Navy...
- Capra Hircus
- Tyranny Of Shaw
- TombTombA tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
- Black Spit Prophecy
- Jinchu
- Goat Resurrection
- Graud y Los Marcianos