Serial Hawk (Psychic Pain)

Greg Aramini
Dec 23
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Released: 2025

Genre: Sludge, Doom

Sounds Like: Amenra, Cult of Luna

Homeland: Seattle, Washington

What makes Psychic Pain elite and sit atop OHMs Peak?

Psychic Pain consists of 5 tracks filled with raw, emotional atmospheric sludge.
Serial Hawk has steadily amassed an impressive body of work. Their relentless sludge sound is oddly soothing.
The production is impeccable, with each instrument standing out clearly. Every time we listen, we notice different nuances.

Track Listing:

Pulsate 3:41
Raw Wound 7:30
Drift Away 8:12
Psychic Pain 11:34
Caged 5:53

Dive deeper into Psychic Pain with our Q&A with the Will Basin of Serial Hawk.

OHMs Peak: Would love for a brief glimpse into your process and time commitment in making the album.

Will Basin: Some of these songs were written as far back as during covid times in 2020 but ultimately a turning point occurred during November of 2023. I was in a pretty dark place personally and musically, and then out of no where, unexpectedly I had an opportunity to play roadie for the band Ulcerate. -It was such a gift and inspiration to spend time with them on the road. When I returned home I knew that I had to dig deep, push forward and see through many of these songs and ideas that I had been avoiding. So a few months later during spring on 2024 we began recording what would be our next two records. One manifested into ‘Psychic Pain’ and the other is on the way!

OHMs Peak: As heavy as the album is, the track 'Drift Away' really stands out for us. It's a beautifully written track that is easy to get lost in. What is the meaning behind this glorious tune?

Will Basin: This particular song is one of the more personal and forthright songs on the record. It’s about being self destructive, drifting away from your true self, confronting those demons, getting through.

OHMs Peak: As a band, you write some complex and thoughtful doom/sludge on all your albums. What influences does each member bring to the table to create these songs.

Will Basin: I feel like our music is almost like a soundtrack that paints a picture of a massive landscape of nature or of the depths of space and the vast universe. -That’s at least what we’re reaching for. We toured pretty heavily for about the first ten years of being a band, exploring a lot of places, driving a lot of miles, seeing a lot of things. I feel like that as well as what we’ve all experienced growing up, especially since we started in 2010, has all really contributed to our music.

OHMs Peak: What was your band’s most memorable live performance? Where was it held and why was the night so special?

Will Basin: More recently we played in a big old barn on a beautiful piece of land in Quilcene, Washington. We played with EARTH and it was a magical night filled with so many great people supporting music and each other. Life affirming on many levels.

OHMs Peak: What band NOT in the doom/sludge genre would you love to tour with that would most compliment your sound?

Will Basin: Hm, that’s tough because sometimes it’s hard to feel like we fit in with the scene or whatnot and I think we get passed over a lot and get lumped into a category of like ‘just another stoner rock band’, and sure maybe the band name has kinda pigeonholed us in that regard, haha, but personally I feel like we could tour with any band that is loud, heavy, melodic, dark or textural. I’ve taken inspiration from bands like Hum, Failure, Mogwai, Sunny Day Real Estate, Smashing Pumpkins, Tortoise, MBV, JAMC, heck even Radiohead and Sonic Youth, I could go on and on!

OHMs Peak: The album art reflects your music perfectly. Can you provide a backdrop into the making of this album cover?

Will Basin: It’s called the Soul Nebula (also called the Embryo Nebula)

I have a friend who is really into Astro Photography, he set up his equipment outside on a clear night for several hours and gathered some incredible data on this nebula with, I believe it was a Hydrogen-alpha filter, so it’s all red, but I guess technically depending on what gasses you want to capture then the color will render that? I love this image, many light years away, painful and beautiful.

OHMs Peak: Serial Hawk is stranded on an island with only a solar powered turntable and majestic powered solar blue tooth speakers. The band collectively can only choose one album. Which album to you agree to?

Will Basin: FFS, probably Wish You Were Here

Serial Hawk are:

Will Bassin, Adam Holbrook and Karter Rosner

Follow Serial Hawk: Facebook