KHEMMIS: Hunted out Oct 21

Denver, Colorado-based powerful doom metal quartet KHEMMIS has completed their second full-length album, and is preparing the mighty Hunted for Autumn release through 20 Buck Spin.

Using the same team as their lauded debut, Hunted was recorded at Flatline Audio with Dave Otero (Cobalt, Nightbringer, Cephalic Carnage) and features artworkby Sam Turner (3 Inches Of Blood, Black Breath, TRVE Brewing). Huntedis undoubtedly an album that will solidify KHEMMIS’ place at the vanguard of doom’s most notable modern manifestations, in large part because they transcend the label itself. They’ve seamlessly blended their influences into an extraordinarily listenable album worthy of countless spins. With such a glut of music released nowadays, Hunted stands apart, rewarding repeat listens with songs seared straight into the heart.

Hunted comes just over a year after the release of KHEMMIS’ stunning Absolution debut, which caught the doom world by complete surprise, and set the band up as one of the scene’s favorite new artists. The album slowly but surely steamrolled all that came in contact with its unforgettable heaviness and classic melodicism. Virtually unknown outside Denver upon release, the band gathered acclaim over the ensuing months and by year end had landed in the #9 spot on Decibel Magazine’s annual Top 40 Albums Of The Year, not a small accomplishment for a band on its debut album.

Now their follow-up album, Hunted, reveals a KHEMMIS fortified in its purpose and vision, forging an unrivaled synthesis between immense doom riffs and ‘Maiden-esque harmony. Overall song length has increased yielding more expansively arranged and dramatic storms of elegance and melancholy. And yet the band’s members are not content to plod through a sea of tears; they are always a rock band first, in service to the movement of the song, even approaching a High On Fire-like pace to open the pummeling “Three Gates.” The lauded singing of vocalist Phil Pendergast reaches ascendant new heights on tracks like “Candlelight” and “Beyond The Door,” while the tasteful use of harsh vocals remains, providing a dark foreboding contrast. The thirteen-minute title track once again closes the album with an epic stunner.


Read More News

Tags:  khemmis    

Jason Fisher    September 15, 2016