Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 21/10/2016
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Overall, ‘Hunted’ is an extremely solid follow-up to their critically
acclaimed first album. It is a melting pot of some hugely powerful styles of
heavy metal music and the flawless coalescence between cataclysmic doom and
melodic prog is a truly impressive feat. Khemmis are a band on a mission and so
far, they’re doing it all right.
‘Hunted’ CD//DD//LP
track listing:
1).
Above The Water
2).
Candlelight
3).
Three Gates
4).
Beyond The Door
5).
Hunted
The Review:
Khemmis is a 4-piece doom outfit hailing from Denver , Colorado
‘Hunted’ is comprised of 5 tracks,
resulting in 44 minutes of power doom. It was recorded by Dave Otero at
Flatline Audio and the killer cover art has returned yet again thanks to Sam
Turner’s incredible fantasy illustrations.
The
first track ‘Above The Water’ begins
with their signature harmonies over quite a prog-metal sounding intro before
launching into an absolute terroriser of a riff. The general feel is very close
to Mastodon with the dual guitar parts
feeding off each other and spiralling the song into all kinds of melodic
sections. This track has almost a Celtic feel to it and the last section sounds
like it could be used as epic battle music for two warring armies.
‘Candlelight’ showcases some great vocal
work from Phil Pendergast. His lyrics soar high over the top of the fusing
guitar melodies ably backed up by Ben Hutcherson's monstrous guttural roar from the depths of
hell around the 3-min mark. This shows the diversity in the style of the band’s
music as it can change very quickly from the Maiden/Lizzy style harmonies to
a monolithic doom section and the varied singing styles really provide a superb
dynamic.
‘Three Gates’ kicks off with a ferocious
intro section reminiscent of High on Fire/Motorhead with a rolling thunder
style riff. The vocals begin harsh courtesy of Grant Netzorg (In The Company of Serpents) and then return to the clean sounding style
we hear in ‘Above the Water’. The
changes in this song are so dramatic that if you listen at different parts it
may sound like two entirely different bands. Khemmis can deliver every
element of the genre and they do it with such conviction.
‘Beyond the Door’ is the fourth track
from the release and starts off with some intricate guitar harmonies and
Pendergast’s truly amazing vocals creating a massive soundscape. Yet again,
they launch into more thick, fuzzed out doom riffs and there are likenesses to
Ukrainian doom outfit Stoned Jesus. Khemmis
use contrasting styles and sections to really emphasise what makes them stand
out from other doom bands today. Around the 5-min mark there is some more
guitar wizardry and the solos are articulately executed. The last section of
this track has a foundation-shaking riff that goes hand in hand with the slow,
powerful rhythm section and the alternating vocal styles make a strong
impression yet again.
The
final track, ‘Hunted’, is the
longest track on the album clocking in at 13min 31secs. It begins with another
harmony section which slowly rides out, and around 1min 20secs it takes off
into another stentorian guitar riff. There are also hallmarks of Pallbearer present as well and you can tell that Khemmis
are direct descendants of this style of doom metal and they intend to advance
their craft, as they are doing ever so well. There is another blistering guitar
solo section around 7min 30secs and the harmonies fuse together yet again for
that trademark sound. Around 8min 40secs the track winds down into a clean
guitar section that’s very reminiscent of the post-rock styles of This Will Destroy You
or Explosions in the Sky. Around 11mins the
track lifts off again from the mellow, clean section and builds more and more
power as it ascends into the skies for the last elaborate display of melodic
guitar harmonies.
Overall, ‘Hunted’
is an extremely solid follow-up to their critically acclaimed first album. It
is a melting pot of some hugely powerful styles of heavy metal music and the
flawless coalescence between cataclysmic doom and melodic prog is a truly
impressive feat. Khemmis are a band
on a mission and so far, they’re doing it all right.
