Khemmis

Khemmis

Doomed Heavy Metal

20 Buck Spin

Since joining with 20 Buck Spin in 2015 for the release of their debut album Absolution, Khemmis have been prolifically busy. Three full length albums, Absolution, Hunted and Desolation, a split EP with Spirit Adrift, a Decibel Magazine flexi and multiple tours and festival appearances throughout North America and Europe. As Khemmis continues work on their fourth album and first for Nuclear Blast Records, the band offers up Doomed Heavy Metal to close out the first chapter in their ascendent march to the top. For the band’s ever expanding fanbase, Doomed Heavy Metal offers a treasure trove of rare material to temporarily sate the hunger for that highly anticipated new album. Never a band to shy away from a challenge, their cover of the legendary “Rainbow In The Dark” by Ronnie James Dio is a triumphant and energized tribute to the ultimate God of Heavy Metal that in the hands of a lesser band might be anything but. Recorded exclusively for this release, the song takes on new life in the signature Khemmis-style, making it their own without betraying the ideal of the original. Additionally, this release contains the band’s rare and storied interpretation of “A Conversation With Death” and the much requested Decibel flexi track “Empty Throne”. The B-side offers three huge live tracks, one from each of the three 20 Buck Spin released full length albums. Recorded at a headlining show in their native city of Denver by their longtime producer Dave Otero, these fan favorites show Khemmis...

Khemmis

Desolation

20 Buck Spin

***NOW ON LIMITED NEON ORANGE / BLACK MERGE VINYL!!! Anticipation was high for the release of Hunted in 2016, the sophomore album from Denver’s Khemmis and follow up to acclaimed debut Absolution. Rather than the all too common sophomore slump, the band raised the stakes and blew everyone away with their rapidly progressing songwriting and production quality, culminating in Hunted being named Album Of The Year for 2016 by Decibel Magazine.  Now in 2018, after wrapping up the Decibel Magazine Tour with Enslaved, Wolves In The Throne Room and Myrkur, the excitement for their third album Desolation is palpable across the metal spectrum. From the stadium-sized opening notes of “Bloodletting,” it is immediately evident that the band are again putting distance between themselves and their earlier influences to inform a sound that is singularly their own. Working for the third time with Dave Otero at Flatline Audio in Denver, the band and producer now have the familiarity and mutual experience to arrive at the perfect symbiosis of songwriting, arrangement and production value.  While Khemmis are undeniably influenced by doom and classic metal, to tag them with those labels doesn’t do justice to what’s accomplished on this album, a perfect representation of modern heavy metal in 2018 that integrates the past in a way only possible in the present.

Khemmis

Hunted

20 Buck Spin

***BACK IN STOCK ON LIMITED ULTRA CLEAR W/ ELECTRIC BLUE, SILVER, WHITE SPLATTER VINYL!!!  Named #2 Best Album of the Decade by Decibel Magazine.  Back in print on CD and available again on Black Vinyl! Received a 7.6 rating from Pitchfork.  Khemmis’s first album, Absolution, was released by 20 Buck Spin in July 2015 and steamrolled all that came in contact with its unforgettable heaviness and classic melodicism. Virtually unknown outside Denver at the time, by year’s end they had landed in the #9 spot on Decibel’s annual top 40 albums of the year. 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 expansive arrangements and dramatic storms of elegance and melancholy. Not content to plod through a sea of tears, and always a rock band first, they approach a High On Fire-like pace with the pummeling “Three Gates.” The lauded singing of vocalist Philip Pendergast reaches ascendent 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 closes the album with an epic stunner. Hunted will solidify Khemmis’s place at the vanguard of doom’s most notable modernmanifestations, in large part because they transcend the label itself.

Khemmis

Absolution

Young Cubs

***NOW AVAILABLE ON CASSETTE!!! "Last summer 20 Buck Spin released one of our favorite records of 2015. It was by, the Denver, Colarado quartet, KHEMMIS. We here at Young Cubs are besides ourselves to be issuing the cassette version of Khemmis' debut record Absolution (under exclusive license from 20 Buck Spin). The six meticulously crafted songs on Absolution reveal a level of musicianship and writing skill seldom heard on debut albums. Often within the scope of a single song, Khemmis veers effortlessly between the crushing heaviness of Southern sludge and the somber melodies of traditional doom metal, cohesively weaving the disparate styles into their own immediately recognizable form. Vocally, Khemmis also utilizes a dual approach, sometimes harsh and guttural, but generally through a stunningly smooth classic doom/heavy rock delivery that even adamant fans of Pete Stahl and Wino will applaud. The powerfully adept rhythm section perfectly anchor the towering riff mastery and colorful dual guitar harmonies, all brought together by DAVE OTERO's (Cobalt, Nightbringer) pitch perfect production work. From the album opener "Torn Asunder" to closing track "The Bereaved," the latter of which will stand as THEE doom track of 2015, Absolution is among the highlight surprises of the year.

Khemmis

Absolution

20 Buck Spin

***BACK IN STOCK ON VINYL!!!  Over the course of the last ten years 20 Buck Spin has worked with the best of the best in the crowded doom genre—bands as diverse as Samothrace, Graves At Sea, Pallbearer, YOB, Mournful Congregation, Lycus, Atlantean Kodex, etc. In that tradition, the label is proud to present Khemmis from Denver, Colorado, who brings together components of many of the aforementioned label alumni to forge a venerable testament to what heavy doom rock is in 2015.  The six meticulously crafted songs on Absolution reveal a level of musicianship and writing skill seldom heard on debut albums. Often within the scope of a single song Khemmis veers effortlessly between the crushing heaviness of Southern sludge and the somber melodicism of traditional doom, cohesively weaving the disparate styles into their own immediately recognizable form. The band incorporates dual vocals, sometimes harsh, but mostly via a stunningly smooth classic doom / heavy rock style that even adamant fans of Pete Stahl and Wino will applaud. The powerfully adept rhythm section perfectly anchors the towering riff mastery and colorful dual guitar harmonies, all brought together by Dave Otero’s (Cobalt, Nightbringer) pitch-perfect production work. Khemmis is most certainly a live act and will tour at intervals throughout the remainder of 2015 including a planned West Coast run in Summer 2015.