Khemmis – Khemmis
Release Date: 12th June 2026
Label: Nuclear Blast
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom Metal
FFO: Crowbar, YOB, Monolord, Spirit Adrift.
Review By: Jeff Finch
There are very few, if any, bands still in existence that have a flawless discography: situations change, mindsets shift, tastes mature, whatever it might be, to be an owner of a flawless discography is a damn hard thing to accomplish. Colorado stalwarts Khemmis are one of the few bands who can safely make that distinction: every album is full of catchy, groovy, damn near upbeat riffs which separates them from their cohorts, barely a bad moment in a song, let alone a bad song in their discography.
From a listener who views Desolation as a doom masterpiece and thus (unconsciously) compares their work to that one, this album, their self-titled, might very well give it a run for its money. Immediately notable is the number of tracks; on three of their albums Khemmis has released 6 songs of material, with critical success Hunted the lone album at 5 songs. Khemmis sits at 8 tracks, both their longest in terms of total tracks but their shortest in average song length, sitting at just shy of 6 minutes per. What this does, rather than prevent songs from fleshing out as they ordinarily might, is let the band take some of these ideas that might otherwise not fit and create completely new compositions. And these compositions are Khemmis through and through. The upbeat tones and riffs, the soaring cleans of vocalist / guitarist Phil Pendergast, they contrast brilliantly with the ‘dragged to the depths of hell’ riffs that other guitarist Ben Hutcherson blends his hellaciously aggressive, blackened screams with, his low-end extreme vocals cutting through the soaring melodies and adding a sense of raw, bleak heaviness.
They’re heavy, they’re brooding (but still thinking positive), they’re melodic, and it all combines to be its own brand of doom, and if there are more ‘Khemmis doom’ bands out there, I need to find them. From a little smooth, light jazz break in the middle of Beneath the Scythe to harmonized dual guitar solos in Tomb of Roses, rounds of blast beats all over, and even a few quick shredding solos, the band damn near runs the gamut of metal sounds once again, not once missing a beat, displaying their adaptability and desire to not just release a linear song. Hell, Gilded Chambers contains arguably the most catchy chorus on the album, but it also contains some of the deepest growls that Hutcherson can bring to the table…and it’s a flawless execution.
There is truly very little to fault on this album: once again the band chose a captivating opening track to drag us in once again, in Invocation of the Dreamer, and the songs thereafter, described above, just FEEL like they belong exactly where they are, in a way. Any track could be 2-6, and it wouldn’t ruin the flow one bit. But this brings us to penultimate track Carrion King, an epic in every aspect of the term and yet NOT the track the band chose to end the album with. No, that belongs to Benediction Tones, a song whose sole reason for not sounding too exciting is that it follows a song whose very identity screams “epic finale.” I don’t know what the discussion was to make this specific decision, but they’re the pros, maybe I just need more time with the album.
That slight blunder aside, Khemmis is as close to a flawless album as one can be: their brand of “upbeat” doom just continues to awe with what they can make listeners feel during every track and the juxtaposition of soaring cleans with hellacious lows is so captivating as they are the perfect complement to one another. Do you like Khemmis, the band? If so, you’ll love it. If you’ve never heard them, this is truly an excellent place to start. Either way, don’t miss it.
(5 / 5)
