Deceiver

Khemmis is a band that by all accounts have produced their best work already. Most fans of the band are united in the feeling that the band’s 2016 effort “Hunted” is the band’s greatest work and is a masterpiece of the doom genre. Although that opinion is likely closer to fact than not, “Deceiver” is proof a band that has already created their definitive work still has room to grow and hit new peaks.

The Khemmis sound is one of slow wall of sound style doom. Khemmis eschews overly fuzzy and bluesy sounds in favor of Maiden-esque metallic melodic harmonies and a melo-death tinge. Frankly, for a genre stuck in a decades-long arms race to replicate the magic of Black Sabbath’s “Master of Reality”, the sound as a whole is extremely refreshing. “Deceiver” sees Khemmis leaning further into the aspects of their sound that sets them apart from the rest of the doom metal genre. It was a success on “Hunted” and they pushed it further in a very pleasing manner. This is a wise directional move for the Colorado boys because it opens room for further ground to be broken in the future which will free them from constant comparisons to their early career magnum opus.

Interestingly enough, this album is home to what might just be Khemmis’s strongest standalone song to date. The album’s backbreaking opener, “Avernal Gate”, is a masterpiece in its own right. This track is an exemplar of Khemmis’s deeper lean into the epic and melodic side of their sound. Although the track is doomy and slow, as most doom is, this track would feel at home in a melo-death or even melo-thrash context. If you want to get your doom skeptic friends into doom and don't want to show them Black Sabbath, “Avernal Gate” is the song for you. The album proceeds with the album’s two singles “House of Cadmus” and “Living Pyre”. The first of which provides a heavy and chuggy contrast to the more melodic and up beat track that preceded it. The second feels like a call back to Khemmis’s roots, equal parts “Candlelight” and “The Bereaved”. The album’s conclusion, “The Astral Road”, is a ballad that takes structural cues from Black Sabbath and Metallica by picking up the tempo in the middle providing the quickest speed on the album. This track also features a beautifully chaotic instrumental break which picks up into the blood boiling climax of the record, the third act of the 8 minute epic track.

“Deceiver” is proof that you can be a high energy band but still play tracks that are slow as molasses. A significant step up from Khemmis’s previous work, “Desolation”, this record is evidence that despite seemingly making their greatest album already, Khemmis may still have another masterpiece in the chamber. It is also evident of a band on the rise. A future where Khemmis is one of the major support bands for legacy bands or the legends of tomorrow is certainly more likely than not.

“Deceiver” is a strong and welcomed addition to the Khemmis canon and we should all expect several cuts to remain in regular rotation in the live show for years to come. Accordingly, this album earns a well deserved grade of A-.