Hunted

In the last few years, doom metal has experienced a renaissance of sorts. Bands have been coming out of the woodwork in rapid succession. Some have very distinguishable sounds and others sadly sound too much like your average Sabbath worshipers. Denver's Khemmis are ones that fall into the former category. Even though they are in a genre that can, even for someone who LOVES doom, be at times a tad repetitious, these guys have a massive melodic sound that is very much their own. They somehow are able to mix the best parts of groups in the new millennium with the melodic sensibilities of past metal giants.

The opening clarion call of Above the Water is most certainly NOT something one should listen to at sea. This song just crashes with waves of doom laden riffs that could topple your little dingy in the midst of a storm tossed night. You almost can imagine mighty Odysseus singing this aboard his own doomed craft. Maybe the boys got a little inspiration from our man Homer. It wouldn't be the first time metal heads collaborated with a ancient Grecian.

As good as the first track is, Candlelight is still my favorite track on this album. It's as if a Pallbearer song with guest vocals from Cthulu just happened to fall in Khemmis' lap. The hook is one that will undoubtedly be a favorite sing along part at shows and the guitar work is gigantic throughout the track. The boys really hit a home run with this seven minute smasher.

But now I have to discuss what might be on your mind, what is it that makes Khemmis so unique? For one thing, the guitars are not your average stony fuzzed out doom riffs that you'd expect from guys that hail from a state that legalized weed. Instead of taking the Church of Misery or Windhand style of tone, they rip pages out of the riff books of guys like High on Fire, Iron Maiden, Trouble, Judas Priest and Cirith Ungol. They use the riffs to not only drive the music forward, but like their Arkansas contemporaries in Pallbearer they use the guitars to create a mood. When a band can pull that off, it's a dream come true for me.

The vocals are also another standalone element of the sound of Khemmis. Phil and Ben both echo Mike from YOB in that they can pull off soaring melodies and then just rip you to shreds with the most intense harsh vocalization ever. Candlelight is a perfect example of this as well as Beyond the Door.

The Khemmis boys have thrown the sophomore slump into the void and are not even considering looking back. They are seriously going to be a band that will be remembered for their amazing riffs, stellar vocal delivery and songs that are just flat out memorable. Pallbearer may have a little competition for the reign of doom kings.