PREMIERE: Khemmis Perfect Doomed Rock'n'Roll on Their 20 Buck Spin Debut, 'Absolution'

Photo by Travis Heacock

Denver quartet Khemmis' new album is really interesting. It's an unexpected and near-perfect blend of sludgy stoner rock, traditional doom, heavy metal, and 70s hard rock, one that nods to Pallbearer as often as it bows to Thin Lizzy. It's a logical move—doom metal as a genre has undergone a significant amount of changes since its ancestor first flowed forth from Tony Iommi's fingertips, often for the better (or at least, the more interesting). That evolution has borne deliciously diseased hybrid fruit like sludge, drone, funeral doom, and so on, while exciting developments continue to thrill the fans of more traditional sounds and the old classics abide.

Like many of the genre's most successful names (think YOB, High On Fire, Samothrace, Pallbearer, et al), Khemmis' multi-angled take straddles the two camps—their approach is wholly modern, but their roots are thoroughly aged. Songs like "Ash, Cinder, Smoke" dial up the stoner swagger and harsh barking vocals, while "Serpentine" goes ham with twin guitar noodling and a rafter-baiting croon; "Antediluvian" goes full NOLA, and the closing track is a huge, heart-stopping epic (the vocal harmonies alone will get you).

The end result is electrifying, and we're dead pleased to be debuting their entire new album (out via the trusty 20 Buck Spin on July 7) below.

Left Coasters can catch Khemmis on tour in August -

8/01/2015 Hi-Dive - Denver, CO * Absolution release show w/ Call Of The Void, Of Feather and Bone [info]
8/06/2015 Highline – Seattle, WA w/ Satanarchist, Brainscraper
8/07/2015 McCoy’s – Olympia, WA w/ Infinite Flux
8/08/2015 High Water Mark – Portland, OR w/ Druden, Satanarchist
8/09/2015 The Wandering Goat - Eugene, OR
8/10/2015 Café Colonial – Sacramento, CA
8/11/2015 Golden Bull Bar – Oakland, CA w/ Bog Oak
8/12/2015 San Jose Rock Shop – San Jose, CA
8/13/2015 TBA – Los Osos, CA
8/14/2015 Complex – Los Angeles, CA w/ The Atlas Moth, Vattnet Viskar, Atriarch [info]
8/15/2015 Yucca Tap Room – Tempe, AZ w/ The Atlas Moth, Vattnet Viskar, Atriarch [info]

Kim Kelly is stoked on this band, here and on Twitter: @grimkim