ALBUM REVIEW: Khemmis – Khemmis

Anyone remember Captain Haddock, the popular supporting character and frequent scene stealer from Herge’s Tintin books? Well, if there was a metal equivalent of him bellowing “thundering typhoons” at the top of his lungs, it’s KHEMMIS. They’re a big, dramatic, larger-than-life band, all chest-beating machismo and oddly sweet when vulnerable. The only thing that’s missing is a love of whiskey and a plucky young friend who works as a reporter.

The Colorado four-piece have been plying their trade since 2012 and this self-titled fourth album could well be their best. Recency bias is certainly playing a role, but we’ve had this for about a fortnight and it’s not lost any of its shaggy old seadog charm yet. It’s heavier than one of Professor Calculus’s shark submarines and as sprightly as Abdullah, and if you’re not up to speed on your Tintin references, both of those are good things.

KHEMMIS deal in a stubbornly traditional heavy metal, and don’t see any need to reinvent the wheel. The appeal of tracks of like Invocation Of The Dreamer and Corpsebloom Garden is in the dense riffs, foghorn vocals, and bluesy guitar melodies. These songs could only be more metal if they made patch jackets spontaneously form around your shoulders, and the spirit of BLACK SABBATH is alive and well.

It also gets more energetic than you might expect from a doom metal band. Yes, there are plenty of slow and morose passages; you can’t write a song called Grief’s Reverie and not include a slow bit. But they don’t baulk at planting their feet on the accelerator and when Khemmis gets going, it absolutely rips. Carrion King especially is an action-packed number, operating at the heavier end of the KHEMMIS spectrum and even threatening to tip over into full-on extreme metal at times. The lyrics are evocative as hell too. Put this on while reading a high fantasy novel and you’ll find yourself charging into a Goblin horde while waving a war hammer overhead.

Elsewhere, the excellent Tomb Of Roses finds them varying up the dynamics to impressive effect. At times, this song plays out like a sorrow-filled doom ballad, and at others like a barbarian playing guitar solos on a cliff top. And the DNA of this track highlights why KHEMMIS remain a thrilling proposition; they play one of the oldest subgenres of metal but never feel like a throwback. This self-titled effort is familiar, but it isn’t predictable.

Alongside fellow Americans like PALLBEARER, and European equivalents like GREEN LUNG, KHEMMIS are doing a grand job of keeping the “true metal” flag flying. This is richly emotive and highly enjoyable heavy music, and it’s as explosive as fighting Red Rackham in a sabre duel then blowing up the Unicorn. Again, good thing. Check some TINTIN books out of the library and read them while blasting what would no doubt be his sailor friend’s favourite band.

Rating: 8/10

Khemmis is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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