Khemmis

Formed in Denver, Colorado, Khemmis came together in 2012 around guitarists and vocalists Ben Hutcherson and Phil Pendergast, with an approach the band themselves describe as 'doomed heavy metal'. Their sound blends the slow, weighty aspects of doom metal with guitar lines rooted in classic heavy metal, featuring clear melodies, dual-guitar harmonies and a mix of clean and grittier vocals. After a self-released eponymous EP in 2013, Khemmis issued the albums Absolution (2015), Hunted (2016), Desolation (2018) and Deceiver (2021), initially on 20 Buck Spin and later partly through Nuclear Blast. In between they released the split Fraught with Peril with Spirit Adrift in 2017 and the Doomed Heavy Metal EP in 2020. Over the years Khemmis has become a fixture on both the North American doom scene and broader metal bills, appearing at festivals such as Roadburn and later Damnation. Their trajectory is marked by dark but melodic songwriting, where the weight of the riffs frequently yields to a strong sense of chorus and epic progression while retaining a distinctly readable heavy metal foundation.