Kublai Khan

Formed in Sherman in North Texas, the metallic hardcore band Kublai Khan TX has, since the late 2000s, developed a hard-hitting sound that blends metalcore, new school hardcore, and beatdown elements. Driven by Matt Honeycutt’s half-spoken, half-screamed delivery, Kublai Khan TX leans on slow tempos, hulking riffs, and blunt songwriting, often centered on social violence, racism, precarity, and personal trauma. After an initial EP in the early 2010s, the band sharpened its formula on "Balancing Survival & Happiness" (2014), then ratcheted up the intensity with "New Strength" (2015)—two records that established the band on North American and European hardcore stages. With "Nomad" (2017) and "Absolute" (2019), Kublai Khan TX consolidated a tighter aesthetic, favoring short compositions, abrupt dynamic shifts, and a very dense production. The EP "Lowest Form of Animal" (2022) extends this approach by emphasizing heavier tempos and dark atmospheres. The TX suffix, now integrated into the band’s name, distinguishes Kublai Khan TX from the like-named thrash metal outfit that emerged in Minnesota in the late 1980s and underscores its roots in the Texas scene.