Kublai Khan TX, Shai Hulud

On 22 June 2026 Kublai Khan TX will play the Melkweg in Amsterdam, together with Shai Hulud. The Texas band sits between metalcore, new school hardcore and beatdown, led by Matt Honeycutt’s talk‑shout. Slow, lumbering rhythms and compact, angular songs form their foundation, with lyrics that speak directly about social tensions, racism, poverty and personal harm. After their early EPs, Balancing Survival & Happiness (2014) set the tone, followed by the harder New Strength (2015). With Nomad (2017) and Absolute (2019) the group stayed tight and to the point, while the EP Lowest Form of Animal (2022) pushes the tempos even heavier. TX is now firmly part of the name: Kublai Khan TX is deeply rooted in the Texas scene.

Shai Hulud, formed in 1995 in Florida and later based in New York, blends metalcore with melodic hardcore and a punk reflex. Around guitarist and linchpin Matt Fox the lineup often changed, but the signature remained: interwoven riffs, fast, driving rhythms and shouted vocals propelled by group chants. Their early years produced A Profound Hatred of Man (1997) and Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion (1997), followed by That Within Blood Ill‑Tempered (2003), Misanthropy Pure (2008) and Reach Beyond the Sun (2013). Themes include introspection, disillusionment and the friction between ideals and reality — rendered in sharp transitions and an intense interplay that reaches its full force live.