Khemmis is an American

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band from

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, that formed in 2012. The band's music combines doom and

traditional heavy metal Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed ...

with elements of

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

. The band released their first two studio albums, ''Absolution'' and ''Hunted'', through independent label 20 Buck Spin. Their third album, ''Desolation,'' and subsequent

mini-LP A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

, ''Doomed Heavy Metal,'' were licensed for all territories outside of North America by

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

and were co-released with 20 Buck Spin. In November 2021, the band released their

worldwide debut record ''Deceiver''. They are named after an ancient city located in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, now known as

Akhmim Akhmim ( ar, أخميم, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic cop, ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis ( grc, Χέμμις) and Panopolis ( grc, Πανὸς πόλις and Π� ...

History

Khemmis was formed in 2012 after guitarist Ben Hutcherson moved to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

to pursue a doctorate at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

. The band recorded their debut album, ''Absolution'', with producer/engineer Dave Otero. It was released by 20 Buck Spin on July 7, 2015, and was ranked 9th on

Decibel Magazine ''Decibel'' is a monthly heavy metal magazine published by the Philadelphia-based Red Flag Media since October 2004. Its sections include Upfront, Features, Reviews, Guest Columns and the Decibel Hall of Fame. The magazine's tag-line is currentl ...

's Top 40 Albums of 2015. Their second studio album, '' Hunted'', arrived in October 2016. It was ranked 11th on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''′s 20 best metal albums of 2016, 1st on ''Decibel'' magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2016, 7th on

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

' Best Metal of 2016, and 6th on

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

's Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016. In July 2017, the band announced that they had signed to

(via licensing deal with 20 Buck Spin) for the release of their third album, ''Desolation''. The band began touring regularly in support of the record. They toured North America alongside Enslaved,

Wolves in the Throne Room Wolves in the Throne Room is an American black metal band formed in 2002 in Olympia, Washington, by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver. They have released seven full-length albums, two live albums, and one EP to date. They have stated one of the f ...

, and

Myrkur Myrkur is a Danish black metal band led by singer Amalie Bruun. Myrkur is a solo project within the genre of second-wave black metal. Initially, the real-life identity of the person behind the project was kept unknown. Her identity has since be ...

as part of the 2018

Tour. They also made their European debut with performances at the

Roadburn Roadburn Festival is an international music festival held in Tilburg, Netherlands every April since 1999. It was set up as a spin-off from the Roadburn music blog founded by Jurgen van den Brand and Walter Hoeijmakers. Originally focused on stone ...

and Doom Over Leipzig festivals. They released their third album, ''Desolation'', on June 22, 2018 on 20 Buck Spin (North America) and Nuclear Blast (all other regions). The album was ranked 9th on

's Top 40 Albums of 2018 and 12th on

's Top 25 Metal + Rock Albums of 2018. In February 2019, the band announced that they had signed a worldwide deal with

. In August 2019, the band's cover of " A Conversation with Death", previously only available on the 2017 split 7" with

Spirit Adrift Spirit Adrift is an American heavy metal band formed in Mesa, Arizona. The project began in 2015 as the solo endeavor of Nate Garrett, and eventually grew into a full touring band. The band is now based in Austin, Texas. History Spirit Adrift ...

entitled ''Fraught with Peril'', was featured in the video game series ''

The Dark Pictures Anthology ''The Dark Pictures Anthology'' is an anthology series of interactive drama and survival horror video games developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The anthology will consist of eight games, with each gam ...

''. In 2019, the band completed two headlining American tours—a summer East Coast/Midwest tour with support from Cloak and a West Coast tour with support from Un—as well as a European tour with German doom metal band Iron Walrus. Khemmis released ''Doomed Heavy Metal'', a collection of rarities, live tracks, and a newly-recorded cover of

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

's "

Rainbow in the Dark "Rainbow in the Dark" is a song by heavy metal band Dio. Released from the band's double platinum-selling 1983 debut album, ''Holy Diver''. Assisted by a popular MTV music video, it reached #12 on US ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks in early Octo ...

", on April 17, 2020. The

was co-released by 20 Buck Spin and Nuclear Blast. In 2020, they released a cover of "

Down in a Hole "Down in a Hole" is a power ballad by Alice in Chains, and the fifth and last single from their album ''Dirt'' (1992). It is the twelfth song on most pressings of the album and fourth or eleventh on others. The song was written by guitarist and ...

" by

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

as part of Magnetic Eye Records' ''Dirt (Redux)''. Prior to their livestreamed appearance at

's “200th Issue Extremely Ex-Stream” in April 2021, the band announced that original bassist Dan Beiers had left the band in December 2020. This was the band's first performance with David Small handling live bass duties. The band released ''Deceiver'', their fourth studio album overall and their first worldwide release on

, on November 19, 2021. The record was ranked 2nd on

's Top 40 Albums of 2021. Following the release, the band announced a spring North American tour supporting

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

and

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...

. On October 1, 2022, the band confirmed that David Small had joined as their permanent bassist.

Members

Current

* Zach Coleman – drums * Phil Pendergast – guitar, vocals * Ben Hutcherson – guitar, vocals * David Small – bass (2022–present; live member 2021–2022)

Former

* Daniel Beiers – bass (2012–2020)

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Mini-LPs

Singles

Splits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khemmis 2012 establishments in Colorado American doom metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2012 Musical groups from Denver Heavy metal musical groups from Colorado