Khemmis (Self-Titled Fifth Album)
Khemmis · Doom Metal / Heavy Metal
Reviewed 2026-06-14
The Roast
“O, mor ddewr na dim, Khemmis. Pump albwm i mewn ac yn olaf, fe edrychoch chi ar eich gilydd yn y llygaid ac fe ddwedoch chi, "Beth ddylen ni alw hwn?" a chydwasgu eich ysgwyddau yn unfryd. Albwm hunanfeirniadol ar albwm rhif pump yw naill ai ailanedigaeth artistig ddofn neu fand yn sefyll ym maes parcio'r stiwdio yn dweud, "Fe rhedsom ni allan o syniadau cyn inni hyd yn oed gyrraedd y dudalen deitl." Fe dreulioch chi bump mlynedd yn paratoi dilyniant i Deceiver, fe lusgioch basydd newydd o'r enw David Small i mewn i'ch cylch defod, a'r cynllun branding gorau a allai fod gennych chi oedd eich enw eich hun. Dewr. Diog. Posib ei fod yn ddau beth.”
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The Bright Side
Ond dyma'r peth: mae'r cysyniad defod yn dal dŵr go iawn. Agor gyda "Invocation of the Dreamer" a glanio ar "Benediction Tones" yw dewis strwythurol sy'n parchu'r gwrandäwr yn ddigon i roi dechrau a diwedd iddyn nhw, seremoni lawn yn hytrach na dim ond rhestr chwarae. Dod â David Small i mewn fel basydd newydd heb darfu ar hunaniaeth y band yn awgrymu hyder cerddorol go iawn, dim nid sigledigrwydd. A "Beneath the Scythe" fel teitl sengl cyn ryddhau yw union fath o farddoniaeth ddu a thynghedfennol sy'n eich atgoffa pam mae Khemmis yn bodoli yn y lle cyntaf. Mae Christopher Remmers yn trin y gwaith celf ac yn cadw'r iaith weledol yn gyson a thoddedig. Dyma fand sydd yn amlwg yn caru'r hyn maen nhw'n ei wneud, ac mae'r cariad hwnnw, yn rhwystredig, yn dod drwodd.
Hardest Sneer
“Fe enwioch chi eich pumed albwm ar eich ôl eich hunain, sy'n naill ai yn feistrwaith o hyder neu dystiolaeth bod y ddefod wedi treulio'r rhan o'ch ymennydd sy'n gyfrifol am deitlau.”
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Issues (4)
The Self-Title Cop-Out
Receipt
This is Khemmis's FIFTH studio album. Self-titled debuts are a tradition. Self-titled fifth albums are a white flag with a pentagram on it. Nuclear Blast's own announcement frames it as a 'follow-up to their 2021 album Deceiver,' a record with a perfectly evocative one-word title. Going from 'Deceiver' to literally just 'Khemmis' is a creative regression dressed up as a statement.
Fix
If the album is genuinely a ritual and a rebirth, lean into the ceremony. A title like 'The Rite' or 'Invocation' drawn directly from your own track listing would have communicated the same rebirth narrative without making it look like you forgot to finish the packaging.
Joy in a Doom Band: Investigate
Receipt
Hutcherson stated the goal was writing a 'tight, high-energy album' that 'embodied the joy of heavy metal.' Khemmis plays doom metal. The genre's entire emotional palette is grief, dread, and the slow collapse of everything. Promising 'joy' from a band whose tour is literally called 'Forsake the Light' is a brand identity crisis wearing a leather jacket.
Fix
Own the tension instead of resolving it in press quotes. 'We wanted to capture the catharsis and power of doom' tells a more honest story than 'joy,' and it does not accidentally make your fanbase wonder if you have gone soft.
Same Studio, Fifth Time: Comfort Zone Alert
Receipt
Flatline Audio with Dave Otero in Westminster, Colorado has now produced multiple Khemmis records. Early critics are calling this album Khemmis 'in their truest and most energized form,' which implies the previous records produced in the same room were somehow less true and less energized. If your own comfort zone was quietly limiting you for years, that is a problem your producer should have flagged, not critics on album five.
Fix
A single session outside Flatline Audio, even a writing retreat or a guest collaboration tracked elsewhere, would inject genuine sonic disruption into the next cycle. Familiarity is the enemy of reinvention, and you cannot call something a rebirth if it was born in the exact same hospital.
Eight Tracks and No Announced Runtime: Suspicious Ambiguity
Receipt
The Nuclear Blast announcement confirms eight tracks and a June 12, 2026 release date but provides no total runtime. For a doom metal record where track length is a core part of the experience, leaving fans to guess whether they are getting 38 minutes of tight heavy metal or 74 minutes of ritual endurance is a marketing gap that creates the wrong kind of mystery.
Fix
Lead with the runtime in your press materials. Doom fans do not fear long albums, they celebrate them. If this record runs long, that is a feature, not a spoiler. If it runs short, own the 'tight' angle Hutcherson already telegraphed and make it a selling point.