Whilst on a transatlantic trip over Christmas, I happened to pick up the January issue of the excellent US extreme music magazine Decibel, the primary reason being that it contained their always interesting and often polarising Top 40 Albums Of The Year list. After sifting through said list I reached Number 1 with a perplexed look about my face, mostly because I’d never even heard of the album OR band that had been handed the honour. That band was Khemmis: a Denver, Colorado quartet whose sophomore release, ‘Hunted’, was clearly something I should have heard. It took me another 3 months to actually get around to listening to said record, because goddamn I’m a busy man, but lord am I glad I got there in the end.

Khemmis could most easily be described as ‘melodic progressive doom’, which I’m aware isn’t a remotely easy concept to wrap one’s head around, but it’s a tag that fits the band well. Upon first spin, the most obvious point of comparison for the kind of grand, majestic gloom on offer would be current doom poster boys Pallbearer. The haunting vocals and commanding harmonised riffs are present in both bands’ sounds. However, whereas Pallbearer are content to keep proceedings at a funereal pace, Khemmis aren’t afraid to stamp on the accelerator every now and again. When they do, there’s a High On Fire vibe to their sound that many of their doom contemporaries wouldn’t dream of mixing in, and it’s a major element that helps Khemmis poke their head out through the black clouds. ‘Hunted’ is a grandiose, devastating album that packs both emotional and sonic wallop, and though they may not be a huge name internationally just yet, it’s only a matter of time before Khemmis are no longer the hunted, but the hunters. They’re coming for us all.