Khemmis Release Debut Album, Announce Tour Dates


 

Khemmis, photo by Travis Heacock

Khemmis, photo by Travis Heacock

 

Denver, Colorado Melodic Doom dealers Khemmis released their debut album, Absolution, today via 20 Buck Spin. The quartet recorded the album with famed producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Nightbringer) at Flatline Audio in Denver.

Absolution features six tracks of moving and meticulously crafted music, calling up sonic similarities to Pallbearer, Graves at Sea, and the hypnotic hum of Sleep.

The album is available for digital download through the Khemmis BandCamp.com page; it can also be picked up via the 20 Buck Spin Website at www.20BuckSpin.com.

Khemmis will also head out on a West Coast tour supporting the new album, taking on cities from Denver to Seattle, along with special guests.

Khemmis’ Absolution was released July 7, 2015 via 20 Buck Spin

Khemmis’ Absolution was released July 7, 2015 via 20 Buck Spin

Khemmis Tour Dates

Aug 01: Denver, CO: HiDive w/ Call of the Void, Of Feather and Bone

Aug 06: Seattle, WA: Highline w/ Satanarchist, Brainscraper

Aug 07: Olympia, WA: McCoy’s w/ Infinite Flux

Aug 08: Portland, OR: High Water Mark w/ Druden, Satanarchist

Aug 09: Eugene, OR: The Wandering Goat

Aug10: Sacramento, CA: Café Colonial w/Decade of Statues

Aug11: Oakland, CA: Golden Bull Bar w/ Bog Oak

Aug12: San Jose, CA: San Jose Rock Shop

Aug13: Los Osos, CA – TBA

Aug14: Los Angeles, CA: Complex w/Atlas Moth, Vattnet Viskar, Atriarch

Aug15: Tempe, AZ– Yucca Tap Room w/ Atlas Moth, Vattnet Viskar, Atriarch

LINDSAY O`CONNOR

 

 

 


Ides Of Gemini Announce Upcoming West Coast Tour


ides of gemini summer tour 2015

Ides of Gemini have announced an upcoming West Coast tour with Clay Rendering. They are supporting their current album Old World New Wave, released last September via Neurot Recordings, as well as a special, limited Carthage/Strange Fruit seven-inch via Magic Bullet Records last month in honor of Record Store Day. They will employ the services of drummer Sash Popovic (Black Math Horseman), who will be filling in for Kelly Johnston-Gibson, who was injured on their last tour.

Guitarist J. Bennett stated:

“After the disappointment of having to drop off the Mountain Goats tour last month, we’re looking forward to getting out on the road again. Unfortunately, Kelly’s injury is still healing so she won’t be able to join us for the June shows with Oxbow and Demon Lung or our appearance at Cruficalfest in Salt Lake. The good news is that our friend Sash Popovic, formerly of [singer/bassist] Sera’s [Timms] old band, Black Math Horseman, will be filling in for those. He’s a killer drummer and a great guy, so we’re very thankful that he’s agreed to help us out. If all goes according to plan, Kelly should be back in action for the July run with Clay Rendering.”

Jun 05: Brick & Mortar – San Francisco, CA (w/ Oxbow)
Jun 07: The Echo – Los Angeles, CA (w/ Oxbow)
Jun 19: Crucialfest – Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 20: Dive Bar – Las Vegas, NV (Demon Lung Record Release Show)

w/ Clay Rendering:
Jul 14: Golden Bull – Oakland, CA
Jul 15: Club 66 – Ashland, OR
Jul 16: Wandering Goat – Eugene, OR
Jul 17: Ash St Saloon – Portland, OR (w/ Jex Thoth, Atriarch, Barrowlands (no Clay Rendering)
Jul 18: Media Club – Vancouver, BC
Jul 19: Highline – Seattle, WA
Jul 21: Press Club – Sacramento, CA
Jul 22: Elbo Room – San Francisco, CA
Jul 23: Sweet Springs – Los Osos, CA
Jul 24: Complex – Glendale, CA

Ides of Gemini on Facebook
Ides of Gemini on Bandcamp
Neurot Recordings on Facebook
Magic Bullet Records on Facebook


Conan, Samothrace and Mantar Book Upcoming May Tour


samothrace conan mantar

Samothrace will be doing upcoming shows with Conan and Mantar on their brief May tour run. They will selling their Live at Roadburn 2014 LP on the road, out now via 20 Buck Spin.

May 12: Area 51 – Salt Lake City, UT (w/ Conan and Mantar)
May 13: Starlite Lounge – Sacramento, CA (w/ Atriarch, Warning, Church)
May 14: Oakland Opera House – Oakland, CA (w/ Conan, Mantar)
May 15: Complex – Los Angeles, CA
May 16: 51 West – Tempe, AZ (w/ Conan, Mantar)
May 18: The Conservatory – Oklahoma City, OK (w/ Conan, Mantar)
May 19: Hi-Tone – Memphis, TN (w/ Conan and Mantar)
May 20: The Hideaway – Johnson City, TN (w/ Conan and Mantar)
May 23: Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA (w/ Conan, Mantar)
May 24: Saint Vitus Bar – Brooklyn, NY
May 30: Seven-One-Grind Fest – Colorado Springs, CO (w/ Capitalist Casualties, Weekend Nachos, Primitive Man, more)

Samothrace on Facebook
20 Buck Spin on Facebook
20 Buck Spin on Twitter


Music Video + Tour – Atriarch – Bereavement + Upcoming Live Dates


atriarch

Pacific Northwest atmospheric death/doomers Atriarch is streaming their music video for “Bereavement,” off of their latest album An Unending Pathway via Relapse Records. The band has a string of upcoming live dates coming up.

May 13: Starlite – Sacramento, CA (w/ Samothrace)
May 14: Complex – Los Angeles, CA (w/ Black Mare)
May 15: Psycho California – Santa Ana, CA (w/ Cult Of Luna, Eyehategod, Russian Circles, etc)
May 16: Oakland Metro – Oakland, CA (w/ Lycus)


Atriarch – An Unending Pathway


0003574025_10

 

I know that I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but, goodness me, Atriarch’s latest foray into the blackened musical underworld, the beguiling An Unending Pathway (Relapse) is a very strange record. Strange in a good way, you understand. It’s strange in a disconcerting, haunting and sometimes unnerving way as well, if truth be known. Are you getting the picture yet? Yep, the third album from these curious citizens of Portland, Oregon is all kinds of odd.

Atriarch’s artistic growth gathered pace with their last album The Ritual of Passing (Profound Lore) which was a veritable smorgasbord of musical ideas, breathless interludes and a properly scary undercurrent running throughout. Having moved to Relapse Records, you would not be entirely surprised if the band played things to the gallery and delivered something relatively safe. Proverbial hats off to them then as An Unending Pathway, if anything, packs in more ideas and textures than its predecessor and, despite the often diverse, uncompromising approaches and innovations they have opted for, feels completely cohesive and immersive, In other words, I like it a lot.

Opening track ‘Entropy’ begins proceedings with distinct echoes of Slipknot’s ‘515’, an imagined Hades vomiting up its gnarled and gnarly denizens from their sulphuric lair into our seemingly doomed world. In terms of setting atmosphere and a sense of menace of impending doom, it does it with remarkable aplomb. Dark chants and incantations preface a dark rock track that, vocally, sounds akin to what would happen had The Fall’s Mark E Smith had ever accepted an invitation to join Black Sabbath.

There’s a similarly moody gothic undercurrent to ‘Collapse’ with its tribal drum patterns, evil monk like chanting and slow burn menace. The military two step drumming at the beginning of ‘Revenant’ soon gives way to a black metal influenced noise rock that is bristling with malevolence and tortured anguish – Atriarch’s lot is clearly not a happy one. This deep sense of melancholy reaches its zenith on the brilliant ‘Bereavement’ where the black metal riffing and harrowing screams seem entirely apposite for the song’s subject matter; vocalist Lenny Smith puts in quite an extraordinary stint here where you believe completely in the singer’s pain and anguish.

The efficient balancing act between hard riffing and brooding melody is a key aspect across the whole album and that light and shade delivery keeps you engaged throughout. Whilst the black metal influences are nicely extolled there is no attempt to pummel the listener into submission: although claustrophobic, there is still room to take a breath and for the songs to inveigle their way into your cerebral cortex. This coaxing and coaching of the listener is perhaps best shown on the cacophonous delight that is ‘Rot’; rarely can bodily decomposition sound so appalling yet, in parallel, appealing.

An Unending Path is perhaps best experienced alone, in the dark with candles and lots of red wine. It is a richly textured album, full of strange vignettes, harrowing imagery and not a little guile and cunning. It’s the sort of record that you don’t think you will like, don’t think you’re enjoying when listening to it but you keep coming back to it, time and again, for another glimpse into the darkness that Atriarch have conjured. Like I said, strange: very strange indeed.

7.5/10

Atriarch on Facebook

MAT DAVIES