Search - Khanate :: Khanate

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

Shotgun Method | NY... No, not *that* NY | 02/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Khanate is a doom-metal supergroup, made up of musicians from the likes of Sunn O)), Burning Witch, and O.L.D. So if you're a fan of the scene you have a basic idea of what to expect, but Khanate goes well beyond the typical doom (which is basically the loudest ambient music in the world) and full-on into the realm of conscious insanity. This is DOOM in caps.



There's nothing superficially offensive about Khanate. There's no occult/satanic references and no profanity.... and yet this manages to be more frightening than every "nEkRo" black metal and submusical grindcore outfit out there. This is the kind of primordial fear and dread that only the likes of Swans and Godflesh have approached. This is PURE EVIL, the sonic equivalent of H.P. Lovecraft. So make sure that all sharp objects are put away before you proceed.



Khanate's debut consists of 5 long-playing (the album is nearly an hour in duration) slabs of audio torment--all screeching feedback drones, thick bass, SLLLOOWWW and deliberate rhythms that recall shifting tectonic plates, and Alan Dubin's voice, which sounds like it is being broadcast via short-wave radio from the lowest reaches of Hell. And the lyrics are totally depraved and sickening (recite the lyrics of Skin Coat and feel the room get colder).



While most doom has a sort of mammoth, hazy vibe (as if you were smoking a truckload of herb on an oppressively hot summer's day), this is like witnessing Black Sabbath jamming in the midst of a collapsing black hole. Totally oppressive and without a shred of remorse or a shaft of light. Very hard for me to rate (I'll settle for a four, since it does what it is intended to do EXTREMELY well) and definitely not for most tastes. However, if you love extreme music, this makes 99% of it look like child's play. Venture at your own risk. Oh, and for what it's worth, I really like the cover art for some reason."

Oh. My. God.

C. Quinn | County Louth, Eire | 03/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is frightening. Not just because of the volume, the grindingly slow pace, the subsonic frequencies, the sense of revelation through abjection, or even Alan Dubin's tortured vocals. No, what's really frightening is just how MUSICAL Khanate are.



They're often described as an evolution from Stephen O'Malley's earlier band Burning Witch: whereas BW was more obviously doom metal (although their two tracks on the Goatsnake/Burning Witch split album pushed the envelope pretty far, and sound more like the later band), Khanate goes way beyond the genre. Think of Swans, or Melvins' more experimental stuff. Most of all, think of Scorn, whose bass player James Plotkin provides the foundation for Khanate's rotting edifices of sound.



And there is something architectural about Khanate, a sense of coherent structure that you don't get with most doom metal. Far from just cranking out 16rpm Sabbath riffs, Khanate create a sense of space and atmosphere I haven't heard since Scorn's 'Vae Solis' (THE prototype ambient metal record). Don't get me wrong, there are spine-rattling riffs here. But there's also beautifully teased feedback, near-impressionistic percussion (via Tim Wyskida's 'hammers'), and some surprisingly clean guitar sounds. And how they manage to play in time at this speed is beyond me. It's almost telepathic.



Then there's Dubin. Personally I preferred Edgy59's vocals in Burning Witch: he could sound like a murderous psychopath one second and a frightened infant the next, and even convince you there wasn't much difference. Dubin is more aggressive and more self-assured. Superficially the two bands are similar, but where Burning Witch sounded lost and confused, Khanate sound like they've come through that to the other side -- they have suffered into truth.



If you like anything else O'Malley has been involved in, any of the bands I've mentioned so far, or Earth, Thrones etc. you will love this. Just don't listen to it on acid."

Stop lying.

Chinaski | waiting at the bar (thirsty) | 11/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"S. Frank, whoever you be, you obviously don't know what you're talking about. Khanate are most definately doom, they just don't conform to the horribly restrictive conventions of the narrow-minded, self important 'true doom' scene (You know who you are, Doom-metal.com). This is a nightmare of a record, but in a good way. Inhuman screeching over piercing feedback and drone, all anchored by a lower-than-low end. Skin Coat is enough to have you sleeping with the lights on. All these grindcore bands, in their quest to sound as horrific as possible, have once again been outdone by the inspired lunacy that appears commonplace at Southern Lord. If you like Grief and haven't heard these, I cannot recommend this enough."