Khanate
Glacial, agonizing drone metal that feels like a slow-motion collapse. Piercing feedback and tortured vocals for listeners who find beauty in absolute desolation.
Glacial, agonizing drone metal that feels like a slow-motion collapse. Piercing feedback and tortured vocals for listeners who find beauty in absolute desolation.
Khanate sounds like the physical sensation of a panic attack slowed down to a crawl. It is music built on the space between notes, where the silence is just as heavy as the down-tuned, vibrating strings. The guitars do not riff so much as they groan and decay, leaving behind a trail of high-pitched, needle-like feedback that cuts through the murky low-end. It is a sonic representation of urban decay and psychological claustrophobia.
What truly separates them from their peers is the vocal performance of Alan Dubin. While most extreme metal vocalists aim for power or aggression, Dubin sounds genuinely pained, delivering high-pitched, desperate shrieks that feel like they are being pulled out of him. The rhythm section avoids any traditional sense of 'groove,' instead opting for massive, singular strikes that punctuate long stretches of feedback and humming amplifiers.
If you are new to this level of extremity, start with their self-titled debut or the 2023 comeback 'To Be Cruel.' These records offer the most cohesive vision of their 'pain and ugliness' mission statement. It is not music for casual background listening; it demands a listener who is willing to sit with discomfort and find the strange, meditative catharsis hidden within the noise.
Khanate is an American drone doom supergroup that brought together James Plotkin and Alan Dubin, two members of the defunct band OLD, as well as Tim Wyskida of Blind Idiot God and Manbyrd and Stephen O'Malley of Burning Witch and Sunn O))). Keeping some similarity with O'Malley's previous band Burning Witch, Khanate produces songs that usually exceeded the 10-minute mark, characterized by extremely slow tempos, harsh layers of feedback, and vocalist Alan Dubin's torturous shrieking. On September 24, 2006, Khanate split up, with Plotkin stating that the "lack of commitment from certain members" led to the split. In the January/February 2009 issue of Rock-A-Rolla magazine, vocalist Alan Dubin stated: "We had a few festival offers [that] sparked some talk of a reunion but they didn't pan out in the end." He went on to say, "I highly doubt a reunion will happen." On May 19, 2023, the band released a surprise album titled To Be Cruel digitally and announced preorders for a physical release to be released in June. The band also announced digital reissues of its four previous albums and plans for physical reissues to follow.
Shares despairing, screaming, sludge metal, doom metal (signature)
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