Khemmis Announce Self-Titled Fifth Album For June 12 Release

Khemmis Confirm Self-Titled Album Release With First Single ‘Invocation Of The Dreamer’ Streaming Now

by Paul Cashmere

Denver heavy metal outfit Khemmis will release its fifth studio album, Khemmis, on June 12 through Nuclear Blast Records. The self-titled record marks the follow-up to 2021’s Deceiver and arrives alongside the release of its first single, Invocation Of The Dreamer, which is streaming now with a music video directed by Frank Guerra. The album presents eight tracks of what the band describes as tightly focused, high-energy heavy metal built around their signature dual-guitar approach and doom-rooted intensity.

The new album represents a recalibration for Khemmis rather than a reinvention. After more than a decade of refining a sound that blends doom metal weight with traditional heavy metal structure, the band has framed Khemmis as a return to immediacy and shared creative energy. The release also signals a renewed sense of purpose following the longer production cycles and touring interruptions that defined the early 2020s.

Guitarist and vocalist Ben Hutcherson says the record is rooted in a conscious decision to prioritise energy and connection over thematic heaviness alone. The result is a record designed to capture both the band’s established sonic identity and the renewed enthusiasm that shaped its writing process.

Invocation Of The Dreamer opens the album and has also been selected as its lead single. According to Hutcherson, the track was always intended to set the tone.

“We knew that this song had to be the first single in much the same way we knew it had to be the album opener, it is an undeniable ripper. Invocation Of The Dreamer kicks the front door in, flips over your coffee table, and sets your living room on fire. It has everything you’d expect from a Khemmis song, big riffs, harmonised guitars, infectious vocal melodies, along with a slew of surprises, including blastbeats and a scorching bass break.”

The album features eight tracks: Invocation Of The Dreamer, Corpsebloom Garden, Grief’s Reverie, Beneath The Scythe, Gilded Chambers, Tomb Of Roses, Carrion King, and Benediction Tones. The record will also be issued in a deluxe edition containing a behind-the-scenes photobook and additional collectible material.

The band has also emphasised that Khemmis is not defined by a single emotional trajectory. Hutcherson notes the writing process moved away from drawing solely on personal tragedy, instead focusing on the shared experience of making heavy music. While the band maintains its dark tonal palette, the emphasis is on performance energy and creative renewal.

Formed in Denver, Colorado in 2012, Khemmis has steadily evolved from underground doom metal emergence to one of the genre’s most consistent modern voices. The band’s early recordings, including Absolution (2015) and Hunted (2016), established its reputation for combining traditional doom structures with melodic leads and a strong narrative sense.

Subsequent releases, Desolation (2018) and Deceiver (2021), expanded the band’s reach internationally through Nuclear Blast, reinforcing their position within contemporary heavy metal’s evolving landscape. Over time, Khemmis has also incorporated elements of black metal intensity and death metal rhythmic complexity, while maintaining a core identity built around slow-burning riff architecture.

Their catalogue reflects a progression from raw underground force to a more deliberate and compositionally varied approach. The new self-titled album arrives after a period that included lineup adjustments and reduced touring activity, factors that often shape the direction of long-standing metal acts navigating post-pandemic production cycles.

While anticipation for Khemmis is strong among the band’s established audience, the broader heavy music landscape has shifted significantly since Deceiver was released in 2021. The genre has seen increased stylistic fragmentation, with traditional doom metal occupying a more niche space within a wider ecosystem of crossover metal, progressive extremes, and genre hybridisation.

Some observers within the metal community have noted that established bands face a balancing act between maintaining signature sound and adapting to an increasingly diverse listener base. Khemmis’ decision to double down on core riff-driven identity rather than pursue overt stylistic expansion positions the album as a statement of continuity rather than reinvention.

At the same time, the band’s integration of faster passages, blastbeat sections, and expanded rhythmic dynamics on Invocation Of The Dreamer suggests a willingness to evolve within its own framework, rather than outside it.

With Khemmis set for release on June 12 the arrival of Invocation Of The Dreamer signals an album built for immediacy, while still grounded in the slow-burn intensity that has defined their career to date.

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Tagged as: album announcement, Doom Metal, heavy metal, Invocation Of The Dreamer, Khemmis, Nuclear Blast

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