And with doom they come…Denver’s Khemmis weave mystical doom metal on Deceiver. With a lyrical theme dealing with similarities to Dante’s Inferno, Deceiver follows a conceptual structure that features haunting passages, slow, earthy riffs, impressive lead guitar tradeoffs, choral vocals, and a sturdy rocking base, especially in “Obsidian Crown”. Khemmis aren’t afraid to push the envelope of epic doom metal and Deceiver rises to #17 on our list.

Describing the thematic elements of the new record, vocalist/guitarist Phil Pendergast says: “Thematically, all of the songs are about the many ways that we are tricked into believing these stories about ourselves–that we are broken, that we are not good enough, that our genetics determine our fate. This title is the label that we put on our minds as a force that tricks us into believing these stories. The record’s lyrical trajectory is similar to Dante’s descent into an Inferno of his own making. It is our darkest album to date."

Hutcherson adds: "While our minds and hearts are responsible for this kind of deception, so too is the world around us. There is this dialectic between the two that produces suffering. Anyone who has struggled with mental health or suffered any sort of trauma will tell you that there were times that the mind is its own beast that has to be wrangled. In that sense, we become the deceivers ourselves; we believe we deserve to be the vessel for this pain and this suffering that is being inflicted on us both externally and internally.”

BravePicks 2021 Top 30