khemmis is the new force to be reckoned with in doom metal at the moment. their first record "absolution" which was released in summer last year hit the metal scene like a sledge hammer and was praised by the press as one of the best doom albums of the year. rightfully so as long as i am concerned, even though i jumped on the band wagon a bit late and bought a third press copy only a few months ago. a year after "absolution" was unleashed, 20 buck spin announced the follow-up release "hunted", set to be put out in late october 2016.
the pre-orders were going live in early september and i was ready to put some money towards a limited colour vinyl version. when i read the descriptions for the several vinyl colours, it appeared that 20 buck spin was selling a silver version via nuclear blast and a very few of the shop exclusive electric blue edition via vàn records from germany upon release date. back when i ordered my copy of "absolution" from 20 buck spin, i wasn't aware of the partnership between the two labels.
i missed the chance to order an exclusive colour-way with reasonable shipping charges. but not this time, i said to myself. so i waited. it was quite hard to see the limited electric blue version sell out over at 20 buck spin. i e-mailed the vàn records team to ask if i could pre-order the khemmis record but got no reply. as there was no specific date announced when the record was available, i started to check the vàn page on a daily basis. paranoia of a record collector. when the record showed up in the store last weekend, i didn't hestitate to order a copy straight away.
vàn even had some sea blue inside ultra clear vinyl copies on offer but of course i chose the sick white inside electric blue with silver and black splatter vinyl (pretty long description for a colour-way, huh?). musically this is just the keeping of what "absolution" promised. melodic doom metal in perfection. no big talk, just listen to the whole album by clicking this youtube link. listen and stand in awe. my colour-way, as all the colour vinyl of the first press, is limited to 150 copies. comes with a nice 8" booklet and a slip sleeve with foil print and a coloured inside. sharp! 20 buck spin records. 2016.
