My forays into the world of doom metal have been increasingly on the decline, mostly due to the fact that I am not a drug addict and have realized that one must be one to enjoy certain types of doom metal. Few bands are able to exist in this genre of metal and can be considered enjoyable by those who are drug-free. This obsession with drug-induced euphoric music tends to reduce the music into useless bits of fodder for the regular listener. There is a fine line between obtrusive brutality and pure idiocy and I find myself often dabbling on this line, a line where the most extreme bands exist. The line differentiates controlled chaos from pure and utter nonsense. Khanate can be found spinning in a heroin-induced euphoria on the nonsense side, near the Chucky Cheese.

This is extremely slow doom metal with absolutely insane and scathing vocals. At times, which are often 4 or 5 minutes apart, the band comes up with some real depressing and nasty riffs. However, the rest of these songs are filled with slow stoner melodic parts and a screeching noise that sounds like the A train coming to a stop at Rockaway Beach. The songs lack any cohesiveness and/or structure and it if often becomes as painful to listen to as the vocals are to emit. The song, "Skin Coat", which begins with a painfully slow and depressing progression of riffs which somehow gives you the same feeling you would get if you lost your job, your house burnt down, Chris Barnes had anal sex with your fiancée, and Devourment did a cross-over album with 50 Cent, and all within an hour time span. This progression of riffs re-emerges 2 minutes later and then disappears into another mess of feedback and nonsense. I have to admit that I only listened to the first 2 minutes of "Skin Coat" from the time I bought the disc. I had to painfully sit through the rest so I could competently complete a review. And for a 5 song, 56 minute disc, that was a real bitch. Essentially, I didn’t have to because I had a feeling the entire album was a mess. Actually, the one riff that comprised "No Joy" was doomy but after about 3 minutes of the 12 minute song, I was headed for the freezer for some Flavor-Ice.

Apparently, you have to listen to this, in its entirety, nude in your bed, riddled with LSD, while staring at your black-light poster of Emilio Estevez to get any sort of enjoyment out of it. For me none of the above are possible and I only have a black-light poster of Charlie Sheen. I get the feeling that this is that type of music that’s meant for a small audience, one that I’m not part of. It’s similar to a person who knows nothing about art, stares at a Picasso, and says, "I could have done that!" Maybe I’m not deep enough in this scene (if it exists) to enjoy it. But, I think I am giving the band too much credit here; however the art/music parallel seems relevant. This can be viewed as a masterpiece by those who enjoy music that seems to make little sense and goes against all norms of music purely to make a statement or hated by everyone else that listens to music that follows a basic structure, regardless of genre. Man, I have got to stop getting so deep, do some drugs, lay nude in my bed with Flavor-Ice by my side, and let the good times flow!

Written By: Double Ds