Khanate – To Be Cruel (Review)

Khanate are a doom/drone band from the US and this is their fifth album.

The unthinkable has happened. Utterly impossible. After 14 years, a new Khanate album has arisen from the depths of untold bottomless horror to grace an undeserving planet with its unique form of grim darkness. How and why it has appeared now is anyone’s guess, but surely it must be a sign of the end times?

Well, this is a rare and completely unexpected treat. Ever since I first bought Khanate’s self titled debut album in 2001 there has never been another band quite like this, and it’s absolutely fantastic to hear some new material from them.

To Be Cruel contains three colossal new songs that spread out over 61 minutes like a seeping plague. If you have never experienced Khanate before, then know that this is the audio version of despair and abject hopelessness. It’s absolutely not the sort of thing you’d probably listen to all of the time, (although a case could certainly be made…), and most people would probably run away screaming from this hideous ball of malignant hatred if they could, but if you’re hardened to this sort of sonic torture, then this is the stuff. Oh yes.

The songs reek of corruption and foul intentions. Threatening and viral, their dark intensity is overwhelming in their sparse droning harshness. Slow and drawn-out, accompanied by the impassioned vocalisations of the band’s iconic vocalist, To Be Cruel is a waking nightmare that keeps on giving. The bleak depths at the heart of this album are fathomless and unknowable, which is one of the many reasons that To Be Cruel keeps drawing me back.

The music’s terrifying atmosphere is relentless and unforgiving. Khanate’s create much with a minimalist delivery, crafting immersive ugliness that’s utterly engaging. Honestly, this is so good it’s like the last fourteen years have just melted away, and the band had never left us.

There’s a lot here to digest, and a real risk of disease and discomfort while you do.

Essential.