adminKhemmis @Manchester Bread Shed, 14.10.26
Tales of doom and sorrow temporarily took a back seat for Khemmis during their self-titled album released earlier this year, but the conversations with death were louder than ever as they embarked on their 2026 tour of the UK.
Manchester’s Bread Shed hosted the masters of the riff for the second evening of their Forsake The Light tour and the Denver quartet delivered a blistering set packed with soul-shattering solos and hooks forged from grief.
Avernal Gate’s unmistakeable acoustic intro led into a set shaped by more than a decade of musical perfection. Isolation, from the 2018 masterpiece Desolation, followed before Gilded Chambers brought the evening into the modern day.
All three emphasised the true beauty behind the band’s songwriting and their ability to switch from sorrow to celebration. The latest record was a self-confessed departure from despair and more of a joyous approach to penning material for 2026.
A decade ago, Khemmis released Hunted which yielded fan favourites such as Above the Water, Candlelight and Three Gates — all of which were given an outing in Manchester.
Hutcherson’s guitar mastery is like no other. A calm and collected individual off-stage transforms into a behemoth when the lights go down and the Orange amps rage.
Pendergast’s range is the embodiment of the band he fronts — often pensive, sometimes snarling and definitively unique.
Zach Coleman is the band’s timekeeper and guardian of rhythm, ensuring the combined delivery packs a punch.
And David Small’s fingerprints are there for all to see on the latest record: the thunderous fill on Invocation Of The Dreamer is given space to breathe. The entire show proved his worth, adding weight to the title of bass wizard assigned to him by his colleagues in 2022.
While the setlist was shorter than hoped, Khemmis were able to dive deep into their catalogue playing Torn Asunder from their debut album Absolution, before landing on A Conversation with Death.
Judas Priest are often cited as a significant influence by Pendergast but it is now he and his brethren who are the defenders of the doom faith.
The throne Khemmis now sit upon within the gilded chambers of metal is far from the pallid one alluded to in their opener.
Guy Bell