Khemmis combines the soul of Black Sabbath, the soaring harmonies of Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden, and the visceral weight of contemporary sludge and doom metal.
No regurgitation. No gimmicks. No trends.
In July 2015, the band released Absolution, a six track, forty-minute journey through transcendent melodies and pure auditory annihilation. Recorded with Dave Otero (Cobalt, Primitive Man) and Shane Howard at Flatline Audio, the album earned praise from listeners and critics alike. Decibel Magazine named it the #9 metal album of 2015, while Pitchfork named it their #5 release of the year. It earned accolades from NPR, Apple Music, Invisible Oranges, Noisey, and No Clean Singing, among others.
Candlelight
Khemmis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Topped with hope against the rising tide,
Illuminating what waking tries to hide,
Propped up by the content of your soul,
Thought I can't see,
The illusion still remains,
I was at first alone,
Beyond the lucid veil,
Haunted by what resides beyond the glow,
Its poison spilling deep within my mind,
Though I can't feel,
The illusion still remains,
I was at first alone,
Fears given life by a flickering light,
Beyond the lucid veil,
Now, from the void, it emerges,
Cloaked in horror,
Nightmares of flesh and bone,
Nothing,
So reveal the darkened figure,
Eyes adjust to the flame,
Creeping like those bony fingers,
Stretching into the sky.
In Khemmis's song "Candlelight," the lyrics describe a feeling of isolation and fear, even amidst the light of a candle. The opening lines paint a picture of three fingers reaching into the darkness, symbolizing a sense of hope against the rising tide of fear. The candle is seen as a symbol of this hope, illuminating what is often hidden in the darkness. Yet, despite this illumination, the singer still feels alone and haunted by their fears and the unknown.
The lyrics suggest that there is an illusion at play, where despite the candle's light, the fears and anxieties of the singer remain all too real. The line "thought I can't see, the illusion still remains" sums up this feeling perfectly. The lighting of the candle may reveal something in the darkness, but it also creates shadows that can be just as terrifying. The final lines of the song reveal the source of this horror - a dark figure emerging from the void. With this imagery, the song becomes a meditation on the relationship between light and dark, hope and fear, and the illusion of safety that can be shattered by the unknown.
Line by Line Meaning
Three tall bony fingers stretched into the night,
Amid the dark of night, a trio of skinny skeletal shapes reach upward.
Topped with hope against the rising tide,
Though surrounded by pessimistic forces, there's a flicker of positive energy at the fingertips of these bony figures.
Illuminating what waking tries to hide,
These bony fingers shine a light on the things that hide just beneath the surface of our routine consciousness.
Propped up by the content of your soul,
The presence of these bony fingers is made possible by the strength and rich depths of your inner self.
Thought I can't see,
Even though I can't observe it directly,
The illusion still remains,
the feeling lingers nonetheless that something important is present.
I was at first alone,
Once, I was all by myself,
Fears given life by a flickering light,
but then something frightening appeared, which was made all the more disturbing by the flickering light that cast shadows everywhere.
Beyond the lucid veil,
This eerie apparition lay just beyond the margins of my clear consciousness.
Haunted by what resides beyond the glow,
The presence of bones and their surrounding light caused me to feel trapped and harried by unnerving phenomena lurking beyond the edge of the light.
Its poison spilling deep within my mind,
This disturbing presence is like venom, in that it has a profound effect on my thoughts and emotions.
Though I can't feel,
Although I'm numb to its touch,
The illusion still remains,
the sense that this haunting spectre is present continues to linger.
I was at first alone,
Once again, I was by myself,
Fears given life by a flickering light,
but this time the fear was brought on by the eerie bones and the wavering shadows they produce.
Beyond the lucid veil,
These bones appear to be from a world beyond the one I know and can see clearly.
Now, from the void, it emerges,
Suddenly, out of nowhere, this haunting presence that was previously lurking in the shadows has become more visible and tangible.
Cloaked in horror,
The presence is wrapped in a cloak of something terrifying and foul.
Nightmares of flesh and bone,
The presence has a sense of being composed of elements from our bad dreams: nightmares similar to spooky bones and flesh that twists and contorts unnaturally.
Nothing,
This being has no substance, no concrete form other than the dreamlike apparition conjured by the flickering light.
So reveal the darkened figure,
This dark figure that's been lurking around is finally being made clear.
Eyes adjust to the flame,
As one stares intently at the strange apparition, it's possible to see more details as our eyes acclimate to the light.
Creeping like those bony fingers,
The presence is getting closer, gradually moving forward like the tall skeletal fingers from the beginning of the song.
Stretching into the sky.
The spectral figure reaches a height similar to the tall fingers, stretching up into the skies beyond our reach.
Contributed by Alaina C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
MaggieTourelles
on A Conversation with Death
Oh Mort
Voulez-vous m'épargner pour une autre année ?
Eh bien qu'est-ce que c'est que je ne peux pas voir,
Avec des mains glacées qui me saisit ?
Eh bien, je suis la mort, personne ne peut exceller.
J'ouvre la porte du paradis ou de l'enfer.
Oh Mort
Oh Mort
Trop tard, trop tard, adieu à tous.
Mon âme est condamnée, alors écoutez-moi bien.
Tant que Dieu demeura dans le ciel,
Votre âme, votre âme criera en enfer.
Oh Mort
Oh Mort
Oh Mort
MaggieTourelles
on A Conversation with Death
Oh Mort
Oh Mort
Voulez-vous m'épargner pour une autre année ?
Eh bien qu'est-ce que c'est que je ne peux pas voir,
Avec des mains glacées qui me saisit ?
Eh bien, je suis la mort, personne ne peut exceller.
J'ouvre la porte du paradis ou de l'enfer.
Oh Mort
Oh Mort
Trop tard, trop tard, adieu à tous.
Mon âme est condamnée, alors écoutez-moi bien.
Tant que Dieu demeura dans le ciel,
Votre âme, votre âme criera en enfer.
Oh Mort
Oh Mort
Oh Mort