Review: Khemmis Ends Year With Massive Anniversary Show

Khemmis wore its heavy crown proudly on December 20, as the Denver doom kings marked the tenth anniversary of its seminal debut, Absolution, at the Gothic Theatre.

The hometown celebration included everything any fan could want, and the band — guitarist-vocalist Ben Hutcherson, guitarist-vocalist Phil Pendergast, drummer Zach Coleman and bassist David Small — reciprocated the local love in spades, including starting its three-song encore with the live debut of a track called “Gilded Chambers.”  

Yes, Khemmis is readying to release brand-new material — a full album due to come out sometime next year, Hutcherson announced, to a sea of hollers and horns — and let us be the first to tell you, it absolutely rips. D-beats and doom? Yes, please. But that’s all we’ll say about it for now, because the night was truly a celebration of the six-song record that launched the quartet’s career and set the course for one of the biggest acts out of the 2010s, in Denver and beyond.

And as soon as the first harmonies of the rarely played “Torn Asunder” cascaded from the haze above, it became evident why. The doom-and-roll Khemmis created and first fully realized with Absolution is still undeniably epic and tailor-made to fill large rooms, especially when the adrenaline naturally notches it up a little.

“Ash, Cinder, Smoke” and “Serpentine” galloped along, while the second half of the Absolution set included some deeper cuts in “Antediluvian” and “Burden of Sin,” tracks Khemmis hadn’t dusted off live in literally a decade, to much adoration from the die-hards.

Culminating with “The Bereaved” — by far the most-beloved Khemmis song that became an instant setlist staple and boasts nearly two million streams to date — Absolution peaks with operatic intensity. That song always hits in concert, with Pendergast’s soaring voice, but hearing it in its proper place, at the end of the overall composition, punctuated the emotive intensity of that particular track so much more.  

Khemmis killed it, crushingly crisp and charismatic.  The four-piece has come a long way since that initial offering, cementing its own unique corner within the heavy scene, but certainly hasn’t forgotten how and where it all started.  

Pendergast and Hutcherson, both gregarious showman and magnetic musicians, regularly shared their appreciation to the packed house, including giving Danny Sax of AEG a shoutout for all his support over the years and putting together the Absolution anniversary.

Local death trio Of Feather and Bone conjured the first pits of the evening, catching this writer foolishly standing right in the middle of the floor off guard. But all involved practiced proper mosh etiquette and escaped unscathed. Of Feather and Bone’s inclusion was special, too, as the band was also part of the Absolution release show at the hi-dive back in 2015. Call of the Void was also there back in 2015.

At the Gothic show, Hashtronaut got everyone stoked and toked. The weedian three-piece, Pryor amps showered in a smoky green glow, tenderized the audience. No matter where you were planted, you could feel every note vocalist-bassist Daniel Smith (also of Alamo Black) hit right in your chest. The trio is that type of stoner-doom band.  

The night flowed and went so well it felt like it ended too soon, to be completely honest. Khemmis, the stage its rightful throne, could have played Absolution twice, nay, thrice, and we’re certain the enthusiasm in the room wouldn’t have waned. After closing out with “Three Gates” (hey, 2026 marks ten years of soul-shattering sophomore album Hunted) and its own mind-blowing rendition of Lloyd Chandler’s Appalachian folk standard “A Conversation with Death,” Khemmis took one more moment to soak it all in and shower the congregation with gratitude.

“You changed our lives,” Pendergast shared, calling Denver “such a beautiful home to us.”

“We love you all forever,” he closed. “We’ll see you next time.”