Get a slice of fresh Flying V-fuelled dual-guitar doom-metal with this crushing Khemmis playthrough

Colorado doom-metal merchants Khemmis are still on a high from the release of tour-de-force third album Desolation back in June, and now, the band have filmed an exclusive playthrough for MusicRadar.

In the clip above, guitarist/frontman Phil Pendergast and lead supremo Ben Hutcherson don their Reverend and Gibson Flying Vs to tackle Flesh To Nothing, which features some soaring six-string melodies and serious dual-guitar action. And can we just appreciate those guitar harmonies at 5:30 onwards? Bliss.

With Desolation, we wanted to make a record that celebrated our love of the metal that got us into heavy music in the first place

Phil Pendergast

“With Desolation, we wanted to make a record that celebrated our love of the metal that got us into heavy music in the first place while still adding our own spin on that sound. For me, Flesh to Nothing is the song that most explicitly captures that spirit,” explains Phil.

“We channelled Iron Maiden quite a few times in this track!” laughs Ben. “Over the years, lots of fans asked how we write and play these songs, so we felt that Flesh would serve as an ideal introduction to playing our brand of doomed heavy metal.

“We tune our Flying Vs to drop D down two whole steps (low to high: A# F A# D# G C) and we both use D’Addario EXL158 Light Baritone Strings (13-62). When you tune low and play hard, you've gotta beef up those strings!”

If you like the sounds of Flesh To Nothing, Desolation is out now via 20 Buck Spin/Nuclear Blast.

Michael Astley-Brown

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.