Album Review: KHNVM – Portals To Oblivion (Neckbreaker Records)

Pulverizing old school death metal from Germany/Bangladesh, KHNVM (pronounced as Kha-noom) manifests aural chaos and destruction through offerings created by Showmik Das a.k.a Obliterator (ex-Homicide, Nekrohowl).

Initially started as a project, the mere admiration from the fans for their debut album helped to made a transition to a full-fledged band. In 2020 Cassian (drums,Ex- Tarabas,Otrere) and Martyr (bass, Ex- In Stadio Ultimo, Otrere) joined as members for live rituals and recordings. After a year of intensive songwriting, KHNVM teams up with Neckbreaker Records in 2021 to release the second full-length, entitled “Portals to Oblivion”. It will be released on December 17th, 2021.

The antidote to the poisonous and insufferable music that assaults you throughout the month of December is here. It comes in a dirty glass, one that has seen many lips, but you’ll gargle this down thirstily and satisfyingly.

KHNVM make no apologies for you who they are but you might find yourself upended by the folkish intro of Ethos of The Otherly World. Where a flute is the dominant instrument. Fear not… it’s designed to set the scene for where we’re all going. Jump head first into Portals to Oblivion and relish in the old school death metal that erupts like sun flares.

You’ll feel this one in your bones but, for all their old-school posturing, KHNVM are not constrained by the tag. This is unrelenting death metal but there’s more imaginative passages, touches of melody, shifts into blacker territories and plenty of ‘classic’ metal influences shining through.

If all of that wasn’t enough to perk your ears up, KHNVM also showcase an epic side to death metal. Not an aspect that is at the forefront but something that begins to make itself more known, in particular on Heretic Ascension and the gargantuan No Solace.

Though, be under no illusions that at its core, this album is anything but head-banging brutality. It just so happens to be smarter, more interesting and consistently thrilling. It’s only seven tracks long but your neck will ache from the force of Drink from The Chalice of Suffering, the doomier sounding Baptized by The Father Befouled and the methodical finale of Spectral Chaos.

KHNVM – Portals to Oblivion Full Track Listing:

1. Ethos of The Otherly World
2. Portals to Oblivion
3. Heretic Ascension
4. Drink from The Chalice of Suffering
5. Baptized by The Father Befouled
6. No Solace
7. Spectral Chaos

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Neckbreaker Records