Khanate do doom like no one else. While there isn’t a huge progression from what they were doing on their last album, Capture & Release pushes their existing formula (for lack of a better term) further than before.
Khanate are about mood. The slower than slow pace and open songstructure makes the music disorientating and menacing. Khanate are sucha commanding force and O’Malley’s contribution is far from being thebackbone of their sound. That accolade goes to Alan Dubin’s vocals. Hisvoice is unique among metal vocalists in that it sounds real, nottheatrical or forced. Dubin sings about something more terrifying thanall the devils in hell: his own demons. On “Release” his mantra of“It’s cold when I touch you” and “It’s cold when I’m near you” hits mein a way that few words can.
Capture & Release sounds like an exorcism, notin a plastic Hollywood way but every musician sounds like he’s playingto stave off an eternity of pain: James Plotkin’s bass pretty muchechoes O’Malley’s guitar but his use of synth cuts through the mire andsounds in an otherworldly way and Tim Wyskida’s drums sound like rapping on thechamber door.
This two track album frightens me. Khanate have orchestrated a thoroughly disturbing record by making exceptional use of pauses and silences. At one point the drums sound like they’re building up to something mammoth but stop and after a brief pause Dubin whispers from somewhere over your shoulder, it's shivering to say the least. While I don’t know if I could listen to this album every day, I think that Capture & Release is a powerful record from one of the best metal bands around.
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