Reunited post-doom legends Khanate are the first act announced for Netherlands mega-fest Roadburn. And they’re re-releasing their first two albums…
Having broken their decade-plus hiatus in April when they surprise-released their first album in 14 years, To Be Cruel, U.S. avant-doom legends Khanate have been announced as the first act for Roadburn 2024.
The band – featuring Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))) and Burning Witch – last played together in 2005. In a surprise to absolutely nobody, they promise that their return to the stage next April will involve a lot of volume.
“As a collective, Khanate has been silent during our dormancy, but now we will get loud; very loud," they say. "We’ll be returning to the stage to explore tension and the elasticity of time – at Roadburn 2024. Get dead.”
“We are incredibly proud that we can announce the return of Khanate as the starting point of Roadburn 2024," adds Roadburn's Program Director Walter Hoeijmakers. "The impact of the band can be found in the current underground as the band has proven highly influential - even during their hiatus. We want Roadburn 2024 to reflect our very own 'underground futurism' approach - inspired by the past but firmly looking into the future as well. We will be pushing boundaries of what heavy is and can be, just as Khanate has done too. We expect this to be a hallmark edition, a sonic adventure we'll embark on together.“
At the same time, the band have also announced special vinyl reissues of their first two albums, 2001's self-titled debut, and 2003's monstrous Things Viral, both having been out of print since 2016.
"We convened at a grimy practice space in Jersey City. The entire first album was tracked while we were finding our footing together with tones and meter, timing and tension," recalls Stephen of their debut. "Revelling in that first fire of enthusiasm and new exploration, ambition was there from the first meeting. The self-titled album is a cruel beast – ugly, raw and extreme. But also full of new ideas and optimism as musicians. It climbed quickly."
On the differences between the debut and their second album, drummer Tim Wyskida says that, “Khanate had grown confident in the power of our ideas, which allowed us to dig more deeply into dynamics, detail, spaciousness and manipulation of time.
"This was a development from the first album, where we relied more heavily on muscle and volume knobs to give our newly birthed sound sufficient power. Things Viral is a favourite amongst the band and established many of the fundamental aspects of our sound which are in place to this day."
The reissues drop on December 1 via Sacred Bones. Roadburn takes place in Tilburg, Netherlands, from April 18 – 21, 2024.
Read this: Live review: Roadburn 2022
