Largely recognized as their breakthrough album, Khanate was confidentenough by the two-song, forty-minute Capture & Release (2005) to peel back itslayers of thick mossy droneand reveal the minimalist underpinnings, a changeeither interpreted as maturity or an implied threat. “It’s a grim, avant-gardeexercise in tension and paranoia. Dense, leaden drones fill up the spaces betweenO’Malley’s sparse, deeply sustained guitar chords.Vocalist Alan Dubin’s anguished vocals seem to convey the tortures of thedamned as if there were not a shred of hope left for existence in this world.Capture & Release is not dissimilar to black metal in how it so violently conveyssuch a bleak and ultra-nihilistic world outlook. But while the standard tempoon a black metal album typically strays into the triple digits in terms of beats perminute, Khanate’s plodding pace keeps the BPM soundly within the single-digit range.” (Tiny Mix Tapes).
