KONKHRA

Death Metal / Death 'n' Roll / Groove Metal • Denmark

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Formed in ´89, released 2 demos "Vicious Circle", in 1990 and "Malgrowth" in 1992. Quickly established as Denmarks premier Death/Thrash act in the international underground, signed to Progress for a multi album deal following the release of the MCD "Stranded" in 1992, released debut "S.A.D." in 1993 to world wide acclaim, laying the foundation for the Heavy Metal subterm Death´n´roll, and touring extensively in Europe and in the States. Record second album "Spit Or Swallow" in 1994, whereof 4 songs were released in december as a MCD "The Facelift EP", which breaks in the danish singles chart at number 42, being first ever extreme metal release featured on the list to this day. "Spit Or Swallow" released in April 1995, followed by festival appearances including Roskilde Festival in June, where the band performed in front of 12000 raving metal heads, and recorded the performancefor the first ever Death´n´roll live album read more...

Thanks to UMUR, tupan for the updates

Konkhra - Warmonger online metal music video by KONKHRA

Konkhra - Warmonger
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Konkhra - Facelift online metal music video by KONKHRA

Konkhra - Facelift
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Konkhra - Drowning Dead Dreaming online metal music video by KONKHRA

Konkhra - Drowning Dead Dreaming
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Konkhra - Warzone online metal music video by KONKHRA

Konkhra - Warzone
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Konkhra - Spit Or Swallow online metal music video by KONKHRA

Konkhra - Spit Or Swallow
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KONKHRA Discography

KONKHRA albums / top albums

KONKHRA Sexual Affective Disorder album cover

4.00 | 1 ratings

Sexual Affective Disorder
Death Metal 1993

3.50 | 1 ratings

Spit or Swallow
Death 'n' Roll 1995

3.00 | 2 ratings

Weed Out the Weak
Death Metal 1997

2.50 | 1 ratings

Come Down Cold
Groove Metal 1999

3.00 | 1 ratings

Reality Check
Death Metal 2003

3.00 | 1 ratings

Nothing Is Sacred
Death Metal 2009

3.50 | 1 ratings

Alpha and the Omega
Death Metal 2019

KONKHRA EPs & splits

3.00 | 1 ratings

Stranded
Death Metal 1992

3.42 | 2 ratings

The Facelift EP
Death 'n' Roll 1994

0.00 | 0 ratings

The Freakshow
Death Metal 1999

KONKHRA live albums

2.00 | 1 ratings

Live Eraser
Death 'n' Roll 1996

KONKHRA demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

3.50 | 1 ratings

The Vicious Circle
Death Metal 1990

3.00 | 1 ratings

Malgrowth
Death Metal 1991

KONKHRA re-issues & compilations

KONKHRA Malgrowth the Vicious Circle album cover

0.00 | 0 ratings

Malgrowth the Vicious Circle
Death Metal 2009

KONKHRA singles (0)

KONKHRA movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

KONKHRA Reviews

KONKHRA Alpha and the Omega

Album · 2019 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Alpha and the Omega" is the seventh full-length studio album by Danish death/thrash/groove metal act Konkhra. The album was released through Hammerheart Records in October 2019. It´s the successor to "Nothing is Sacred" from 2009, so it´s been a 10 years long recording break for Konkhra, and there have been a couple of lineup changes since the last album, as drummer Johnny Nielsen and lead guitarist Kim Mathiesen have made yet another return to Konkhra (this is their second time returning to the band). Bassist Lars Schmidt has been replaced by Martin R. Patterson, so it´s only lead vocalist/guitarist Anders Lundemark who remains from the lineup who recorded "Nothing is Sacred".

Lineup changes or not, the material on "Alpha and the Omega" continues the hybrid death/thrash/groove metal style of both "Reality Check" (2003) and "Nothing is Sacred" (which isn´t odd as Lundemark was the main composer on those releases). Lundemark maybe growls a bit more and uses less of his Robb Flynn (Machine Head) influenced raw throaty singing, but otherwise "Alpha and the Omega" still sees Konkhra using elements from all three above mentioned styles. Heavy, meaty, groove laden riffs and rhythms, spiced up with thrashy riffs and a few more brutal death metal moments ("Thoth" is for example a really heavy and quite brutal track). There´s also a death´n´roll feeling to some tracks ("Divine Wind" is an example of that).

"Alpha and the Omega" features a raw, powerful, and detailed sound production, and Konkhra are as always a well playing unit, so the basis elements are in place. Lundemark has also managed to write more memorable and varied songs this time around, and upon conclusion "Alpha and the Omega" is actually a nice surprise after a few more standard quality releases and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

3 months ago
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KONKHRA Nothing Is Sacred

Album · 2009 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Nothing is Sacred" is the sixth full-length studio album by Danish death/thrash/groove metal act Konkhra. The album was released through Chopshop Records in February 2009. It´s the successor to "Reality Check" from 2003. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as drummer Johnny Nielsen has been replaced by Mads Lauridsen and lead guitarist Kim Mathiesen has been replaced by Michael Skovbakke. The usual suspects are bassist Lars Schmidt and lead vocalist/guitarist Anders Lundemark.

The music on "Nothing is Sacred" is death metal with elements of thrash metal and groove metal. So it´s pretty much a continuation of the hybrid death/thrash/groove metal style of "Reality Check". Lundemark still sounds like a less recognisable and powerful Robb Flynn (Machine Head) with his raw throaty singing style and the riffs are still heavy, meaty, and groove laden. Konkhra´s challenge here is that they struggle to write memorable tracks so while "Nothing is Sacred" is relatively enjoyable while it plays, it´s not an album where you remember anything from after it has finished playing. Most tracks sound a bit the same and use the same stylistic elements.

That doesn´t mean that "Nothing is Sacred" is a bad quality release and I´m sure listener´s into the most raw and brutal parts of Machine Head´s repetoire could find something to appreciate here, but old school death metal fans should stay clear of this one. This is definitely not Konkhra as they sounded during their peak death metal period from 1990-1995. "Nothing is Sacred" features a raw and powerful sounding production job, and upon conclusion it´s a good quality release, although I of course have a few issues with it, as described above. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

3 months ago
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KONKHRA Reality Check

Album · 2003 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Reality Check" is the fifth full-length studio album by Danish death/thrash/groove metal act Konkhra. The album was released through Code666 Records in 2003. It´s the successor to "Come Down Cold" from 1999. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as Konkhra are now back to the same lineup who recorded the 1994 "The Facelift EP" and the 1995 "Spit or Swallow" album (Konkhra´s second full-length studio album). As those releases are probably what most people deem Konkhra´s peak, there were great expectations to "Reality Check".

Konkhra had arguably tried (and failed) to follow and emulate the mid-90s groove/thrash metal wave of artists (especially Machine Head) on their last two studio albums (their third and fourth full-length studio albums "Weed Out the Weak" (1997) and , and "Come Down Cold" (1999)), but if you thought that they had completely ditched the groove metal leanings on "Reality Check" you would be a bit off the mark. While "Reality Check" certainly brings back more death metal to Konkhra´s sound there are as many heavy groove laden thrash metal parts featuring on the album and "Reality Check" is more rightly labelled a hybrid death metal and groove/thrash metal release.

There´s more bite and conviction behind the performances here than on the last couple of releases though, and "Reality Check" also features a decent sounding production job, which manages to bring forth the qualities of the music, so while this could have been better and one could have hoped for a more death metal oriented music style considering the lineup, "Reality Check" is still a good quality death/thrash/groove metal hybrid release. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

3 months ago
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KONKHRA Come Down Cold

Album · 1999 · Groove Metal

UMUR

"Come Down Cold" is the fourth full-length studio album by Danish death/groove metal act Konkhra. The album was released through Diehard Music in September 1999. It´s the successor to "Weed Out the Weak" from July 1997. American guitarist James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Cancer, Testament...) has returned to perform lead guitars on the album and bassist Lars Schmidt has also returned to the fold after not performing on "Weed Out the Weak". Per M. Jensen (Invocator, The Haunted) has replaced Chris Kontos (Machine Head, Attitude Adjustment) on the drums. Lead vocalist/guitarist Anders Lundemark completes the quartet lineup.

The shift from playing death metal to playing a more groove ladedn thrash metal style was already initiated on "Weed Out the Weak" and it´s continued here. Although a few death metal traits remain, they aren´t many, and at this point Konkhra can be labelled groove/thrash metal and their closest relative is Machine Head. Konkhra unfortunately don´t have the songwriting skills nor the money to achieve a massive, heavy, and meaty sound production like the American influences have always had, so "Come Down Cold" soon comes off a pale copy of Machine Head and groove/thrash in general.

Murphy´s solos are as always well played, but they don´t always fit the mood of the songs, and the whole thing sounds a bit detached. Generic heavy groove riffs, drums which lack the groove this type of music needs (and they have an annoying tone and placement in the mix too), and tame raw throaty vocals. This is as tedious as groove/thrash metal can get and without a shred of anything unique, this isn´t exactly a recommendable release. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

3 months ago
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KONKHRA Stranded

EP · 1992 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Stranded" is an EP release by Danish death metal act Konkhra. The EP was released through Progress Records in May 1992. It was the first label release by the band. Konkhra formed in 1990 (although they existed under the Vicious Circle monicker in the years 1988-1990) and released the "The Vicious Circle" demo in 1990 and the "Malgrowth" demo in 1991.

"Stranded" features 6 tracks and a total playing time of 29:08 minutes. The 3 opening tracks on the EP are new compositions, while the 3 closing tracks are culled from the "Malgrowth (1991)" demo. Stylistically Konkhra deliver a technically well played old school death metal style, with both deep growling vocals and higher pitched aggressive vocals. At that point in time they were greatly influenced by the vocal style on Carcass 1991 album "Necroticism Descanting the Insalubrious", and there are elements of the instrumental part of the music on "Stranded", which also point in that direction. Tempo changes, breaks, and thrashy death metal riffs a plenty are the order of the day in addition to the above mentioned duo vocal style. While vocalist/guitarist Anders Lundemark has a relatively unremarkable growling vocals style, the high pitched aggressive snarling vocals by vocalist/guitarist Claus Vedel are both distinct sounding and possesses a caustic bite, which are a greatly enjoyable listen.

"Stranded" features a decent sounding production job. It´s not what I would call a professional sounding production though, and especially the guitars lack bite and sharpness. They are generally placed too low in the mix. My overall impression of the sound quality of "Stranded" is a recording which is just above demo quality, but it´s still a worthy release for those who enjoy Konkhra´s debut album "Sexual Affective Disorder" which would be released in 1993. You´ll hear many of the great ideas and compositional structures of that album here in their primal form. They aren´t fully developed yet, but "Stranded" is definitely still an interesting release and a 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.