Khann

Khann, the Orlando, Florida outfit, channel the progressive heavy metal pioneered by mid-2000s acts such as Intronaut, Rwake, and Mastodon, yet fracture it into crustcore-scale bursts lasting roughly one minute apiece in the manner of His Hero Is Gone while threading in erratic compositional turns that recall the noise-rock approach of the Jesus Lizard. The group’s founding roster featured vocalist Josh Vitale, guitarist Andrew LaCour, bassist Jake Smith, and drummer Josh Dulcie, all incidentally devoted vegans whose dietary principles plainly shaped the title and concept of their 2007 Metal Blade debut, Tofutopia. Matt Sutton was enlisted on second guitar shortly after the record’s release to thicken the band’s live sound, but accounts indicate both he and longtime frontman Vitale were promptly removed, prompting LaCour to add vocal duties to his existing guitar work.