Artist
Kublai Khan
US 1980s thrash metal band
Minneapolis, United States · Formed 1984
Kublai Khan is a music group from Minneapolis, United States, active since 1984. Their discography on Gatefold includes 1 record.
1
Albums tracked
3
In collections
1984
Since
Biography
Greg Handevidt walked out of the early Megadeth lineup in Minnesota before Mustaine even tracked a proper debut, dragging an obsession with blistering tempos back to the Midwest. That frustration fueled Kublai Khan's single full-length, 1987's Annihilation. It wasn't clean Bay Area sheen or Teutonic savagery. It was cold, blue-collar speed metal bashed out on tight budgets, driven by John Fedde hammering the kit like he was trying to break the heads. They didn't get the luxury of a second act. By the time Annihilation hit the racks, the thrash explosion was already devouring its own tail, leaving small-market underground crews without tour support to wither on the vine. Handevidt and the rest of the outfit laid down hyperactive riff salads, folded the tent, and vanished back into real life. It is raw, feral speed that proves how deep the bench actually ran back in '87.
Bio from The Clerk
The Arc of Kublai Khan
The pivots — what forced Kublai Khan to reinvent.
The Flash Fire of '87
After spinning off from the original Megadeth camp, Handevidt set up Kublai Khan to run entirely on spite and velocity. They tracked Annihilation in 1987 with a stripped-down lineup fighting an unforgiving mix, churning out breakneck cuts that sounded like early Exodus filtered through upper-Midwest grit. The thrash market was too crowded for an indie unit with zero corporate push to survive the fallout, leaving the group dead in the water right after release. You hear the whole lifespan in thirty-five minutes: savage speed, reckless solo trades, and the sound of a band running on empty.
Influences
- Megadeth — Handevidt lived with Dave Mustaine in Hollywood and played second guitar during Megadeth's initial 1983 rehearsal era before heading back home to build this band. That pedigree bleeds directly into the frantic tempo shifts and jagged chord changes on Annihilation. You get Mustaine's venom without the big studio polish.
- Metallica — Kill 'Em All rewrote the rulebook for every American thrash guitarist working out of a basement in 1984. Kublai Khan lifted the unrelenting down-picked gallop and raw vocal bark directly from that blueprint. It is the root DNA of Midwestern speed metal.
- Motörhead — Fast Eddie Clarke and Lemmy gave American metal players permission to ignore finesse in favor of pure bludgeoning velocity. John Fedde's kick-and-snare pummeling borrows the relentless drive of Philthy Animal Taylor. It turns standard speed metal into an abrasive freight train.
- Judas Priest — The dual-guitar attacks and harmonic squeals on Annihilation stem right from the Tipton and Downing twin-axe setup. Handevidt and Christopher Hensley trade leads that attempt the same European precision inside chaotic speeds. You can hear British steel fighting under the thrash overdrive.
- Venom — Welcome to Hell made dirty production values and unhinged fury the standard currency for mid-eighties underground metal. Kublai Khan grabbed that abrasive, unpolished edge and let the tape roll without sanding down the harsh corners. It sounds wild because nobody told them to clean it up.
Discography
Their records — most-collected first.
Related artists
Around the web
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