Kublai Khan TX

Kublai Khan TX formed in Sherman, Texas, in the summer of 2009, adding the state abbreviation to the name later to avoid confusion with another band. The group self-released its first EP, Youth War, in 2010, before signing to Artery Recordings in 2014. Fronted by vocalist Matt Honeycutt, the group has released a series of albums through Rise Records.

The sound draws on beatdown hardcore, metalcore and groove metal, echoing the early-1990s metallic hardcore of bands like Integrity, Earth Crisis and Hatebreed: down-tuned, mid-tempo riffs played on 7-string guitars tuned to drop G#, abrupt breakdowns and a barked, raspy vocal delivery.

Honeycutt's lyrics address class, addiction, religion and personal accountability, giving the material more argument than the genre's usual tough-guy shorthand. Past songs have also taken on racism, police brutality and violence against women, subjects handled directly rather than through metaphor.

Balancing Survival and Happiness, the band's 2014 full-length debut, was named among Alternative Press's best albums of that year. New Strength followed in 2015, then Nomad in 2017 after the band signed to Rise Records, Absolute in 2019, and the EP Lowest Form of Animal in 2022. A fifth album, Exhibition of Prowess, appeared in 2024.

The live show is built around that heaviness, with an emphasis on volume and low end. In the spring of 2026 the band supported Lamb of God on a North American tour, extending a decade and a half of steady touring behind five full-length albums and two EPs.