Whitechapel have had their fair share of drummers, but the rest of the band has been incredibly stable, being exactly the same since 2007. I was fortunate enough to see them support Trivium in Auckland some 15 years ago and thought they were incredibly powerful that night, and this their ninth studio album shows no sign at all of them slowing down. It is the first release since 2010’s ‘A New Era of Corruption’ to not be produced by Mark Lewis and instead guitarist Zach Householder has taken over the controls, and a very fine job he has done as well as this sounds as if it has been produced by a long-time exponent of the craft.
The band were determined to write and record their heaviest album yet, so apparently took weekends off to rest during the sessions to ensure they were all fresh during the week. Also, it is somewhat unusual within the genre as it is a concept album, telling the story of a demonic cult and its leader, and his goal to transport to another dimension to gain power. He certainly sounds like a nasty piece of work, and Phil has outdone himself not only with the story but his vocal performance which is some of the best I have heard from him, while the rest of the guys just keep crunching it out and new drummer Brandon Zackey shows why he was made a full member after touring with them as his style is perfectly suited.
It is metal which shows that when deathcore is played properly it has a valid place within the genre, not something which is is always the case, and here Whitechapel are expanding on what is expected of them and of deathcore, using throat singing and chants to really bring in the religious aspect while never losing sight of just how dark and heavy this is. Nearly 20 years into their career, the guys may well have delivered their best album yet.
Rating: 9/10
Links:
https://whitechapelband.com/
https://www.metalblade.com/