Hello Metalheads! This is John back with another early album review, this time from the almighty Whitechapel! Hymns in Dissonance comes out on March 7th, 2025 and has been highly anticipated.
Phil Bozeman Whitechapel’s vocalist has been teasing for over a year that this is the heaviest and darkest thing they have ever done as a band. This legendary frontman was absolutely right in this statement. This is downright dark, heavy, relentless and belligerent in its content. The first two tracks serve as an introduction to the main story of the album but even at the first note there is a much different tone. The first time I heard A Visceral Wretch back in September, I knew I would be tracking this every step of the way. They really brought back the death metal influence with full force while still keeping the sound they have developed over the last ten years in tact. I was a huge fan of Whitechapel’s first three albums, but didn’t really vibe with much after those, except The Valley back in 2019. This return to this level of heavy will make every remember their roots and just how good their old material truly is. I always gave/give their albums some time to judge them too, not just a snap judgement of dislike.
Whitechapel have always had this chugging relentless style in everything they do. The Stank Face I made for this album over and over again was so satisfying! By that I mean, the amount of just shear brutal setups or abrupt switches was so damn high. I typically reserve this for breakdowns, but I found myself doing it over and over again while doing full force headbanging like nobodies business. This is the kind of heinous brutality that gets kids crowd killing and hardcore dancing.
I have to mention Phil one more time, his vocals are just so top tier in ever since of the expression. He always had some of the most consistently great gutturals, even his highs shrieks and mids sound great as well. It’s also very tasteful the way he is deployed across Whitechapel’s discography. He displays a ridiculous range across every song, but he doesn’t do the “vocal gymnastics” that some guys do as frontman. I think this was his way of reminding the deathcore world that he is an absolute animal with a microphone. This is the first album to feature Brandon Zackey on drums and man does he deliver. He keeps an incredible pocket at all times and displays a multitude of great fills, feels and overall grooves. The core guitar section(which includes three guitars and a bass) has been together since 07 and also sound outstanding. I do feel as thought they really upped their game as brutal creativity for this album.
Prisoner 666 starts the album with an uneasy set of chords playing ever so unsettling. Then the rest of the instrumentalists join slowly still adding to the ambience. The first vocal we hear is a break and Phil essentially yelling “I BEAR THE NUMBER” before doing a filthy guttural “SIX SIX SIX!” This sets the entire dark, dangerous and grimy feeling for the entire album. The solo at the 2:50 mark is over a thrash inspired riff that goes through several groove transformations before returning to the main riffs of the song.
Diabolical Slumber is a track that really caught my attention as soon as it started. It again starts with another ambience creating instrumental section. This then has blast beats out over the top of it before transitioning into an all out heavy chug fest by the guitars. During this section the chugging almost sounds off a beat, but vocals come it turns into a 6/8 meter and it all makes sense! Phil joins in during the demonic waltz with some of best and passionate high vocals I have ever heard him do. He goes all over the place with his vocals during the next few sections. The breakdown of this album goes super slow, but doesn’t drag the rest of the track down to a grinding halt that takes all of the momentum away.
While I may not be as big into deathcore any more, I still love the great stuff when it comes out. This will be in my rotation for a long time to come. The homecoming of Whitechapel’s old school sound is so welcome in my book. This is an easy 10/10 and the huge hype was absolutely warranted. I can’t wait for everyone to hear the what the deathcore pioneers are bringing back! As always don’t forget to give the bands social platforms love. All of their social and streaming links will be provided below!
https://www.facebook.com/share/1B57NEoHmL/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://youtube.com/@whitechapeltv?si=_eq4aY9yK4zmSdY0
https://music.apple.com/us/album/hymns-in-dissonance/1781939814
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