Whitechapel 2019: What Can We Expect?
It’s only been about three months since deathcore founding fathers Whitechapel unveiled a sweet taste of their newest venture The Valley with ‘Brimstone.’ To some, a very welcoming return to the heavier roots of the band and, to others, yet another step in the wrong direction since 2016’s Mark of the Blade.
Historically unapologetic critics known as “Deathcore Fans” will make their opinion heard in regards to any deviation from the status quo. Check any Youtube comment thread and scan around for the phrase “Bringing it back to before they SUCKED” and you might not be even a little bit surprised.
My expectations were swayed by a Facebook poll I posted a few weeks ago where I asked my friends to vote on their new favorite Whitechapel single. As it currently stands, ‘Third Depth’ is winning by a significant landslide. This Poll was conducted before the release of their newest track ‘When a Demon Defiles a Witch.’ I’m positive the new release would change the results significantly, but I’m too lazy to post another poll. Journalism is fucking exhausting, okay?
Regardless, ‘Third Depth’ being favorited is quite surprising considering the single is by far the most outlandish of the original trio. Clean vocal-based, ambient riffage, and ever-present lack of stank-face inducing breakdowns. Straying incredibly far from the style of ‘The Somatic Defilement,’ ‘Third Depth’ feels like a blend of Tool and Gojira.
Whitechapel ‘The Valley’ album art
The two previous singles ‘Brimstone’ and ‘Black Bear’ are much more reminiscent of a familiar Whitechapel sound. Admittedly, way closer to Mark of the Blade and Our Endless War than any of their earlier albums, but still familiar. Gone are the days of the monstrously brutal band edge lords in high school would proudly represent in the form of a T-shirt (generally matched with a pair of TRIPP jeans or some shit), and it’s about time to accept it. Whitechapel is still producing high-quality music. It’s just different. They’ve moved into a more straightforward, progressive era of their sound and with ‘Third Depth,’ it’s apparent that vocalist Phil Bozeman has one of the best all-around voices in metal.
‘When a Demon Defiles a Witch’ is yet another banger of a track, tremendously heavy-hitting and offering even more experimentation in the Whitechapel sound. Bringing some classic blast-beat driven, guttural-heavy, rootin’ tootin’ dirty south deathcore while also implementing an awesome Chorus that blends Bozeman’s legendary metal vocals with his haunting cleans. It’s almost a perfect mixture of the previous three tracks, putting all of their potential on display in a four minute and forty-five second display.
What can we expect from The Valley? Based on the four singles thus far, a dynamic listening experience that will be unapologetic in its thematic and musical delivery. The tag-line “Based on True Events” hasn’t been explicitly detailed, but it seems like the parts of the greater whole will tell a pretty bleak story in the style of a concept album about Phil’s early life. At this point, Whitechapel can do literally anything and for all we know could release a RENT-style showtune next.
While I’m busy writing the first draft of A New Era of Corruption: THE MUSICAL, check out the newest releases by Whitechapel and form your own opinion. Do you dig the groove and intensity of ‘Black Bear?’ The unfiltered aggression and return-to-roots essence of ‘Brimstone?’ The haunting, experimental approach of ‘Third Depth?’ Or the amalgamation of all three in ‘When a Demon Defiles a Witch?’ As far as I can tell, The Valley will exceed expectations and be incredibly diverse, destructively heavy, and, most importantly, better than Mark of the Blade. (Honestly, that album was kind of whack. Sorry guys.)