*Every Tuesday and Thursday from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*
Today’s artist is Whitechapel.
On Friday, July 14th, yet another massively popular deathcore band hits the Chicago Open Air stage alongside Suicide Silence. Since forming in 2006, Whitechapel has consistently released great, heavy material and evolved slightly throughout each record. Phil Bozeman is considered to be one of the best vocalists in the wide variety of extreme metal with his mind boggling low screams. While being recognized for that, Bozeman also has a pretty solid singing voice. On the new record, ‘Mark of the Blade’, the band incorporates the clean vocals more often on tracks such as “Bring Me Home” and “Decennium”. You can check out the highly emotional video of “Bring Me Home” below. It has been a long time coming for Whitechapel to hit the US festival circuit. I saw them at Rock on the Range and they exceeded expectations. With one of the largest crowds on the third stage that weekend, they delivered a blistering setlist that tightly grasped the crowd for the entirety of the show. If you haven’t seen them already, you’re in for a treat.
Some long-time fans of Whitechapel have complained about their changes through each record, but I welcome it. Bands will grow tired of doing the same thing on each record. These guys have transitioned very well through each record on what can be a very repetitive genre. While the first three records are just absolutely slaughtering with brutality, the last three records still kick ass with better production and more variety of song structure. Their setlist at Rock on the Range mainly contained songs from the last three records, so just hope that you like the recent material. When I attended Chicago Open Air last year, I saw several people wearing Whitechapel shirts without the band even performing at the festival. It’s safe to say they will again have one of the biggest crowds of the weekend regardless of what stage they’re on. The Knoxville, TN band will also hit several European festivals following COA including Bloodstock, Into the Grave, and Summer Breeze. You can buy your tickets to see Whitechapel at Chicago Open Air here. Make sure to check out some of the material below that you might hear them play at Chicago Open Air. Follow the band on Facebook for updates on upcoming new music and tour news. Also be sure to like the festival page for upcoming news on set times and other experiences.
Whitechapel is:
Phil Bozeman – Vocals
Ben Savage – Guitar
Zach Householder – Guitar
Alex Wade – Guitar
Ben Harclerode – Drums
Gabe Crisp – Bass
