Review: WHITECHAPEL – ‘The Valley’ [Album Review & Video Stream]

 

Since their inception in 2007, Whitechapel have embraced darkness unlike many other bands have been able to do, and their forthcoming seventh studio release, The Valley, is no different. Let’s set the record straight for a second, though. There aren’t many, “happy,” things about their music to start with, but when you start to dig deeper than the music and the lyrics, and begin to strike a personal connection with the stories they tell, you begin to feel like you’re one with the grim tales that they narrate in their music. For frontman Phil Bozeman, this is as personal of an album as ever, giving you an inside look at events that he went through as a child growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, with a new perspective on life and how his childhood traumas have molded him into the human being he is now. From his putrid relationship with his step father, to diving deep into analyzing his mother’s multiple personality syndromes, it is nothing short of a lyrical masterpiece that exceeds any and all expectations from a modern Deathcore band in today’s music scene. The Valley, based on true events by Whitechapel, is an overwhelming, emotional, and cut-throat look into the darkest side of a person’s mind.

The album begins with the opening track, When A Demon Defiles A Witch, a song that Bozeman wrote about his mother’s personal demon. A gruesome tale that properly sets the mood for the unrelenting and over the top musical onslaught that you will face when listening to this album. To make things perfectly clear, this song has nothing to do with his stepfather, but it is about a demon by the name of, “Mycar,” that used to haunt her in their home. Bozeman’s mother had journals that she kept writings in of all the things that she experienced with this being, and these journals actually contained lines and phrases that Bozeman would use as lyrics for the track in certain places, (“Burn the bed, burn everything, it’s a lie anyway.”) the original writings of the journal concur that she referred to herself as a witch, and talk about how the demon would sexually assault her in her bed. Continue reading

WHITECHAPEL Release “Black Bear” From Upcoming Album ‘The Valley’ [Song Stream]

 

On March 29th, Whitechapel will release their 7th full-length, ‘The Valley’, via Metal Blade Records. Mixed by David Castillo, mastered by Ted Jensen, and produced once again by Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder), ‘The Valley’ is a reference to the part of Hardin Valley (west of Knoxville, Tennessee) where vocalist Phil Bozeman grew up. Set against this backdrop, he approaches his subject matter unflinchingly, building upon everything that came before, making it clear that he has survived that which he was forced to endure and is not afraid to confront it. “Phil has been upfront in his lyrics in the past about hardships he endured in his life as a child, and I believe with this record we tried to paint a better picture of that,” says guitarist Alex Wade, who alongside his bandmates, stands 100% behind everything their vocalist has to say. “I feel our music is Phil’s release from his past, being able to get it out and speak about it, and hopefully anyone who hears it that may have gone through similar experiences can find some release in it as well.” This is the second track released from the upcoming album, the first of which was “Brimstone” which can be streamed here. Continue reading

WHITECHAPEL Guitarist Alludes To Completion of Seventh Album!

BIG NEWS for Whitechapel fans: the deathcore elites have finished the recordings for their upcoming seventh studio album. Guitarist Alex Wade posted a teaser of a song on the album on his instagram story over the weekend with the caption, “it’s done. #7” The Knoxville sextet are still riding out 2018 on a wave of massive tour dates and momentum in the celebration of their definitive album, “This Is Exile,” turning ten this year. Their closing tour dates on the year feature a month and half long run on the road with Chelsea Grin, Oceano, and Slaughter To Prevail, starting November 1st in Pittsburgh, PA at The Rex Theater and ending December 16th at their annual toy drive/Christmas show at The Mill And The Mine in their hometown Knoxville, TN. The album release date has yet to be announced, but, fans may expect to hear some new music in the early portions of 2019.

So without further ado, let’s get right into those dates!

Nov. 1 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Rex Theater
Nov. 2 – Syracuse, N.Y. @ Westcott Theater
Nov. 3 – Easton, Pa. @ One Centre Square
Nov. 4 – Providence, R.I. @ Fete Ballroom
Nov. 5 – Hartford, Ct. @ Webster Theater
Nov. 7 – Richmond, Va. @ Canal Club
Nov. 8 – Huntington, W.V. @ V Club
Nov. 9 – Dayton, Ohio @ Oddbodys
Nov. 10 – Greenville, S.C. @ The Firmament
Nov. 12 – Athens, Ga. @ Georgia Theater
Nov. 13 – Orlando, Fla. @ The Abbey
Nov. 16 – Toledo, Ohio @ Civic Music Hall
Nov. 17 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ The Rave II
Nov. 18 – Ft Wayne, Ind. @ Piere’s
Nov. 20 – St Louis, Mo. @ Delmar Hall
Nov. 21 – Lincoln, Neb. @ Royal Grove
Nov. 23 – Wichita, Kan. @ Wave
Nov. 24 – Colorado Springs, Colo. @ Sunshine Studios
Nov. 25 – Ft Collins, Colo. @ Aggie Theater
Nov. 27 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Depot
Nov. 28 – Spokane, Wash. @ The Pin
Nov. 29 – Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox at the Market
Nov. 30 – Jerome, Idaho @ Diamondz Event Center
Dec. 1 – Portland, Ore. @ Bossanova Ballroom
Dec. 2 – Bend, Ore. @ Domino Room
Dec. 4 – Chico, Calif. @ Senator Theater
Dec. 5 – Santa Cruz, Calif. @ The Catalyst
Dec. 6 – Bakersfield, Calif. @ Bryder’s
Dec. 7 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Fonda Theater
Dec. 8 – San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues
Dec. 9 – Tucson, Ariz. @ The Rock
Dec. 12 – Austin, Texas @ Come and Take It Live
Dec. 13 – Tulsa, Okla. @ Cain’s Ballroom
Dec. 14 – Memphis, Tenn. @ Growler’s
Dec. 15 – Birmingham, Ala. @ Zydeco
Dec. 16 – Knoxville, Tenn. @ The Mill & Mine

Whitechapel:

Phil Bozeman – Vocals
Ben Savage – Guitar
Zach Householder – Guitar
Alex Wade – Guitar
Gabe Crisp – Bass
Navene Koperweis – Drums

WHITECHAPEL Join Forces with CARNIFEX, RINGS OF SATURN, ENTHEOS & SO THIS IS SUFFERING For North American Tour

This November/December, WHITECHAPEL will embark on a North American tour, entitled “Decade of Defilement”, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of ‘The Somatic Defilement. Featuring CARNIFEX, RINGS OF SATURN, ENTHEOS, and SO THIS IS SUFFERING as support, this trek will also include a set list with select tracks from ‘The Somatic Defilement (some of which have not been played since the album’s release!), making this is one show not to be missed! See below for all dates.

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WHITECHAPEL’S ‘The Somatic Defilement’ Is Coming Out On Vinyl In September!

On September 15th, Metal Blade Records will release Whitechapel‘s ‘The Somatic Defilement’ for the first time ever on vinyl! Re-mastered for vinyl, this special re-issue will be available in following versions: 


–Black Vinyl


–Pale Violet-Marbled Vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 300 copies) 


–Dim Gray-Marbled Vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 200 copies) 


–Cool Gray-Marbled Vinyl (US exclusive – limited to 500 copies) 

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Chicago Open Air 2017 Day One: Kiss, Rob Zombie, Megadeth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, & More [Photo Gallery]

It has been a few days, but we are still recovering from an absolutely legendary weekend at Toyota Park. We witnessed several remarkable performances across the rock and metal genres from bands like Code Orange, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Clutch, Body Count, Godsmack, Amon Amarth, Avatar, and more. There were the classic artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, and Metal Church while new comers like Aversed, Whores., Code Orange, Crobot, and more lit it up early in the day. Without these younger bands, there won’t be any of these festivals in the future, so make sure you get out early and support these young talents. The wide variety of bands playing the festival made for an eventful weekend as there was something for everyone attending. Today’s article will be about the performances on Friday. Before I dive into that, I’d like to talk about the other experiences at Chicago Open Air. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: WHITECHAPEL

*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. Continue reading

10 Years Of Whitechapel Culminates With “Mark Of The Blade”

Band

Whitechapel was formed early in 2006 in Knoxville, TN. Damn. Ten years ago. Hard to believe that it has been so long since first hearing “The Somatic Defilement” shortly after its release in 2007. Since then, Whitechapel has developed a huge, devoted fan base with their extreme brand of Deathcore Metal, made a few line up changes, released five devastating albums and landed in the top ten of the Billboard Top 200 with “Our Endless War” from 2014. Stepping up their game at every stage of their musical careers, the June 24, 2016, highly anticipated release of “Mark of the Blade” marks not only a celebration of ten years together as a band but also a musical turning point.

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WHITECHAPEL Premiere New Song “The Void”!

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On June 24th, Whitechapel will release their sixth full-length, Mark of the Blade, worldwide via Metal Blade Records. Reunited with producer Mark Lewis (The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse), Whitechapel has redefined who they are and what they are capable of with their new album, Mark of the Blade. Kicking off with “The Void” – which has a Slayer-esque ferocity that is perfectly suited to the band’s three-guitar attack – the songs that follow all leave a distinct impression, and by the time the rich, dark melodies on “Decennium” bring the record to a close, it’s impossible to deny the emotional weight brought to bear. Continue reading