WHITECHAPEL

Kin

METAL BLADE

Knoxville’s deathcore deviants ramp up their ascent

WHILE PEOPLE BEMOAN the generic nature of deathcore, Whitechapel have become an exception to the rule. The Knoxville sextet are now eight albums into a 15-year career and have continually chipped away at the parameters of the genre to the point where 2019’s The Valley was barely recognisable as deathcore at all. Instead, melody, ethereal soundscapes and grungier guitar tones were all tied together by a cohesive conceptual narrative. No one’s saying they’re David Bowie here but, considering the dogmatic and regimented nature of the scene they came from, Whitechapel show 10 times more ambition than any other band from that world.

Obviously, they were never going to head backwards, and is a further evolution of, which soon introduces double-kick drums and Phil Bozeman’s patented roar. It’s an exhilarating start, and proves just how important dynamics are to metal.