Whitechapel

Whitechapel really took a gamble when they released their self-titled album in 2012. This album is quite a bit different than the past three. I will always consider "The Somatic Defilement" to be their crowning achievement, which is followed closely by "This Is Exile". "A New Era of Corruption" is probably on the same level as "This Is Exile" for me, making these two albums tie with one another as Whitechapel's second best release. So, where does "Whitechapel" fall in? I'd say it's their third best album. It's quite different but in this case, different is certainly not bad. With more melody and solos, this album definitely showcases Whitechapel's relevance as a leading band in the deathcore genre.

The music here is far more atmospheric than Whitechapel has ever produced before. These songs possess a certain sound that distinguish themselves from any of the songs on the band's previous albums. The guitars on this albums sound overall more competent and a bit more technical without losing their signature sound. There are still three guitarists and they all work together to bring the wall of noise even more forward and make everything sound more crushing than it would if the band just stuck to two. Something that really sticks out here is the inclusion of many more guitar solos than before. "This Is Exile" and to an extent "A New Era..." have them as well, but here, they are more common and sound overall much better. "Make It Bleed" actually has one of the album's finest solos, and this is the song that opens it up! "(Cult)uralist" and especially "I, Dementia", which happens to be one of my favorites from the album, also contain my top picks for guitar solos. Also, those breakdowns that we have always heard in Whitechapel's music actually sound far better here and actually more structured than before. They sound more like chugged riffs than breakdowns at times and sound far more welcomed in these songs. "Make It Bleed" is probably my overall favorite song on the album. For some reason, that atmospheric (there's that word again!) piano intro just hits my ears in the sweet spot every time.

Phil's vocals are still as crushing and distinctive as ever on this album. There are plenty of deathcore bands that tend to utilize vocalists and vocal styles that sound similar to one another but Phil manages to distinguish himself from a lot of these other bands. He has a very deep, guttural sounding voice but you can understand all of the lyrics on the album. On "I, Dementia", he includes a clean, whispered segment that really adds a lot of atmosphere to the song. This is sure to sound weird to a lot of people but it works quite well. The lyrics do sound somewhat silly but that doesn't distract my ears from the vocals themselves.

This album also ends the same way it began. The final track "Possibilities of an Impossible Existence" contains that same piano melody that kicked the album off and it sounds just as beautiful here as it did before. There is just something about it that tickles my fancy; I can't really say why or how, it just does, and it sounds great. I love hearing bands open and close an album in the same way, as it feels like the beginning and ending of a story, almost like a concept album of sorts. This album surely has garnered its share of polarizing opinions and discontent but it's probably Whitechapel's most "mature" album musically. I can't say it's their best but it's still great to my ears.