Phil Bozeman’s grasp on the evil, violent underbelly of, well, the world, is tighter than Rashad Evan’s chokehold, and has never been more apparent than now throughout the lyrics on Whitechapel‘s new record, A New Era Of Corruption. The album kicks off with what ends up to be one of my favourite tracks “Devolver,” about the devolution (as opposed to evolution) of humans; instead of becoming more enlightened, the species described seems to be backtracking into primal, vicious beings. Great imagery and enticing catch phrases – “welcome to hell…” “this is what I live for…” “I’d slit his throat…” “what doesn’t kill you first…” will most assuredly be screamed back at Phil by raging show-goers.
It’s almost impossible, once you’ve started listening, not to plow through the record. The menacing attack that inevitably hits in each track finds itself smoothly interrupted by melodic guitar breaks from time to time, an approach not often taken by Whitechapel in previous recordings. While still holding true to the sounds that got them to this point, the addition of these melodies to their otherwise brutal sound emancipates Whitechapel from the strictly deathcore genre in which they’ve thrived, proving that all three guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade and Zach Householder and bassist Gabe Crisp are now not merely chug-masters, but are truly honing their artistry as musicians. The melodies serve their purpose, beautifully interspersed, giving a little relief and then providing the path towards a deeper plunge into the merciless pummeling: Whitechapel dole out the punishments all over this record. Kevin Lane absolutely annihilates his drums, which actually take the beating in stride… I need to ask him how big his toms are. They sound deep, dark and huge. I can hear a little Randy creeping into Phil’s voice, but perhaps that’s just the Richmond air I’m smellin these days… he still has his thick gutterals going full blast.
“Devolver” is brilliant. ”Breeding Violence” makes me wanna bounce up and down, making that track the one I’m most excited to see Whitechapel play live this summer, especially with Phil’s intoxicating vocal cadence. I always love an Acacia Strain riff, which is apparently green-lit since Vincent shows up on “Murder Sermon.” ”The Darkest Day of Man” – “it’s only getting worse” – has a fabulous d-tune on the downswing, and the guest vox on “Reprogrammed To Hate” woke me right up (not that I was asleep, mind you) – most certainly the gnarliest vox Deftones‘ Chino Moreno has put down in recent years. In “End of Flesh,” I’m pulled by the lolling guitars, antagonized by Kevin’s rolling double kicks and enticed by Phil’s vocal vomiting.
Whitechapel have certainly created something of which to really be proud. “A New Era Of Corruption” drops today from Metal Blade Records, go buy that shit. They’re currently doing the European festival circuit (with As I Lay Dying) and will back in the states for the Warped Tour in July. Can’t. Wait.