Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Whitechapel
Label: Metal Blade Records
Release: year_month
Runtime: 38:51 / 44:43
Rating: 4/5
Many people consider the American sextet Whitechapel one of the most talked-about names in the deathcore scene, even though the band made its name by flirting heavily with death metal, something they’ve proven so far with four albums. They won the most praise with This Is Exile. Right up to the current album, Our Endless War, the band has kept the quality up and tried new things, but never veered off into any particularly wild experimental extremes.
After the intro, the current fifth album hits you with the title track Our Endless War, which, thanks to its heavy hardcore charge, is a great pick for opening the album. Alongside that fast hardcore tempo, the band quickly shows that there’s no getting by without breakdowns. And it’s right in those breakdowns that you can hear Whitechapel have started swearing by even lower-tuned guitars. This is where the first debates about the album’s overall sound come in. Whitechapel haven’t given up on fast songs, but the growing emphasis on groove and breakdowns, which really shine thanks to the seven-string and even eight-string guitars, is hard to miss. On the faster tracks, though, the guitars sound dirtier, which doesn’t make the best impression.
The songs The Saw Is The Law and Let Me Burn best show which way Whitechapel have turned. Despite the low-tuned guitars, the band won’t reach for anything more complex, the way djent bands do these days. Punch still wins out over technicality. That said, you could draw some parallels with modern technical bands when it comes to the production. The band hasn’t abandoned death metal elements entirely either, and Blacked Out is a good example, with its fast, Vader-style death metal riff. Ben Harclerode’s fast drumming fits it perfectly. Since joining the band in 2011, Ben has lifted the drums to a higher, more polished level. His feel for groove and speed is outstanding. Ben is simply the textbook modern extreme drummer.
Whitechapel still stand out, whatever criticism might come their way. They have a knack for songwriting, and guitarist Ben Savage breaks up any monotony with melodic passages and solos, even though quite a few of the solos were contributed by guest guitarist Ben Eller. Another bright spot is Phil Bozeman’s vocals, with a brutal growl that would suit plenty of brutal death metal bands. Bozeman stands out above all for his fast vocal lines, which over the years have become his trademark. At times he stumbles with the lyrics, though: alongside the social criticism, Bozeman leans too hard on the emotional side, which leads to pretty unoriginal lyrics that remind you of Max Cavalera’s grade-school stuff.
The album’s main problem is a handful of filler tracks that never really come into their own. That issue was already there on the previous two releases. The band clearly doesn’t take enough time to make a truly standout album. The potential you see at the start mostly fades away afterward, only to show up again toward the end. Our Endless War closes on a promising note with the longer track Diggs Road, which is melancholic and also the most melodic of the lot. It gives the impression that the band still has ideas, but when it’s all said and done, the album is no standout. It’s a satisfying release that confirms their consistency and the occasional experiment with new ideas.
Whitechapel have once again made an album that, despite the band’s skilled musicians, doesn’t rise above the average. Still, for the deathcore scene itself, Our Endless War is more than a solid release. There’s still hope that the band will take more time and make a proper Magnum opus.
Lineup
Phil Bozeman — vocals
Ben Savage — lead guitar
Alex Wade — rhythm/lead guitar
Zach Householder — rhythm guitar
Gabe Crisp — bass
Ben Harclerode — drums
Production
Mark Lewis
Tracklist
01. Rise
02. Our Endless War
03. The Saw Is the Law
04. Mono
05. Let Me Burn
06. Worship the Digital Age
07. How Times Have Changed
08. Psychopathy
09. Blacked Out
10. Diggs Road
11. A Process so Familiar (Bonus)
12. Fall of the Hypocrites (Bonus)
