Whitechapel – Hymns In Dissonance
Release Date: 7th March 2025
Label: Metal Blade
Bandcamp
Genre: Deathcore
FFO: Chelsea Grin, Suicide Silence, Fit For An Autopsy.
Review By: Trina Julian Edwards
Welcome to the Deep South… Knoxville, Tennessee deathcore legends, Whitechapel take the aggression up to 11 on their 9th album, Hymns in Dissonance. The album releases on Friday, March 07 via Metal Blade Records. Hymns in Dissonance features Phil Bozeman on vocals, Ben Savage, Zach Householder, and Alex Wade on guitars, plus Gabe Crisp on bass. The band’s line-up has remained the same since 2007, except for drummer Brandon Zackey, formerly of Enterprise Earth, who began playing with the band in 2022.
Whitechapel had been hinting about returning to a more brutal sound after 2019’s The Valley and 2021’s Kin. With the release of A Visceral Wretch in September of 2024, it was clear that they weren’t kidding about going back to their roots. Also, unlike the storylines of the previous two albums, Hymns in Dissonance is not a personal journey. According to press releases for the band, the album tells the story of a cult leader recruiting evil people to join him. These “hymns” about the cult leader make a mockery of what true hymns are. Bozeman explained that the tracks represent the seven deadly sins, with tracks 1-2 as the intro. So, did the band deliver the brutality that was promised? I think we already know the answer to that.
The opening track, Prisoner 666 has a slow, clean opening that gives you an unsettling feeling like something bad is about to happen. The heavy riffs drop, and then it just takes off. The rhythm of the vocal line in the verse is similar to The Saw is the Law, and this track definitely has some groove to it, also like The Saw. It slows at the chorus and there is some nice double bass action. The guitars behind the leads are just chaotic, but the solo gives your ear something to latch onto. This track hits like a brick, but it’s not just heavy riffs, there’s a lot of melody, too. Bozeman’s vocals are nice and evil, with a lot of the lows that he’s known for, and of course, that incredible diction.
Hymns in Dissonance was the second track that the band released ahead of the album drop. The crazy vocals are all over the place, and it’s incredible to behold. It sounds like Bozeman is narrating multiple POVs, and I love the addition of yells in this track. The first breakdown hit early, which was a little unexpected, but it followed up with some gorgeous harmonies and a nice little solo. The dynamics take you on quite the roller coaster, but I love how the tempo changes keep you a little on edge. The final breakdown is also pitched lower, which came out of nowhere. It’s definitely a return to earlier works, but it’s more This is Exile than The Somatic Defilement.
Speaking of The Somatic Defilement, Diabolic Slumber leans a bit more that direction. The eerie intro chords are perfect, and I love that they keep that energy when the riffs and the rhythm drop. It starts off slow, but it picks up speed prior to the vocal line. Phil uses some higher vocals here, but the lower vocals are a nice juxtaposition to the faster pace of the chorus. The rhythm is a bit unusual, but Zackey pulls it off like a master. The guitar harmonies at the instrumental break are amazing, and the breakdown hits just right. It’s not a complete return to the previous works because it feels much more musical now, but it’s a bit like we’re getting the best of both worlds.
A Visceral Retch was the first track the band released to whet everyone’s appetite for their return to a heavier sound. It dropped in Sept. 2024 to universal WTFs, but promises made, promises kept. I love that the vocals sound exactly like what the title suggests. Bozeman did an excellent job reminding everyone why he’s the gold standard for deathcore vocals, and this track no doubt made many a metal vocalist weep with envy. The riffs are brutal, and the blast beats give you a serious pummeling, but there’s so much going on that my brain struggled to process it all. That drop in pitch is definitely unexpected, but it added some nice texture to this track. I also appreciate the way they pitch down again at the end to rub some salt into the wound they just gave you.
Ex Infernis is Latin for “from below/hell.” This is primarily an instrumental intro, just over a minute-long. You can almost picture the heavily robed acolytes chanting in the background. It has a very cinematic feel to it, like something out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. According to the press release, Householder created this using drum software. He programmed all the parts, including the chants, and it sounds exactly like what they describe— ritualistic and evil.
Hate Cult Ritual is really fast, so I hardly need to say that this was one of my favorite tracks. The hostility is impressive in its intensity. Bozeman is layered on the vocals so it sounds as if multiple people are chanting, “We hunt, we kill, we feast, we conquer.” The riffs are relentless, and the rhythm just keeps pounding away. There is some variation in the dynamics, but it retains a frenzied sort of feel from start to finish. Closer to the end, it brings back the acolytes chanting “mock, burn, spit on the cross,” which is so evil and ugly, just as it was intended to be. Despite the speed and the brutal riffs, they still manage to be very melodic in parts. There’s also no real breakdown, so it feels a little more death and a little less core.
The Abysmal Gospel is another favorite. That guitar screech at the beginning is crazy, but it really sets the tone for the pandemonium that follows. The riff is super heavy and grindy, but the tempo is still really dynamic, and Phil pulled out all the stops on this one. It’s also very melodic in places, almost like they’re picking up where they left off with Kin. But instead, they’ve incorporated that melody into the ferocity of their earlier works. It’s quite ridiculously fast in places, and the drums keep what should be disparate parts of the song on track. You can certainly hear the different influences in this one. I don’t know how they made this work, but it does.
Bedlam comes in right off the bat with the monster riffs. The pace is a bit slower, and it’s chunky, dare I even say, slammy in places? However, there’s still plenty of movement in the guitar lines, not to mention in the cadence of the vocals. At first, it feels like it’s heading in a more deathcore direction, but then it takes a little detour. There are some intriguing chords here that really hammer home the “dissonance” angle, yet they didn’t cheat us out of the melody.
That ominous droning opening of Mammoth God leads into a slower-paced verse, but they gradually increase the pace and the intensity until the whole weight of the band comes to bear. The guitar melody of the chorus could carry the song on its own. Phil’s vocal choices are impeccable, with the higher vocals during the rapid chorus sliding into the lows during the slower verses. I love how dark and moody this track is, yet it’s still heavy as hell. Whitechapel have a knack for this, and no one in the scene even comes close. That eldritch screech before the chorus is frankly terrifying, but the guitars are so melodic they’re almost soothing. I can never get enough of the guitar harmonies, but that solo from Savage is the star here. Without a doubt, one of the best tracks on the album.
Nothing is Coming for Any of Us starts abruptly and kicks into a shockingly fast-paced verse, but it slams on the brakes before building back up to the rapid chorus. The vocals are both furious and terrible, and I swear those lows are satanic. The breakdown is everything a breakdown ought to be. It just keeps coming back lower and slower, but there are different elements each time. The lovely guitar melodies in this track play off the ferocity perfectly. The clean-ish guitars take the stage around the halfway mark. Then the drums drop back in, followed briefly by those vicious vocals before they fade, leaving just the guitars and the drums to take us out. The solo gliding over the top of the underlying guitars and drums is flawless. Beautiful playing here. It gives me chills every time I listen to it. This is a fantastic closer, and the outro could not possibly have been better.
Overall, I wasn’t sure they were going to pull this off. I like A Visceral Wretch, and Phil’s vocals are second to none in this track, but I wasn’t sure I wanted a whole album of it. I enjoy all of Whitechapel’s catalog. However, I may be one of the few who was not jazzed at the thought of losing some of the aspects that made me love The Valley. Fortunately, that’s not how it turned out. I’m still sitting here shaking my head, trying to figure out how they managed to merge old and new Whitechapel without losing the essence of what made each incarnation great.
They weren’t lying when they said they were going to be channeling the spirit of early Whitechapel. However, they have nearly two decades of playing and songwriting under their belts that can’t be taken out of the equation. So this is not Whitechapel trying to re-capture the lightning in a bottle that was the MySpace deathcore era. This is Whitechapel at the height of their powers, incorporating the brutal elements of their earlier works into the framework of the Whitechapel of the 2020s…and it’s glorious. Do not miss Hymns in Dissonance, out this Friday, March 07 via Metal Blade Records.
(5 / 5)
