Written: 23rd February 2025
Closing in on twenty years since their formation, Whitechapel have forged a reputation as one of the biggest names in deathcore with recent albums expanding their sound in progressive and groove metal territories. Despite the reservation of some fans, 2019’s The Valley and 2021’s Kin are, for me and many followers, amongst the band’s strongest material, finding the sextet exploring an interesting direction. With Kin concluding the storyline (about vocalist’s Phil Bozeman’s childhood traumas) that began on The Valley, Whitechapel were ready to explore new narratives and Hymns in Dissonance is the result. Hymns in Dissonance mines a darkness that is not lyrically personal and, says guitarist Alex Wade, “I don't think Hymns in Dissonance follows Kin musically at all. If anything, it's the polar opposite. For this album, it was fun to be able to just let loose and write ignorantly heavy music again.”
“Hymns in Dissonance is a mockery of the true nature of what hymns are,” Bozeman explains. “Hymns are melodious and harmonious. Dissonance is the opposite of melody and harmony. Dissonance represents evil.” Befitting such a title and description, Hymns in Dissonance sees Whitechapel adopt a mercilessly savage approach to both their songwriting and narrative. “The album follows the story of a cultist who is gathering worthy people to join his cult,” explains Wade, “and there are moments in the storyline where the cult followers are singing an evil hymn to open a portal for the head cultist to enter.”
First track, Prisoner 666 begins with clean but nefarious guitar which is joined by a distant second. As the rest of the band join, malevolent melodies driven by a vibrant groove herald an approaching menace and the feeling of worrying anticipation. Bozeman makes his first appearance with a brutal roar, “I bear the number 666.” This marks a change in rhythm and the angry guitars attack in unison with staccato precision as Bozeman delivers the opening part of the narrative with threatening gutturals. Take a look at me now / I’ve got a vision that’s sickened / With a malicious intention with my decision / To allow a descension into another dimension. Although the track continues with its infectious groove, the blast beats and pounding bass of Gabe Crisp make this an uncompromising and compelling opening that more than sets the scene for what is to come. Bozeman comments, “This is the beginning of the narrative of ‘the last living son’ of the Father of Lies coming to be. Relinquishing his faith, religion, burning the church and serving Satan, who he believes is his father.”
Title track Hymns in Dissonance (previously released as a single) steps up the ruthlessness with drummer Brandon Zackey (now a full time member) crushing all before him with speed and power. Bozeman’s vocals are truly monstrous, the stomping central section delivered with avalanche causing bellows. Exiled no more, we spread because we are the disease / Hang the virgins / Burn the children / Hymns of dissonance we sing / As the bowels of holy men begin to drain. The title track tells us about the building of the cult of followers. In Bozeman’s words, “Only the most heinous and vile people on the planet. Showing their devotion to their lord. Committing horrible acts and the leader showcasing his power and his purpose. To commit the seven cardinal sins to resurrect their lord. To replace divinity with evil.” The guitar solos are rapid, beginning with an air raid siren like glissando; the elements of melody sit in interesting opposition to the implacable rhythm section. A track mostly written by Bozeman on guitar, it plays with tuning as the majority of the track is Drop G but with an ending in Drop F, making it all the more crushingly devastating.
With Prisoner 666 and Hymns in Dissonance acting as an introduction, the third track – Diabolic Slumber - serves as the first of seven songs that represent the seven deadly sins: in this case, sloth. A song that builds from its ghostly introduction, Diabolic Slumber pummels like a juggernaut with huge riffs and Bozeman varying between demonic shrieks and abyssal growls. The central breakdowns of the song are fiendish and unyielding, echoing the narrative which Bozeman states is about, “watching people die and not doing anything to save them. Falling into a deep sleep while the world tears itself apart. No empathy, no feeling. Pure apathy.” A slower section towards the end of the song gives a momentary respite before the bludgeoning finale.
Moving the story to the sin of gluttony, A Visceral Retch shows no sign of allowing the barrage of savagery to cease. Bozeman sounds like a man possessed alongside colossal death metal riffs. Consume / Consumed without a gasp, we gorge into the night as we dance / To the curdling whimper of pitiful man / Blasphemous, gluttonous. A track mostly written by guitarist Zach Householder, it highlights his love of Cannibal Corpse and at times, there is certainly something of that most famous of death metal bands about the track. This is followed by short instrumental Ex Infernis, which was created by Householder using orchestral drum software. Stick clicks, deep timpani and monk like chants conjure an uneasy feeling as it illustrates the beginning of the ritual the cultists perform to open the portal for the Cult Leader. An interesting way to break up the album, it brings a completely different atmosphere and allows for momentary respite before the aggression returns on the following track. Alex Wade expands on this notion, “With song sequencing we like to try to make our albums as dynamic as possible. We like to give the records a roller-coaster effect toggling the energy of the tracks up and down to keep the listener interested.”
Hate Cult Ritual portrays the sin of wrath and the overwhelming rage of the cult. Subtle touches such as the multiple voices at start of the track – repeated in the chorus - add to the feeling that the group of followers are united in their goal. We hunt, we kill, we feast, we conquer / We are disciples of hate, rage and murder. It is easy to imagine a committed audience singing these words during a live show, becoming part of the cult themselves. Twisting and snarling with an evil barbarity, Hate Cult Ritual continues the death metal approach.
The Abyssal Gospel (sin of pride) has as minute long introduction that combines a range of styles, some reminiscent of Slayer, before diving headlong into the main riff. “This was interesting to create because it felt like a mash-up of riffs,” Wade states. “The intro was written kind of randomly and it was so heavy we were trying to find a place to use it and decided “why not have it open this song then kick straight into the punk/grind riff? It’s pretty diverse, with influences of slam, grind, and melodic metal. We threw it all together and it just worked.” The melodic elements that Wade refers to come in the shape of an excellent guitar solo that fights for prominence with the hellacious percussion.
Bedlam’s verses dwell with a huge, iron-fisted groove, its slamming riffs striding like an ancient behemoth. While there are no signs of clean vocals, Bedlam’s chorus comes as close as any on the album to having a dark, almost catchy hook. Delving into the sin of envy, the track links to a previous Whitechapel album as Bozeman explains, “On the album This is Exile there was a character – Daemon - who is the brother of the cult leader. This song is him admitting his jealousy of him and defiling his rotting corpse.” Penultimate track Mammoth God lives up to its name, formidable and imposing. Beginning with another ominous introduction, it then assumes a belligerent and bone-crushing personality. Bozeman’s vocal variation across the album is impressive and here they range from blistering screaming cries to cavernous gutturals. Featuring one of my favourite Ben Savage guitar solos on the album - due to its melodic variations - the two faces of the track combine to make a contender for the best song here. However, the final track has much to say about that.
The longest track on the album, the six minute Nothing Is Coming For Any Of Us, closes Hymns in Dissonance in truly astounding fashion. “On every album we try to close it out with the most epic song we’ve written. It’s kind of our signature to leave the listener with one last “wow” before the album ends,” comments Alex Wade. Whitechapel have more than succeeded in this goal as Nothing Is Coming For Any Of Us takes almost every element that makes Hymns in Dissonance such an intoxicating album and blends them in one of the best songs the band have ever produced. The narrative explores the sin of lust as Bozeman expounds, “The earth is portrayed as a person, a woman bearing the child, their lord. He does not love who is bearing the child. The rest I would rather the listener take away what they will.” Split into two contrasting sections, the first half threatens to cause an earthquake with its subterranean rumblings. Above this, quite beautiful harmonious guitars soar and this signals a transitional period as melody battles with power. This ultimately leads to an exquisite melodic outro with the drums completely fading away, leaving us wondering how the story ends.
Each member of Whitechapel gives an outstanding performance on Hymns in Dissonance, each combining seamlessly with the other in moments of ruthless energy, twisted melodic detours and pitiless rhythmic structures. Nevertheless, despite these undeniable excellent contributions, it is Bozeman that rises above all others to deliver a truly unsurpassed vocal performance. “I homed in more on the progression of the screaming vocals that I’m known for,” says the vocalist. “I really reworked my high vocals and tried some new different types of tones with my voice. Basically, a new-age feel to a classic sound.”
With Hymns in Dissonance, Whitechapel have almost completely turned away from the direction they were exploring on The Valley or Kin. It is an album of almost unremitting brutality and unwavering intensity, both musically and lyrically. Alex Wade confirms that this was indeed the band’s intention, “We attempted to write our heaviest album to date. We wanted to put out something that was shockingly menacing and brutal.” Hymns in Dissonance is without doubt a heavy album but there is diversity within the different tracks from prodigious breakdowns and breath-taking intense riffs to melodious moments and varying vocal approaches from Bozeman. All of this adds up to an incredible album and fans of nerve-jolting and inescapably brutal music will revel in its dark delights. A fiery tempest of unyielding, apocalyptic ferocity.
Hymns in Dissonance is released on 7th March 2025
Whitechapel online