Whitechapel Crush With New Track, 'Brimstone'

'Brimstone' is another brutal cut from the Whitechapel.

Whitechapel go low, slow and fuckin' hard these days. Skirting a line that toys with deathcore and death metal all the while still being absolutely demonic in the process. This sums up much of 2016's solid 'Mark Of The Blade' LP, and is an ideal that exists at the very core of the Texas group's latest single, 'Brimstone'. 'Brimstone' is a sluggish yet rhythmically punishing monstrosity; raging with head-banging drum grooves, small hints of blast beats, oppressive atmosphere, razor-sharp guitar chugs, and Phil Bozeman's beastly low growls all spurning this song's inner monster ever forward.

For the most part, it's a pretty decent track! But let's be honest here: Whitechapel have not only done better, they can indeed do better. When they kick their song meters up higher, let loose on the guitars, and allow Phil to show off his full vocal range, that's when this band are and were at their very best. See 2010's 'A New Era Of Corruption', 2012's fantastic self-titled album (my pick for their best release), and 2014's 'Our Endless War for such stunning examples. Still, I'm never going to say no to new music from Phil & The Chapels, as I just love how fuck-off heavy they are. Besides, you could do a lot worse as far as death metal and deathcore goes these days.

Taken from their upcoming LP, 'The Valley' (out March 29th, 2019 via Metal Blade Records), 'Brimstone' and this wider record will both detail and reflect Phil's childhood experiences growing up in Hardin Valley - an area found just west of Knoxville, Tennessee, where he grew up. Supposedly discussing the dark life lessons and hardships that he's endured - of which have apparently shaped the vocalist into the man he is today - this record will really peel back the skin on some deeply personal matters for the Whitechapel frontman. Which is a big change of pace for a band so often dealing their hand in tearing down societal and political matters with their own brand of damned heavy music. Either way, I'm more than interested in 'The Valley' already and what grim real-life tales it will tell us all.

Bathe in the slow-burning hellish flames of 'Brimstone' below: