Album Review: Whitechapel - Whitechapel

Despite the new generation it's introduced to extreme metal, deathcore is yet to deliver a definitive album which gives pretenders and B-teamers something real to chase and sceptics to truly latch on to. Knoxville, Tennessee's Whitechapel didn't craft a masterpiece but came far closer than most via their previous disc, 2010's  A New Era Of Corruption. Album number three's streamlined seething-with-intent death metal attack spurned some detractors, while conversely not being too much of a major sidestep to alienate diehards.

On their self-titled follow-up, they've again cut and refined these songs within an inch of their lives, doing the deed in less than 40 minutes. The transitions are taut, melodies dark and the beatdowns appropriately inserted and Behemoth-esque. (Cult)uralist has a pile-driving groove so large you could fall into it. Phil Bozeman's guttural gargling-shards-of-glass vocals also eschew vitriol. The slow and brooding I, Dementia and Section 8 offer enticing hooks, while Meshuggah-inspired closer Possibilities Of An Impossible Existence showcases a nuanced ingenuity amid the bludgeoning. The slightly off-time and uniquely-toned, ambient guitars throughout the otherwise blisteringly fast Hate Creation suggest a pseudo-Tool progressive approach. The production is also lethal, but the overall impact is not quite the head-kicker its predecessor was. The immediacy is initially striking, but further investigation reveals a little filler, a couple of by-the-numbers tunes and marginally less memorable songwriting overall. 

Perhaps because they made such a quantum leap forward last time around, it's harsh to expect similar steps between albums again. Whitechapel's suitably crushing, although it doesn't leave such a long-standing impression. Three guitarists are still utterly unnecessary though: Iron Maiden can get away with it because, well, you know... These lads can't.