Whitechapel - The Valley review
Band: | Whitechapel |
Album: | The Valley |
Style: | Deathcore |
Release date: | March 2019 |
01. When A Demon Defiles A Witch
02. Forgiveness Is Weakness
03. Brimstone
04. Hickory Creek
05. Black Bear
06. We Are One
07. The Other Side
08. Third Depth
09. Lovelace
10. Doom Woods
Establishing your band as one to be taken seriously in the deathcore scene among metalheads has grown increasingly difficult
From its opening track, The Valley asserts itself as the dominant force fans have come to expect from this outfit, but also reveals a welcome sense of melody not truly explored until now. Having developed beyond breakdown-driven song structures and venturing into far more technically advanced territory, Whitechapel seemed to have made a point of stretching their talents beyond simplicity and into far more varied, contextualized progression. This isn't a paragraph-length apology extended to those who felt betrayed by Phil Bozeman's usage of clean vocals, which only add to the overall strength and excellence of this release, but instead an explanation as to just how far the band's songwriting prowess has advanced in tandem with the extremely tight musicianship.
Touching back on Bozeman's vocals, it should be noted that his regained depth brings about another layer of extremity to the Whitechapel name, something sorely lacking on recent releases that were unfortunately marred with this weakened half-growled approach -- a failed experiment if there ever was one. The fact he put in the work to not only deliver one of his strongest performances in regards to his guttural approach, but incorporated some impressive clean vocal work, just goes to show how serious this work is compared to anything released previously. It all comes across as a genuine expansion of the band's sound and overall maturation rather than a sellout gimmick aimed at reaching new audiences, something not always as obvious within this scene especially.
Emotionally charged. Personal. Intricate. Experimental. These may not be words you'd think could be applied to a Whitechapel album, or any deathcore album for that matter, but The Valley is all of these things and more. It's far from a masterpiece of music, or even metal, but it gives you everything you want from this kind of album with additional features otherwise disregarded for their misplacement or ingenuity when practiced by other bands throughout the deathcore timeline. And if not for the ultimate clarity with which Phil Bozeman sings and growls his way through this album, the awkward and amateurish lyrics wouldn't be so blatantly highlighted -- but that shouldn't deter anyone from enjoying the rest of the band's output. With a hefty bass and intricate, pummeling drums backing up a surprisingly nuanced balance of mid-paced melodic and technical riffs among the typical deathcore plodding and breakdowns, The Valley covers a wide range of appealing aspects that will engage fans of the band as much as newcomers to the genre alike.
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 9 |
Songwriting: | 8 |
Originality: | 7 |
Production: | 10 |
| Written on 27.11.2019 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for. |
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