Album review: Whitechapel – Hymns In Dissonance

Deathcore tends to discourage notions like subtlety or progression, but recent years have seen Whitechapel developing in unexpected ways. Their last two records, 2018’s The Valley and 2021’s Kin, pitched the Knoxville sextet into curiously radio-friendly territory. Acoustic guitars were glimpsed; Shinedown were invoked as a comparison.

All that is swept away on Hymns In Dissonance, an exercise in returning to what guitarist Alex Wade describes as “ignorantly heavy music”. Sure enough, beats are blasted, downtuned riffs slam and frontman Phil Bozeman entirely jettisons the melodies he’s been incorporating for the last few albums – as well as being the title of this outing’s first single, A Visceral Retch could be written on his vocal moodboard.

Similarly, while recent work has focused on personal trauma, Phil’s lyrics here turn to dark fiction, using an imaginary cult to frame songs based around the seven deadly sins. Some bands would use this as a metaphor, but here it’s surely no deeper than a conviction that evil subjects are cool.

So, there is plenty here that delivers knuckleheaded thrills, but Whitechapel’s ninth album is more than a simple devolution to deathcore’s first principles. Other raucous styles are drawn into the maelstrom: new drummer Brandon Zackey blasts The Abysmal Gospel into grind territory, while Hate Cult Ritual is infected with the demonic theatricality of black metal. The band’s songwriting accommodates both the frenzied and the epic, and if no melody escapes Phil’s throat, guitarist Ben Savage balances things out with glistening leads on Mammoth God and Nothing Is Coming For Any Of Us. Destined to appeal across the heavy spectrum, Hymns In Dissonance expertly plays to its creators’ many strengths.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Fit For An Autopsy, Job For A Cowboy, Cannibal Corpse

Hymns In Dissonance is released on March 7 via Metal Blade