Our Dissonant Songs Will Become What’s Just: Whitechapel’s Return to Brutality on ‘Hymns of Dissonance’

I will be the first to admit that I didn’t know much about Whitechapel, apart from playing the odd track on my radio show, but when the opportunity came up to review their new album “Hymns in Dissonance” I knew I had to leap well out of my comfort zone and give it a whirl.

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Released on 7^th March 2025 on Metal Blade Records, “Hymns in Dissonance” is a 43-minute-long sonic onslaught that hints to the band’s past in terms of brutality and aggression. With the previous two albums being a bit more melodic, using lyrical themes of personal traumas and struggles, the return of the old logo has meant the reappearance of an older sound, albeit with the skillset and musicianship of a band fifteen years down the line!

The ten tracks follow the story of a cultist who is gathering people to join his cult, and the album, itself, is a representation of evil, with the tracks also being based around the seven deadly sins.

One of the standout features of this album is the songwriting ability, which is just phenomenal as it takes the dark fiction route and creates a genuine masterpiece in lyricism.

Formed in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2006, the band has kept its core members of Phil Bozeman on vocals, Ben Savage, Zach Householder and Alex Wade on guitars and Gabe Crisp on bass, who have all been playing together since 2007, with the addition of drummer Brandon Zackey in 2022, and, with this album, they have maintained their heavy sound, but one that is more technical than some of their earlier stuff.

The album opens with the track ‘Prisoner 666’, and this slowly builds in intensity and tension, before the listener is launched headfirst into the rest of the album, with absolutely no respite!

Combining death metal and metalcore with the blood-curdling sounds of black metal, this is deathcore at its finest, and creates a heavy, aggressive yet progressive sound with complex and intricate lead guitars, fast, crunching riffs and double kick drumming that is high energy and intense, and adds just a touch of extra groove to the album.

The layered guitar work incorporates soaring guitar melodies and intricacies as well as violent and brutal riffs that generate an awesome atmospheric vibe, but one that will also melt your face!

Phil’s vocals range from brutal death metal guttural growls to black metal screams and metalcore roars and, with such a span, you would be forgiven for thinking there was more than one vocalist. But, demonic and terrifying, his vocals are the perfect fit for the dark lyrical theme.

With so much going on in each song, this album really needs more than one listen through to hear all that it has to offer and, because of this, it may be a grower with some people rather than an instant hit, but anyone who is a fan of brutal, extreme death metal will absolutely love this!

Whitechapel, as older fans know Whitechapel, is back and nothing is going to stop their deathcore juggernaut!

Rating 9/10

Tracklisting:

1 – Prisoner 666

2 – Hymns In Dissonance

3 – Diabolic Slumber

4 – A Visceral Wretch

5 – Ex Infernis

6 – Hate Cult Ritual

7 – The Abysmal Gospel

8 – Bedlam

9 – Mammoth God