Genre : Deathcore on groove metal and meshuggah metal pill
Label : Metal Blade Records
Origin : United States
Rating : 8.0 / 10
Buy it now
The new Whitechapel disc, while supremely assuages the types of cravings the premiere deathcore fan is most likely to exhibit, it also offers pretty admirable and well constructed attractions throughout, courtesy of the narrative tools and the related musical influences being at its disposal. Luckily, the package is not reluctant to rely on its key interests and idols, a set of circumstances that invite the spin to emerge as one that does not satisfy with the act of conforming to your anticipations - it seeks to shape those along the way, too. Any record below that aspiration is automatically "meh", in a sense. On the other hand, rest assured that the spin will be doing everything you want it to do, but it is the "how" and the "what else" that integrate this baby into the - oh, so enthusiastic - flock.
The pastimes of the disc are well varied, not surprisingly. With great delight I experience that the album is not overfixated on sonic ferocity for the mere sake of sonic ferocity, and this is something most notable throughout the colorful, well presented tempo selections. A healthy amount of mid tempo warfare is on display here, reeking Meshuggah from top to bottom, teaming up with a propensity to offer groove metalish leanings- The track "I, Dementia" is a great example for this, with a structure that features whole musical passages that adore the Catch 33 Meshuggah LP via the riffcraft. Catch - ha., ha. - the riffage starting from 2:26 in this song. Picture perfect Meshuggah clone music, but Meshuggah clones are sexy.
Sure, the proceedings deviate from the math metal genre later on, and do a pretty decent job at revealing breakdown-centric metalcore with decent high frequency detail embedded in it. The disc showcases an almost exclusively angry overall temper, and I, for one think it looks pretty good in this mood. Read on to find out more about the disc.
Deathcore is way too intense of a genre to be absorbed and be "properly" interpreted for a hour or more to claim that its listener could remain legitimately intact and competent as a listener during the 1 hour process. From this exact perspective, I deem the decision of the release to clock in at 38 minutes, a sober one. It also seems to be becoming a trend. Veil of Maya's Eclipse had a similar length, too. Cattle Decapitation's latest, too. Well, good for them. And, for you, too : while the Whitechapel LP doubltess contains some elegant sections to catch your breath on, - second to last track "Devoid" comes to mind with its emotive - not emo - stance - the name of the game essentially is the grind, but each and every tint and mood of the grind is revealed and addressed thoroughly. I would not say that the disc sometimes flatters melodic death metal, - the last song on the LP, for example - but I would not deny that the the impression has crossed my mind.
The breakdowns - look, mom, this LP has breakdwons, mom!!!1 - belong to decent metalcore. Thank God & Co., the disc is 101% free of breakup-related emo tendencies. The most prominent vocal presence is the classic death metal growl, and you will have a deeper-than-usual metalcoresque timber, too, that offers both raconteur activity, while, sometimes the two timbers are going off in unison to coat the rumbling guitars into a pitch shifted demonic sound, you know, the voice that tells you that your neighbors are from K-Pax.
Apart from the obligatory-, and nicely realized variation that is ubiquitous throughout, the disc showcases increased efficiency to submit to elaborated breakdowns composed of elegant riffcraft.
Like in track number 3 : notice how the song concludes. A single, elegant riff is being repeated, fading into silence, going infinitely, in theory. Yes, this is the Meshuggah type of storytelling. The Swedish Kolossals have more to do with this release than you would think, and here is why : I'm going to make a bold claim now, and I dare you to offer your take on it, if you feel like it. I claim that certain parts of this album borrows - AKA steals - structural ideas from a single Meshuggah song, and that is none other than "Combustion" from the ObZen LP. Notice how track number 2 of this disc contains patterns that revolve around the same notes the "Combustion" main riff is organized on, while, the opening track of this disc follows the same structural anatomy as "Combustion" features as its reoccurring-, prolonged central theme in the verse.
Also notice the main motive of the lightweight ambient riffing at the opening track, at 2:22 and at 2:50 : this is what you call a terrible melodic choice. The song wants to Kill On Sight, then it turns into Aladdin's monkey. "Well" played, Sire. Notice, also, that the riff in question is a shitty variant/a copy attempt of the "Combustion" main riff, only much less muscular and not at all that mean, but, hey, at least they show balls and include the fail. Did I mention that track number 2 reeks Meshuggah's "Combustion", too?
To tell you the truth, the fact - I dare say that it is a fact - that Whitechapel lets itself influenced is pretty cool to witness, and I will be the first to admit that the vast majority of this disc is rather entertaining stimuli with a lot of carefully crafted audio content to soak your ears into. I could live without the piano intro and outtro, but hey, sooner or later this Silent Hill 2 geekdom must come to its grandiose fruition, eh? We are having an eternal existence to wait it out. The disc is an immediate recommendation for the deathcore aficionado, but I personally can think of at least 10 reasons -the number of tracks the disc contains, oh! - that flatter the idea of the act of getting your paws on this for the fun of it.
Rating : 8.0 / 10
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