Whitechapel

Formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2006, Whitechapel has seen its core – vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Zach Householder and Alex Wade, and bassist Gabe Crisp – remain unchanged since 2007, with the exception of drummer Brandon Zackey, who has played with the band since 2022.

Although Hymns in Dissonance follows Kin, released in 2021, chronologically, the new album is in fact a kind of sequel to This is Exile in thematic terms, the three-word title Hymns in Dissonance representing that link.

"No compromise; there's nothing nice about HID, whether in the riffs, the lyrics or the overall atmosphere of the album," says guitarist Alex Wade. "We tried to write our heaviest album to date.

" The band's dynamic, brutal musicality serves as the soundtrack to the gripping story imagined by vocalist Phil Bozeman. "Hymns in Dissonance is a parody of the true nature of hymns," explains Bozeman. "Hymns are melodious and harmonious.

Dissonance is the opposite of melody and harmony. Dissonance represents evil. The album's tracks are the hymns, which embody the seven deadly sins, from track 3 to track 10.

" The band's terrifying and timely vision was first unveiled in autumn 2024 with the single "A Visceral Retch", prompting frenzied fans to describe the song as "a version of Whitechapel we had never heard before. It is impossible to explain how utterly brutal this song is.

It is a dream come true.