CULTIVATED BRUTALITY
For 20 years, Whitechapel from Knoxville have stood for cultivated deathcore and death metal. With their ninth album "Hymns Of Dissonance" in 2025, the Americans have returned to the uncompromisingly brutal sound of their early days. In 2027, they are coming to Europe with the "Burn Forever Tour" to knock the fans out with their blastbeat anthems. Supporting acts: Sylosis, 200 Stab Wounds and Tribal Gaze.
"Hymns In Dissonance" - the title of the current Whitechapel album says it all. "There's nothing nice about HID, from the riffs to the lyrics to the overall melody of the album. We tried to write our heaviest album yet. We wanted to put out something that was shockingly menacing and brutal," says guitarist Alex Wade of his band's latest effort. "The album follows the story of a cultist who gathers people to join his cult. There are moments in this story where the cultists sing a hymn to open a portal for the main cultist to enter." The band's dynamic, brutal musicality provides the perfect soundtrack to the compelling story that vocalist Phil Bozeman vividly imagines for himself: "'Hymns in Dissonance' is a mockery of the true nature of hymns," he says. "Hymns are melodious and harmonious. Dissonance is exactly the opposite of melody and harmony. It stands for evil. And the tracks on the record represent the seven deadly sins." The Metal Hammer magazine critic writes about the band's latest output: "We've only just gotten used to the fact that Whitechapel have musically opened a new, calmer chapter in their career with 'The Valley', which continued on the 2021 album 'Kin'. Anyone expecting a continuation of this will not only be surprised by 'Hymns Of Dissonance', but also overwhelmed!" And he sums up the merciless death thunderstorm as follows: "Over ten tracks, the band blasts away in all kinds of furious red colors. The blastbeat machinery shoots incessantly, and Philip Bozeman's diabolical vocals oscillate between growling growls and hissing shouts." There really is no room for sentimentality.
SYLOSIS: Since 2000, the band from Reading, England, has stood for uncompromising riff storms and technical precision. In February 2026, Sylosis released their eagerly awaited, career-defining new album "The New Flesh" via Nuclear Blast. It is a monumental testament to destructive riffs, incisive melodies and refined brute force. The band's seventh studio album is a powerful snapshot: deadly, uncompromising and metal through and through. The band explains: "We couldn't be happier with what we've created here. It's our heaviest album to date, but also our most diverse and collaborative. We've already played a lot of these songs live and it's been great to see how positively the audience has responded to them. It really feels like a next step for the band. We can't wait to see you all again."
200 STAB WOUNDS: After an EP and an album for the iconic underground label Maggot Stomp, up-and-coming Cleveland death metal newcomers 200 Stab Wounds were signed to Metal Blade Records in 2024. The long-player "Manual Manic Procedures" was finally released on the renowned label. The record is a brutal piece of old-school death metal with a modern twist. The tracks are definitely not for the faint-hearted and have brought classic gore music back into the collective consciousness of the metal community. Stormbringer.at judges: "In just over 29 minutes of playing time, it is above all dynamics and pressure that make an impression. 200 Stab Wounds don't act as bluntly in caveman death style as we are used to from their colleagues from Sanguisugabogg, for example, but vary the torture tempo within the individual songs on occasion, sprinkle biting solos into open wounds or build up a threatening horror movie atmosphere with a synth guitar interlude." At times, it sounds as if Cannibal Corpse and Jungle Rot had been crossed in a genetic research laboratory, later mixed with Skinless and, after a long mutation process, unleashed a wonderfully ugly hybrid on humanity.
TRIBAL GAZE: This project was born out of boredom in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. Tribal Gaze quickly developed into a band to be taken seriously, releasing their first album in 2022. A&R legend/talent scout Monte Conner became aware of the Texans at a concert and helped them secure a deal with Nuclear Blast. The first result of this collaboration is called "Inveighing Brilliance" (2025) and offers old school death metal with hardcore elements, somewhere between Obituary, Gatecreeper and 200 Stab Wounds. With a good feel for crisp, short songs, Tribal Gaze get the neck muscles going. The Metalfactory.ch critic writes in his review: "From the scorched earth of Texas, Tribal Gaze return with 'Inveighing Brilliance', a death metal monolith characterized by violence and unrelenting brutality. The five-piece conjure visions of primal rage and nihilistic clarity with a sound rooted in the rawness of old school death metal, but sharpened with modern elements."
Translated with DeepL
