Whitechapel Concert Review: A Metalhead Ritual

In a buzzing Friday night show at the Worcester Palladium on March 21, the band Whitechapel displayed exactly what it means to be deathcore royalty after almost 20 years together. In an adrenaline-pumping show featuring the supporting acts Alluvial, 200 Stab Wounds, and Brand of Sacrifice, the Knoxville, Tenn. outfit performed a mixture of songs old and new, many of which from their latest effort, “Hymns in Dissonance,” released on March 7.

Alluvial kicked off the evening, injecting some energy into the anticipating room, followed by 200 Stab Wounds, who — in a standout performance — really got the blood pumping, and Brand of Sacrifice, who flaunted great technical skill in both instrumentation and vocals, paving the way for the night’s climax: frontman Phil Bozeman’s Whitechapel.

All four of the aforementioned bands played a very high-intensity brand of deathcore, as is standard for the genre — with fast, chunky guitar riffs, bone-splitting blast beats, demon-like vocals, and brutal breakdowns. While such a seeming assault on the senses may sound like a hedonistic form of torture, it had the opposite effect: catharsis. Never would one expect to be relaxed by such music, but that’s the direction the night seemed to take, at least up in the stands.

However, down on the floor was a whole different experience. Stumbling through a haze of smoke and metal tees, the stage appeared directly in view, and while the crowd was a little on the placid side — that being the only slight downside of the night — there were crowd-surfers floating overhead all night long and plenty of head banging and “horns-up,” as well as a few circle pits.

As for Whitechapel’s performance, it is no surprise that pioneers of the genre know so expertly what they’re doing. Hearing the raging guitars, hammering drums, and especially Bozeman’s otherworldly and awe-inspiring vocals live was quite something to witness.

They kicked off their set with tracks from their new record, including “Prisoner 666” and “Hymns in Dissonance,” followed by some older fan favorites and others from the album. One almost does not expect Bozeman to hit the notes he does live, but alas, one could only stand in bewilderment as he produced sounds not thought possible for a human being. A cacophony of droning growls and piercing screams ripped through the crowd as the dynamic light show tore through the darkness.

While deathcore is certainly one of metal’s more extreme genres, many of its artists are really sweethearts, only they have a passion for a style of music that — to put it frankly — scares most “normies.” Whitechapel are no different, with Bozeman repeatedly thanking the crowd throughout the night, even breaking off into a heartfelt speech lauding the fans’ commitment and stating that none of what they do would be possible without them.

Such a speech, although heartwarming, was quite disorienting — given that it was followed by several minutes of earth-shattering shredding, and, indeed, arguably the most epic part of the performance was the building physically shaking and the accompanying reverberations of sound travelling through flesh and bone almost constantly.

After a false ending, the band blessed the crowd with one final song — “Doom Woods” — and said a brief, but courteous goodbye, before heading off to continue their tour, which goes on until mid-April throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Overall, it was a highly memorable show, even just for the length of the snaking merch line if not anything else. Most Instagram-worthy was easily the introduction to Brand of Sacrifice’s set, in which the original Pokémon anime theme tune played through in its entirety, giving way to a dimming of the lights and the band’s entrance to the stage.