Review by Richard Henry for MPM
How is it 4 years already since the Kin album, the guys are back and with album number 9, we have one line up change which is drummer Brandon Zackey goes from touring drummer to permanent member, so interesting to see what we have here, what direction have they gone in now, let’s find out!
1. Prisoner 666
Clean ominous guitar to start this, then you can hear this sort of droning guitar behind it, you know something is coming, that’s for sure, then the band comes in with an almost tribal groove part, there is a lot to hear sonically, then the vocals scream in and there is an almost off kilter Meshuggah style riff that comes in while the vocals are really spat out over it, the blasts come in right after this, then the huge chorus singalong of 666 comes in as the tempo goes half time with the double bass, love that groove with the ride cymbal carrying it in the space, then the first solo comes in, lots of Wah in there, nice playing as well, love that groove on the end of the song, that’s guaranteed to move a pit when that part hits, great opener!
2. Hymns in Dissonance
As soon as that riff hits you it’s just nasty, I am loving the aggression, then as the verse hits it’s a really syncopated riff with the drums, now is it just me or is that next riff that comes in a proper grind core riff, I could hear that in a Napalm song without a doubt, then that next part is pure hardcore, I love the way this one is flipping about styles, all the time just not letting up at all, then about a minute and a half in we have the first breakdown parts, really nice solo with some lovely harmonies, could do with being a bit more forward in the mix to be fair, it’s a bit buried, once we get to the end of the track we have the deathcore breaks with the vocals to match, me personally, it didn’t need it, the rest of the track was amazing without this tacked onto the end of it?
3. Diabolic Slumber
Faded back chords play you into this one, very eerie sounding, really nice when the band kicks in with that in the background, love the little drum fills there before the blast beats come in, the production is sort of weird on this first part, it’s almost too much grind on the guitar chords on their own where it really grates on the ear, once the vocals come in then it’s not as bad, on the flip side the drum sound is excellent, and the drumming from Brandon on this on is fantastic, the middle section breakdown is ridiculous, the gaps between each part, very nice use of the opening faded chords to bring back in the song again, well thought out, nice little melodic solo comes in and then harmonised, lovely scream into that last breakdown part at the end, cracking track!
4. A Visceral Retch
Sounds like a swarm of bees coming at me, then boom, howls of feedback hit you, now that is way down tuned there, when that verse riff hits its savage, some great drumming in there, not sure how I feel about all the vocal effects, they have like a sub drop thing going on, now when it hits the break then you get a huge slab of a breakdown it is like taking an aural beating, the blast beat part at the end almost has an old school DM feel, but it lasts such a short length of time and then into another breakdown, it’s a pit because that part really felt like it was breaking up the song!
5. Ex Infernus
Comes in with a scream and some chanting, this wouldn’t be off as a Nile intro to a song in all seriousness, that’s the vibe it is giving me right away, very soundtrack Esque, as in Apocalypto something like that, and it leads straight into……
6. Hate Cult Ritual
Straight into the chanting, then smack, the blast beats come right in, this one is aggressive as all hell, loving the drumming again, its straight up death metal this one, there is no core about it so far, lovely solo as well just comes in, unrelenting blast beats and double bass, even the breakdown part isn’t so Deathcore to me, not that it lasts long and then bang it’s off to full tempo again! More solos come in again, only two mins into this one, the tempo has not come down one bit, so aggressive, then the double kicks fly in, technically a half time feel but it’s still frantic in feel, really nice break into the chanting at the start again, was not expecting that and then the first sort of reprieve from the speed as the song comes to an end, that’s an absolute banger, love that track!
7. The Abysmal Gospel
Thats a weird guitar sound there to kick it off, someone has found a Boss Hm2, sounds like early 90s Swedish Dm, then the Kerry King bar solo comes in as the tempo cranks right up, now that’s another insanely Grind core/Hardcore riff that kicks in and the beat goes straight for that vibe, again massive Napalm vibes for the second time on this album, then it cranks to the blast beats, that is a great part, before we hit the hardcore part then a really cool grove part with some nice drum accents, middle section the insane double kicks come in before we get another solo, again it needs to be more in the mix, that part right after though I hear the melody in the guitar in the background, this is my favourite track on the album without a doubt!
8. Bedlam
Straight in with a really bouncy riff, really slow and deliberate double bass groove, then there is a break and into a more typical deathcore section, when it gets into the swallow the earth part there are some really interesting dissonant chords going on which in some way add a bit of melody to that section, this one really is just a straight up groove song, some nice Cannibal style harmonies in there around the two min mark, short and to the point this track!
9. Mammoth God
A nearly clean droning guitar on one side and then some harmonics played on the other side, really slow and deliberate build up on this one at the start, it’s one of those that the blasts come in but the guitar is just sort of staying simple, that’s a really grinding riff, and it’s the drums dancing around it, the vocals are just the punishment over the top of everything, there is actually a really melodic part when the higher scream vocals come in, might be hard to miss but straight away the guitar has a tonne of melody, that middle riff is a chugfest, with the double kicks flying under it, another solo comes in, more centre of the mix and really good to hear it, bit of Kerry King and some nice harmonies again, then straight into that section that I hear as being ultra melodic, despite you know, the blasts and the screaming, lovely harmony section as the song fades out to some semi distorted guitar chords!
10. Nothing Is Coming for Any of Us
Straight in again, some really nice vocal screams at the start, the vocals are massive all over the album, the intensity though, that’s the thing I cannot get over on this album, it’s no different on here, the breakdown on this though is disgusting, then it half times the breakdown again and it just keeps getting lower and lower, and slower and slower, the a quick drum roll and out into thrash tempo, nice change there, then the blasts come in again as the guitar plays a melodic figure over the top of it all, really gives you a breather just having that bit of melody in there.
Then it stops to a semi clean guitar octave part that comes in, now things that are easy to miss, the amount of ghost notes on the snare drum, that is some subtle drumming apart from the blasts all over the rest of the record, also a really nice melodic solo comes right in over this part as well, some really nice playing on this part and it just continues on till it’s just the guitars playing melodically till the song closes down.
8 out of 10
This is hyper aggressive, I love the grind core elements but sometimes the adding of the breakdown parts take away from the song for me, it’s like we have to put them in because they are expected, that and the solos need to come way up in the mix for me as they get a bit suffocated, BUT, it’s a really good album, thoroughly enjoyed it!!
Whitechapel is:
Vocals: Phil Bozeman
Lead Guitar: Ben Savage
Rhythm Guitar: Alex Wade
Guitar: Zach Householder
Bass: Gabe Crisp
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