Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Whitechapel - This Is Exile (2008)
Whitechapel started their career quite well their debut The Somatic Defilement, having gained quite a fanbase in the deathcore community. They switched from Candlelight Records to Metal Blade for their next album, and will the momentum help keep them steady? F*** yes! It's more accessible yet appealing to people such as myself who like growls and breakdowns. They also added some new variety to make things more flavorful.
While the death metal influences are still here, the brutality is reduced to make way for more melody. Some can consider this right between the lines of As I Lay Dying and Devourment. Adding to the melodic vibe is more common usage of soloing. Not a lot deathcore bands do soloing, but Whitechapel has a lot of them!
Beginning the opening track "Father of Lies" are some standard deathcore blast beats right out of nowhere. The title track uses kind of an oriental harmonic guitar scale, especially in the breakdown when one guitar plays the melody, while the other two play the ravaging rhythm. The riffing in "Possession" is quite decent, along with the soloing that adds more of the variety.
"To All That Are Dead" is brilliant in the soloing, and it really helps out the album! Sure there's another breakdown, but it's never repeated. The Red Chord's Guy Kozowyk guest appears in "Exalt" and marks a killer change of pace from the growls/screams of Phil Bozeman. As "Somatically Incorrect" approaches its ending, the riffing is a bit irritating while still tolerable. Instrumental track "Death Becomes Him" seems to lose a bit of strength, but it works as a well-needed intermission in the middle of such a deathly album before we can continue the storm.
One song that isn't the best, yet can be considered great, is "Daemon (The Procreated)". A fantastic breakdown starts the song, but the melody is a bit laughable. The guitar notes are all over the place, adding to the song's technicality. Then we have the repeated vocal shouts of "DAEMON!!!" The breakdowns still work, but the riffing is somewhat forgettable. The ending breakdown has Phil shouting "THIS IS THE END OF ALL LIFE!" Now this breakdown would've been as awesome as the previous ones in the song and some previous ones, if the vocals didn't sound so f***ing faded. It's more comedic than demonic! "Eternal Refuge" has a slower tempo. Its breakdown is much slower than what Emmure and Bring Me the Horizon at that time have performed, sounding a bit sludgy. I like that! The unnecessary interlude "Of Legions". It builds up through spacey effects before a breakdown that lasts too long to be good. Despite its mediocrity, it all leads to the finale to remind you why this album is amazing... "Messiahbolical" starts heavy, then switches to an ambient bridge, and finally ends with Phil's repeated growls of "I AM THE END!!!!". A great ending highlight here!
Despite how amazing this album is, the flaws that keep the album a half-star short of total perfection include the lack of bass, lyrical immaturity, a few songs having poor riffing and too much vocal effect, and the interludes that could've been improved. Nonetheless, if you're looking for deathly madness, you know what this is... THIS IS EXILE!
Favorites: "This is Exile", "To All That Are Dead", "Exalt", "Eternal Refuge", "Messiahbolical"