Whitechapel – “Our Endless War” [Album Review]

Our Endless War is the fifth full-length release from extreme metal titans, Whitechapel, a band that has long been considered to be at the forefront of the deathcore genre. The new disc opens with “Rise,” a brief melodic intro that in no way lets on to the beating that is about to ensue. Suddenly, the floodgates are kicked wide open as the title track, “Our Endless War,” bombards the listener with a delightfully down tuned, groove-laden assault. It is immediately clear that Whitechapel mean business.

The songs are tight, well composed, and technical with a decent amount of breakdowns but not to the point of being overdone. Phil Bozeman’s vocals are commanding and powerful and, thankfully, tend to stay in the lower range of the spectrum avoiding the high-pitched, ear piercing screams often associated with this type of metal. Our Endless War is a brutally heavy album for sure, but I feel it also has just the right amount of groove to suck the listener into its stream of chaotic chugging rhythms propelling them further into the swirling madness.

While there are tons of memorable moments on this disc, the biggest highlight for me was “Worship The Digital Age,” a tune that immediately caught my attention with its sheer heaviness and driving tempo. This is by far my favorite Whitechapel record to date and I think fans of the band are going to eat this one up!

Track Listing:

01. Rise
02. Our Endless War
03. The Saw Is The Law
04. Mono
05. Let Me Burn
06. Worship The Digital Age
07. How Times Have Changed
08. Psychopathy
09. Blacked Out
10. Diggs Road
11. A Process So Familiar (Bonus Track)
12. Fall Of The Hypocrites (Bonus Track)

Run Time: 46:10
Release Date: April 29, 2014

Check out the song “The Saw Is The Law”