Review Summary: A New Era of Corruption is a remarkably fun, brutal, and enlightening experience. It is, without a doubt, one of the very few deathcore albums that may actually stand the coming test of time.
I have witnessed firsthand the strong and bitter hate that many old-school death metal fans and metal elitists alike have for deathcore. And I think what fuels their hate is deathcore's rising popularity, and how it unconsciously claims it deserves to be there, but with very few worthy musicians in the genre to back this claim up. Well, fellow death metalheads, if no deathcore album has changed your mind yet, this one oughta do it.
There are two parts to this album that work together to make it as awesome as it is. What it has, and what it doesn't have. What it doesn't have are the mind-numbingly dull breakdowns composed entirely on the 6th string, generic riffs surrounding those breakdowns, or pig squeals, or any other unintelligible vocal noises that have given deathcore a bad name. But what it does have are interesting breakdowns that use more than just the 6th string, varying song structures, fantastic lyrics, and impressive musicianship in general. (Especially for deathcore).
Whitechapel are not conforming to anyone's idea with this album, except theirs, (another breath of fresh air for deathcore). The band's progressed musical maturity shines bright, and the album uses that and the band's trademark brutality to get the messages of the songs across. They even use some new elements, such as passages utilizing acoustic guitar harmonies, but nothing interrupts the flow of the album.
The lyrics/lyrical themes, or 'messages,' as I said earlier, are of one of, if not my favorite aspect of the album. There seems to be a recurring theme of man destroying himself, and realizing too late that the answers he created to all the big questions were wrong. I personally agree completely with pretty much every point made in the lyrics, which is probably why I enjoy them so much.
Some of my favorite lines are, from 'Devolver;' "the most worthless creation of all/has finally devolved to something beautiful/nothing/they are obsolete/and now the creator has fell to his knees." From 'Reprogrammed To Hate;' "why have a plan for humanity when you haven't done anything yourself/If I were you I'd run and hide, because a beautiful darkness has arrived."
I also love every line of 'Prayer of Mockery,' which are verging on genius. The song is from the perspective of someone asking God to prove to his followers that he exists. The last line uses one of God's own statements to expose his hypocrisy; "thou shalt not bear false witness."
And not only are the lyrics revelations themselves, but they're very well-written and flow perfectly, just like the rest of the album.
Along with a few other bands, Whitechapel has given us hope for the future of deathcore, and how it is recognized.
