Review Summary: Father, We've Come to Devour the Eyes of God
Whitechapel’s venture into a more melodic space with their previous two records felt like a very natural progression and honestly, has become my favorite era of music for the band. Phil’s ability to balance his tremendous, powerful screams with his Maynard-esque singing vocals proved to be a winning formula for me. However, the band decided that it was time to return to pure, unadulterated heaviness and that is exactly what “Hymns in Dissonance” offers. The lyricism of this record is profusely more violent and excessive similar to their earlier work while still anchored by a story related to a cultist rather than focusing on personal turmoil and familial struggles which defined the approach of their last two records.
The opening track, Prisoner 666’ begins the world building with slow-building tension eventually combusting into some of the most brutal, deathly riffs and screams of Whitechapel’s lengthy career. This honestly rivals some of the material from “The Somatic Defilement” in terms of pace, intensity and heaviness while still incorporating small, subtle elements of melody and groove in calculated sections which will become the trend throughout this record. The title track, first single ‘A Visceral Retch’ and ‘Hate Cult Ritual’ do a great job of offering these subtle bits whilst cranking out bone-chilling breakdowns, blood-curdling screams and viscerally chaotic drum patterns.
The back half of the record offers a bit more groove with tracks like ‘Bedlam’ and ‘Mammoth God’ without sacrificing any heaviness, of course. These tracks feel like they could fit pretty decently on “The Valley” but certainly by no means do they relent; there is nothing on this record other than the brief interlude ‘Ex Infernis’ that relents in terms of pure heaviness. The closing track ‘Nothing Is Coming for Any of Us’ which is most likely my favorite track on the record continues the no-holds barred approach to their reclamation of the most brutal band but it’s the second half of the track which sees those soaring melodic guitars and emotive repetition make a triumphant return. The less technical drum patterns along with the layers of various guitar melodies offers a sort of perfect ending to this record presenting hope of some more tracks similar to those existing on “Kin” to come from the band in the future.
While this record is filled with highlights a-plenty, the three components that I feel deserve the most praise are Phil’s vocals, the drum work from Brandon Zackey and Ben Savage’s lead guitar work. Phil has always been a singular vocalist; his mid-range guttural scream is sort of the standard for greatness in my eyes. This record, however, sees him really expanding his chops beyond anything I’ve heard from him. The high range, banshee screams are legitimately frightening, his lows are purely demonic, some of the guttural noises he conjures exemplify the terror and madness present in the lyricism. In a time where deathcore vocalists are just trying to make the craziest noises possible at all times, Phil just out-classes the boys with perfect control and placement of his most diabolic screaming moments. He does not need to flex at all times but my god, when he does flex, it’s shocking and we must all bow down.
The newest member of the band, Brandon Zackey, shows that he is one of the most underrated drummers because his control of speed and groove is immaculate. When a song calls for absolutely relentless blast beats, he obliges but he also has the know-how and sensibility to create pockets of groove that go a long way in diversifying the feel of each of these songs; it’s very impressive. Last but not least, the absolute champion of the last few Whitechapel records Ben Savage certainly brings the fury with his riffs influenced by punk, black metal, and even blues at times. While the melodic aspects of his style are turned down, there are flashes of it like in sections of ‘The Abysmal Gospel’ as well as the previously discussed ‘Nothing Is Coming for Any of Us.’ While I could certainly complain of missing those elements being more present, I feel like the subtlety goes a long way in making this album what it is.
While I don’t think this quite reaches the highs of “The Valley” and “Kin”, I feel like this is easily the best crazy heavy album of their career. It’s much more mature than “This is Exile” but it still gives you those same frills and stank-face moments. With groove being much more present than those early records, I feel like I can use the term “bangers” to refer to a handful of these songs as they will certainly be live staples that get the crowd moving. Naturally, I feel the need to compare this record with their most recent work because it’s so different and jarring given that this band literally wrote ‘Kin’ which is an acoustic rock ballad. As I get older, I feel like the sentiment and sonic appeal of those two last records will have a longer lasting impact on me, but I know that if I’m in the mood for chaos and anarchy, this record will serve me well.
