Whitechapel – A New Era Of Corruption – Review

Release Date: June 8th, 2010
Record Label: Metal Blade Records
Genre: Deathcore

Whitechapel is releasing a new era ball cap, no mesh shorts…? Just playing, they are unleashing their third studio album on Metal Blade Records on June 8th entitled A New Era of Corruption. The effort brings a more mature writing style from a band that began as straight deathcore, eleven new heart pounding tracks blasting for a straight forty-one and a third minutes. A New Era of Corruption marks the first non concept album from Whitechapel and features some more melodic guitar riffs intertwined within the madness.

The new approach proves to be a smart move and allows for more tension to be built with melody setting the stage for terror in “Devolver.” Not everything has change though there is still a lot of deathcore influence throughout but good news is it is no longer predictable and generic deathcore. This may; scratch that is Whitechapel’s best effort to date.

There are a lot of good points some more clean solos like in “Breeding Violence” and very clean production for the genre with the layering being very smooth compared to other albums within the genre that sound like a wall of sound. I am very happy with where Whitechapel has gone and this very well may be one of the best albums that come out of the deathcore genre. The album brings more intelligent riffs, smoother transitions, no predictable breakdowns although still apparent on the album, and much more of a sense of flow from start to finish.

Will this appeal to deathcore kids? Of course. Will this appeal to wider range of metal fans? Hell yes. Continuing to build and progress from album to album is key, and Whitechapel has done just that. Is it perfect? Maybe not but it is a lot better than where they were three years ago, and hopefully the progression continues, because as much as generic deathcore pains my ears to listen to, it is nice to see a band progress into a serious force to be reckoned with within the metal community. While Whitechapel may never be able to erase the stain of the deathcore title away from their name A New Era of Corruption marks a new era in their sound which is not quite the deathcore affair of old, and deems some re-investigation by metal heads for something that has changed from what they once knew. ~James Terry

Score: 4.5/5

Track Listing:
1. Devolver
2. Breeding Violence
3. The Darkest Day of Man
4. Reprogrammed to Hate
5. End of Flesh
6. Unnerving
7. A Future Corrupt
8. Prayer of Mockery
9. Murder Sermon
10. Nercomechanical
11. Single File to Dehumanization