TAMPA — Knoxville, Tennessee, deathcore band Whitechapel will be hitting the road for their first headlining tour in four years this month. After kicking off the tour in Atlanta, Georgia, Whitechapel will perform Saturday, April 15, 6 p.m., at the Orpheum, 14802 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa.
In 2021, the band delivered a follow-up to their 2019 album “The Valley.” “Kin,” the new album, is an even more dynamic and diverse collection, further advancing the band’s sound into new territory without losing sight of what brought them to this point.
“I feel with every album, we learn what worked best on the last one and try to utilize that in our writing,” said vocalist Phil Bozeman in a press release from Metal Blade Records. “Early in the writing, there was some discussion of the album being like ‘The Valley’ part II, not literally called that, but in how the songs sound and flow through it. It’s very much a storytelling type record like ‘The Valley’ was. Musically, we just want to create what we vibe with at the given moment.”
The commencement of writing for the album was a direct result of the COVID pandemic. The band had several tours lined up to finish out the cycle for “The Valley,” but when these got cancelled, they decided to refocus their energies and begin working on a new record.
“We started writing sessions beginning in May and would write for usually a week solid, then take a few weeks off to let everyone digest that material, reset and gain new ideas and perspectives on the songs, then get back together for another week to continue the process,” said guitarist Alex Wade.
Wade said that following “The Valley” was initially a daunting task — but one he soon overcame.
“I can’t speak for everyone in the band, but personally, I did feel slightly intimidated at first, wondering if we could summon that kind of magic again, but after hearing some of the demos we were working on, I felt more confident in being able to recreate a similar vibe to ‘The Valley’ on the new one,” he explained. “I feel like our songwriting is done in layers, and as each layer is created and placed into the songs, they begin to take on a life and personality of their own. So, with each layer, you get more confident in the songs and the impact that they are going to have.”
The result is a collection that explores a lot of sonic and emotional territory, and for the first time, it could be said that a Whitechapel record is as much a rock album as it is a metal one.
“Kin” is the band’s eighth studio album. The current group lineup includes Bozeman and Wade, along with guitarists Ben Savage and Zach Householder and bassist Gabe Crisp.
Whitechapel was formed in 2006 by Bozeman and Savage. They released their debut album, “The Somatic Defilement,” in 2007. Whitechapel is currently signed to Metal Blade Records.