WHITECHAPEL is a Deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee, USA and has been plaguing our ears and minds since 2006. In those 18 years they have treated us to eight studio albums and a live album, the latter being the 2015 release “The Brotherhood Of The Blade”. The follow-up to that has been let loose on the world on January 26th 2024 and has the very simple title of “Live In The Valley”. It was recorded on December 22, 2022 in their hometown, and the venue in question was The Mill & Mine. The occasion was their seventh annual Christmas Benefit Show. And to make it easy on you readers; it does what it says on the tin, or if you will, in the title.

“Live In The Valley” sounds and listens like a very honest record, that hasn’t needed anything tarted up, polished or enhanced. The faults are all there as far as I can hear and I feel that they add a lot to the authenticity of WHITECHAPEL’s live performance. You can occasionally hear singer Phil Bozeman wavering in the very mellow parts, whilst on the other hand being as brutal and uncompromising as required in the extremely heavy parts. The interaction from soft to loud, from careful to careless is simply staggering.

I have to say that the rest of the band is making “Live In The Valley” stand out from a lot of other live recordings. The instrumentalists have no problem in changing gears, direction or intensity and they make it all sound almost effortless. That in itself is quite remarkable, but the fact that all songs make sense (at least to me) is even more important. The setlist has been chosen wisely, properly marking WHITECHAPEL as one of the top bands in their music genre.

I have to admit that I am not exactly a fan of Deathcore, but somehow WHITECHAPEL has slipped through my defences and given me a lot to enjoy. Not only in the 59 minutes that I get to listen to on “Live In The Valley”, but also when I listened to their studio efforts. No, I don’t know them all, but I have to concede and tell myself (and you lot) that even my boundaries are being stretched by WHITECHAPEL on this “Live In The Valley” release. I just can’t not like this; however hard I try. And that, my friends, makes me very happy. Let’s see what it does for you.