Whitechapel is an Americandeathcore band fromKnoxville, Tennessee. The band is named after theWhitechapel district inEast London, England, whereJack the Ripper committed aseries of murders. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp and drummer Brandon Zackey. Their core lineup, with the exception of the drummer, has remained consistent since Householder replaced original guitarist Brandon Cagle in 2007. Founded in 2006 by Bozeman and Savage, the band has released nine studio albums and twenty-two music videos, and is currently signed toMetal Blade Records. Whitechapel's 2010 albumA New Era of Corruption, sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position No. 43 on theBillboard 200 chart. The band'sself-titled fourth album was released in 2012 and debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 9,200 copies in its first week. In 2014 the band released their fifth full-length album,Our Endless War to generally positive reviews.^[1] The album sold roughly 16,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200.^[2] They released their sixth full-length albumMark of the Blade in 2016 to greater critical acclaim, selling roughly 8,000 copies in the first week of its release.^[3][4] In 2019, Whitechapel released their seventh album,The Valley, which debuted at No. 143 on the Billboard 200 also to critical acclaim.^[5] Their newest album,Hymns in Dissonance, was released on March 7, 2025.

Whitechapel
Whitechapel performing atFull Force in 2019
Background information
Origin	Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Deathcore death metal progressive metal groove metal
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Metal Blade Candlelight Siege of Amida
Members	Phil Bozeman Gabe Crisp Ben Savage Alex Wade Zach Householder Brandon Zackey
Past members	Derek Martin Brandon Cagle Kevin Lane Ben Harclerode
Website	whitechapelband.com

Whitechapel was founded in February 2006 by Knoxville residents Phil Bozeman, Brandon Cagle, and Ben Savage. They were soon joined by Alex Wade (formerly of Redwinterdying) as a guitarist, along with bassist, Gabe Crisp, and drummer, Derek Martin. The group recorded their first demos in March of that year. They named themselves after theWhitechapel district ofLondon, whereJack the Ripper committed hismurders.^[6] In 2007, the band signed toSiege of Amida Records in the United Kingdom, andCandlelight Records inNorth America. They were joined by new drummer Kevin Lane and released their debut full-length albumThe Somatic Defilement in June of the same year.^[7][8][9] Cagle had to leave the band after an unfortunate motorcycle accident left him unable to play guitar; Zach Householder was then brought in as replacement.^[10]

In October 2007, the group signed toMetal Blade Records, and in 2008 released their second album entitledThis Is Exile.^[11][12] The album reached No. 118 in the Billboard Top 200.^[13] In May 2008, the band toured onThe Summer Slaughter Tour, and in August 2008, they began their first ever headlining tour withImpending Doom,A Different Breed of Killer, andThrough the Eyes of the Dead.

In 2008, they started touring with more popular bands such asParkway Drive andUnearth on the Never Say Die! tour. They have produced a video for the song "Possession", along with one for "This Is Exile". Whitechapel has also toured on the RockstarMayhem Festival on the Hot Topic Stage along with the bandsJob for a Cowboy,Cannibal Corpse,Behemoth andthe Black Dahlia Murder, and alongside bands of the main stage such asSlayer andMarilyn Manson, who headlined the tour.

Whitechapel toured withDarkest Hour andTrivium on Trivium's 2009 and 2010 "Into the Mouth of Hell We March Tour".^[14]

Whitechapel recorded their follow-up album toThis Is Exile from December 27 to March 31 withJason Suecof as the chosen producer. The band early-on announced a summer 2010 release date for the record.^[15] The name of the album was later confirmed to beA New Era of Corruption. A song fromA New Era of Corruption entitled, "The Darkest Day of Man" was performed live before the album's release.^[16] Months later it was released asstreaming media online.^[17]A New Era of Corruption was released on June 8, 2010, sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position No. 43 on theBillboard 200 chart.^[18]

Whitechapel's focus on mass exposure over their small, dedicated following has provided them with featured spots in both California Metal Fest IV and 2010'sWarped Tour.^[19] They have also been announced to playDownload festival in 2010, and will be a part of the second stage showcased.^[20] A headlining US tour withImpending Doom,Oceano,I Declare War andMiss May I was held before the end of November. During December 2010, drummer, Kevin Lane willingly left the group to return to college and due to his ankle not being on par and would hinder the band;^[10] formerKnights of the Abyss drummer Benjamin Harclerode joined the band in Lane's replacement.^[21] A live music video for the song "Breeding Violence" was released February 7, 2011. Whitechapel did a US headlining tour titled "The Welcome to Hell Tour" withThe Acacia Strain,Veil of Maya,Chelsea Grin andI Declare War throughout February and March 2011. This tour was followed by another headlining tour of the same name in Europe with The Acacia Strain as direct support and Impending Doom opening the show. Whitechapel also co-headlined the 2011 Summer Slaughter Tour, alongside The Black Dahlia Murder. In the fall and winter of 2011, Whitechapel embarked on a US tour withThe Devil Wears Prada,For Today andEnter Shikari.

In September 28, Whitechapel released a new song titled "Section 8" and confirmed a limited edition EP titledRecorrupted;^[22] the EP was released on November 8, 2011.

Whitechapel undertook a US headlining tour titled "The Recorruptour" with Miss May I,After the Burial,Within the Ruins,The Plot in You and Structures throughout March and May 2012.^[23] Whitechapel also played the entire Mayhem Festival tour of 2012.^[24]

The band recorded theirself-titled fourth album at Wade Studios with producerMark Lewis, which was released June 19 via Metal Blade Records, debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 9,200 copies in its first week.^[25][26] The first single, entitled "Hate Creation", was released on April 30 via the Metal Blade Records YouTube channel.^[27]Whitechapel had to cancel the European tour withAugust Burns Red and The Devil Wears Prada due to an illness in the family.They co-headlined the Brothers of Brutality tour in January and February with The Plot in You,Obey the Brave, Unearth, andEmmure as well as co-headlining the "Don't Pray for Us" tour withAsking Alexandria,Motionless in White,Chimaira, andI Killed the Prom Queen.

On April 16, 2013, a remixed and remastered edition of their debut albumThe Somatic Defilement was released via Metal Blade Records.^[28]

The band announced via Twitter and Instagram that a new album would be recorded in the Fall of 2013. With this announcement they released a video of a new guitar riff. On August 31, 2013, the band announced via Facebook that drum tracking for the album had begun. On November 29, 2013, vocalist Phil Bozeman stated via YouTube that the band's last day in the studio would be December 9, and said that by then, everything should be done and ready to be sent to mixing and mastering. He said that he did not yet have a release date for the album, but simply said "sometime next year, sometime after Christmas". On December 7, the band posted an in-studio teaser of the new album on both Facebook and YouTube. On December 10, the band announced that tracking of the album had been completed. On February 26, 2014, it was announced the new album would be calledOur Endless War, and the album's lead single, "The Saw is the Law", was released. They also announced a North American release date of April 29, 2014, and released the album artwork and track listing on the same day.Our Endless War itself received generally positive reviews upon its release. On February 20, 2015, the band published a video for the song "Let Me Burn" from the album.^[29] A lyric and live music video were released for the title track, "Our Endless War", and a music video was released for "Worship the Digital Age". They released a live album titledThe Brotherhood of the Blade on October 30, 2015.

On September 13, 2015, Phil Bozeman informally announced in YouTube vlog that the band was currently in the process of writing a new album entitledMark of the Blade. The album was released on June 24, 2016.^[30]

On August 9, 2017, Ben Harclerode announced via Twitter that he had parted ways with the group, stating "...it was the hardest move I've ever made, but I was truly unhappy and needed to happen."^[31]

On November 2, 2018, the band announced their seventh studio albumThe Valley will be released on March 29, 2019, via Metal Blade Records and the first song "Brimstone" was released. It has also been reportedNavene Koperweis fromEntheos has tracked drums for the upcoming album.^[32] The song solidifies a change in their once-deathcore sound to a more melodic metal sound.

On February 20, 2019, the band released a music video for the song "When a Demon Defiles a Witch".^[33]

On March 21, 2019, the band released a music video for "Hickory Creek".^[34] The song consists almost entirely of clean or melodic vocals in a stark contrast to much of their earlier work. The video ends with a dedication to the lead vocalist's mother, "Theresa Leslie Bozeman" who died in 2000. This echoes the dedication at the end of their 2016 music video for the song "Bring Me Home"^[35] which concludes with a dedication to Bozeman's father Michael Gary Bozeman who died in 1995.

On April 14, 2020, an acoustic version of "Hickory Creek" was released. This is the first Whitechapel song to feature entirely clean vocals.

On September 23, 2020, guitarist Alex Wade revealed to Knotfest.com's "Mosh Talks" that recording had begun on the next Whitechapel album. Wade stated theCOVID-19 Pandemic had given them time to make a new album and that it would once again be produced by Mark Lewis. He also stated the album will contain clean vocals and melody as well as the trademark heaviness the band is known for.^[36]

On August 30 2021, Whitechapel revealed the album's title asKin, scheduled for release on October 29, 2021.^[37] The band released the first single fromKin, entitled "Lost Boy", on August 31, 2021. They released a second single, "A Bloodsoaked Symphony", on September 23, 2021.^[38] The album’s third and final single before release, titled "Orphan", premiered on October 14, 2021, just over two weeks before the release ofKin. Contrary to the previous singles, "Orphan" was much slower in pace, resembling aballad, and features entirely clean vocals.Kin was elected byLoudwire as the 37th best rock/metal album of 2021.^[39]

On September 3, 2021, the band announced thatAlex Rüdinger would become their official drummer. He had previously been the band's live drummer, starting in 2019.^[40] However, on December 7, 2021, Rüdinger announced that he had left the band and was never a full-time member, only a studio member, and that the band's announcement had been made prematurely.^[41]

On June 8, 2023, the band announced that they were in the studio working on their ninth studio album.^[42] The following year, formerEnterprise Earth drummer Brandon Zackey joined the band full-time, having previously toured with them since 2022. On September 12, 2024, the band released the single "A Visceral Retch". On January 15, 2025, the band announced that they would release their ninth studio album titledHymns in Dissonance on March 7, 2025 and showcased the album's title track along with the announcement.^[43]

Whitechapel has been classified asdeathcore,^[44][45][46]progressive metal,^[47]death metal,^[48][49] andgroove metal.^[49] Whitechapel have stated that they are influenced by a wide variety of artists, includingCannibal Corpse,Meshuggah,Korn,Slipknot,Dying Fetus,Bloodbath,Pantera,Metallica,Slayer,Suffocation,Deftones,Despised Icon,Behemoth,Nile,Gojira,^{[citation needed]}Vader,Necrophagist,Tool,Carcass,Aborted,Amon Amarth,Agnostic Front,Hatebreed,Deicide,Morbid Angel,Napalm Death,Entombed andCattle Decapitation.^[50][51]

In an interview, Bozeman said, "Me and Ben [Savage] are more thedeath metal kind of guys like Cannibal Corpse and Bloodbath, Zach [Householder] is too but he's more into epicblack metal and European metal,Norwegian black metal and he brings a lot of that influence, Alex [Wade] has more of ahardcore background and that's his influence."^[52]

On Whitechapel's 2016 albumMark of the Blade, the songs "Bring Me Home" and "Decennium" were the first to feature lead vocalist Phil Bozeman performing clean vocals. Bozeman continued to use clean vocals on the songs "When a Demon Defiles a Witch", "Hickory Creek", and "Third Depth", on the 2019 albumThe Valley, as well as the majority ofKin. OnHymns in Dissonance, the usage of clean vocals was abandoned in favor of returning to the band's heavier roots.

• Whitechapel live atFull Force 2019
•  
  Vocalist Phil Bozeman
•  
  Lead guitarist Ben Savage
•  
  Rhythm guitarist Alex Wade
•  
  Bassist Gabe Crisp
•  
  Third guitarist Zach Householder
•  
  Former touring drummerAlex Rüdinger

Timeline

• Recorrupted (2011)

• Demo 1 (2006)
• Demo 2 (2006)
• Demo 3 (2011)

• The Brotherhood of the Blade (2015)
• Live in the Valley (2024)

• Official website