REFINED BRUTALITY

For 20 years, Whitechapel from Knoxville have stood for uncompromising deathcore and death metal. With their ninth album Hymns Of Dissonance, the Americans returned in 2025 to the brutally relentless sound of their early days. In 2027, they’ll bring the “Burn Forever Tour” to Europe, ready to knock out fans with their blastbeat-driven anthems. Support comes from Sylosis, 200 Stab Wounds and Tribal Gaze.

“Hymns In Dissonance” – the title of Whitechapel’s current album says it all. “There is nothing pretty about HID, from the riffs to the lyrics to the overall melody of the album. We tried to write our heaviest album yet. We wanted to put out something shockingly menacing and brutal,” says guitarist Alex Wade about the band’s latest work. “The album follows the story of a cultist gathering people to join his cult. There are moments in the story where the followers sing a hymn to open a portal through which the main cultist can enter.” The band’s dynamic and brutal musicianship provides the perfect soundtrack to the gripping story imagined by singer Phil Bozeman: “‘Hymns in Dissonance’ is a mockery of the true nature of hymns,” he explains. “Hymns are melodic and harmonious. Dissonance is the exact opposite of melody and harmony. It represents evil. And the tracks on the album represent the seven deadly sins.” A reviewer from Metal Hammer wrote about the band’s latest output: “We had just gotten used to Whitechapel opening a new, calmer musical chapter of their career with The Valley, which continued on the 2021 album Kin. Anyone expecting a continuation of that will not only be surprised by Hymns Of Dissonance – they’ll be steamrolled by it!” He summed up the relentless death-metal assault as follows: “Across ten tracks, fury rages in every shade of red. The blastbeat machinery fires nonstop, while Philip Bozeman’s diabolical vocals shift between growling lows and hissing shouts.” There’s certainly no room here for sentimentality.

SYLOSIS: Since 2000, the band from Reading, England has stood for uncompromising riff storms and technical precision. In February 2026, Sylosis released their highly anticipated, career-defining new album The New Flesh via Nuclear Blast. It stands as a monumental testament to crushing riffs, sharp melodies and refined brute force. The band’s seventh studio album is a powerful snapshot: lethal, uncompromising and metal to the core. The band comments: “We couldn’t be happier with what we’ve created here. It’s our heaviest album so far, but also our most diverse and collaborative. We’ve already played many of these songs live and it’s been amazing to see the positive reaction from the crowds. It truly feels like the next step for the band. We can’t wait to see you all again.”

200 STAB WOUNDS: Nach einer EP und einem Album für das kultige Underground-Label Maggot Stomp wurden die aufstrebenden Death-Metal-Newcomer 200 Stab Wounds aus Cleveland im Jahr 2024 von Metal Blade Records unter Vertrag genommen. Beim renommierten Label wurde schliesslich der Longplayer „Manual Manic Procedures“ veröffentlicht. Die Scheibe ist ein brutales Stück Death Metal der alten Schule mit einer modernen Note. Die Tracks sind definitiv nichts für schwache Nerven und haben die klassische Gore-Musik zurück ins kollektive Bewusstsein der Metal-Gemeinde gebracht. Stormbringer.at urteilt: „In etwas mehr als 29 Minuten Spielzeit sind es vor allem Dynamik und Druck, die Eindruck schinden. 200 Stab Wounds agieren längst nicht so stumpf im Caveman-Death-Style, wie man das beispielsweise von ihren Kollegen von Sanguisugabogg gewohnt ist, sondern variieren bei Gelegenheit innerhalb der einzelnen Songs im Foltertempo, streuen beissende Soli in offene Wunden oder bauen mit einem Synth-Gitarren-Interlude bedrohliche Horrorfilm-Atmosphäre auf.“ Das klingt zuweilen so, als hätte man Cannibal Corpse und Jungle Rot in einem Genforschungslabor gekreuzt, später noch Skinless beigemischt und nach einem langen Mutationsprozess einen wunderbar hässlichen Hybrid auf die Menschheit losgelassen.

TRIBAL GAZE: This project was born out of boredom during the Covid pandemic in 2020. Tribal Gaze quickly developed into a serious band and released their first album in 2022. During a live show, A&R legend and talent scout Monte Conner took notice of the Texans and helped them secure a deal with Nuclear Blast. The first result of that collaboration is Inveighing Brilliance (2025), offering old-school death metal with hardcore elements somewhere between Obituary, Gatecreeper and 200 Stab Wounds. With a strong sense for short, punchy songs, Tribal Gaze are guaranteed to get neck muscles moving. A reviewer from Metalfactory.ch wrote: “From the scorched earth of Texas, Tribal Gaze return with Inveighing Brilliance, a death metal monolith marked by violence and relentless brutality. The five-piece conjure visions of primal rage and nihilistic clarity with a sound rooted in the rawness of old-school death metal but sharpened with modern elements.”