Whitechapel will release their long-awaited new studio album, “Hymns in Dissonance”, on March 7th, 2025, via Metal Blade Records.
“There is nothing nice about ‘Hymns in Dissonance’, from the riffs, to the lyrics, to the overall vibe of the album”, says guitarist Alex Wade of the band’s latest output. “We attempted to write our heaviest album to date. We wanted to put out something that was shockingly menacing and brutal”.
“The album follows the story of a cultist who is gathering worthy people to join his cult”, Wade further elaborates, “and there are moments in the storyline where the cult followers are singing an evil hymn to open a portal for the head cultist to enter”.
The band’s dynamic, brutal musicality serves as a soundtrack to the compelling lyrical story that vocalist Phil Bozeman vividly imagines. “‘Hymns in Dissonance’ is a mockery of the true nature of what hymns are”, Bozeman explains. “Hymns are melodious and harmonious. Dissonance is the opposite of melody and harmony. Dissonance represents evil. The tracks on the record are the hymns, which represent the seven deadly sins, beginning from track three to track ten. Tracks one and two are the introduction”.
The lineup’s timely and terrifying vision was first unveiled in the Fall of 2024 with the single “A Visceral Retch” inciting frenzied fans to call the song “a version of Whitechapel we have never heard before. Can’t explain how absolutely goddamn brutal this song is. This is a total dream come true”. The title track is the LP’s second single.
Whitechapel, who formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2006, has seen the core lineup — vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Zach Householder, and Alex Wade, and bassist Gabe Crisp — intact since 2007, with the exception of drummer Brandon Zackey, who has been playing with the band since 2022. While “Hymns in Dissonance” follows 2021’s “Kin” chronologically, the new album is actually somewhat of a sequel to “This is Exile” thematically, the three-word title “Hymns in Dissonance” representing that correlation.
The band started composing the new album at Householder’s studio in June of 2023, following their headlining tour for “The Valley”. The collective stuck to a strict weekday schedule, the structure allowing for maximum creativity and minimum burnout. Householder produced “Hymns in Dissonance”, which allowed the musicians to seamlessly switch gears from preproduction to recording the full album without skipping a beat. The guitarist shadowed producer Mark Lewis a lot over the last five Whitechapel albums and bringing that influence inside the band is a full circle moment for Householder and Whitechapel. “It’s cool that we can be self-sufficient and produce a record of this magnitude ourselves; not a lot of bands can say that”.
In advance of the release, today the band unleashes a video for the title track. Notes Bozeman: “It’s about [the storyline’s cultist] building his cult of followers: Only the most heinous and vile people on the planet showing their devotion to their lord, committing horrible acts, and the leader showcasing his power and his purpose to commit the seven cardinal sins to resurrect their lord, and to replace divinity with evil”.
Adds Wade: “Mostly written by Phil on guitar, ‘Hymns in Dissonance’ has a few riffs and tweaks thrown in by the rest of us. He can churn out some pummeling riffs and it’s one of the best songs on the album because he had a vision for the whole song with the riffs and vocals. It’s tuned to Drop G which we have been using since the self-titled LP, but the ending breakdown shifts down one whole step to Drop F, which we have never done before. Having the final breakdown shift lower than the rest of the song really helped the end have the crushing feeling it needed”.
Watch the official video for “Hymns in Dissonance”, directed by My Good Eye Visuals, below.
“Hymns in Dissonance”, which features cover art by European tattoo artist Rob Borbas (Grind Design), will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
• Eviscerate – Orange/Yellow Marbled (US)
• Eternal Eclipse – Black + White Marbled (US)
• Mangled Innards – Red Smoke (US)
• Visceral Retch – Iridescent Green (US)
• Infested Soul – Neon Green Yellow Marble (US – Band Exclusive)
• Red w/ Black Smoke (Tour Exclusive)
• 180g Black (EU)
• Crimson Red w/ Black Swirls (EU)
• Beige Brown Marbled (EU – Ltd. 500)
• Golden Dawn Marbled (EU – Ltd. 500)
• Bone White Splatter (EU – Ltd. 500)
• Clear With Black, Red + Gold Splatter (EU – Ltd. 300)
• Scarlet Red w/ Cloudy Black Splatter (EU – Ltd. 200)
• Scarlet Red + Bone White “Melt” (UK – Ltd. 300)
For preorders, click here. Find merch bundles and band exclusive vinyl here.
Tracklist:
1. Prisoner 666
2. Hymns in Dissonance
3. Diabolic Slumber
4. A Visceral Retch
5. Ex Infernis
6. Hate Cult Ritual
7. The Abysmal Gospel
8. Bedlam
9. Mammoth God
10. Nothing is Coming for Any of Us
Whitechapel will return to North American stages this Spring on a month-long headlining tour. The Hymns in Dissonance Tour runs from March 18th in Raleigh, North Carolina through April 19th in Atlanta, Georgia. Support will be provided by Brand Of Sacrifice, 200 Stab Wounds, and Alluvial. Tickets are on sale now. Find VIP upgrades here. See confirmed dates below.
North American Tour Dates 2025:
3/18/2025 The Ritz – Raleigh, NC
3/19/2025 Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
3/20/2025 Theatre Of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
3/21/2025 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
3/22/2025 Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
3/24/2025 L’Olympia – Montreal, QC
3/25/2025 Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON
3/26/2025 Saint Andrew’s Hall – Detroit, MI
3/28/2025 House Of Blues – Chicago, IL
3/29/2025 Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
3/30/2025 Bourbon Theatre – Lincoln, NE
4/01/2025 Summit – Denver, CO
4/02/2025 The Grand @ The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
4/04/2025 The Palace Theatre – Calgary, AB
4/05/2025 Union Hall – Edmonton, AB
4/07/2025 The Pearl – Vancouver, BC
4/08/2025 Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
4/09/2025 The Showbox – Seattle, WA
4/11/2025 Ace Of Spades – Sacramento, CA
4/12/2025 The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
4/13/2025 Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ
4/15/2025 The Studio @ The Factory – Dallas, TX
4/16/2025 Aztec Theatre – San Antonio, TX
4/18/2025 The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
4/19/2025 The Masquerade (Heaven) – Atlanta, GA
Line-up:
Phil Bozeman – Vocals
Ben Savage – Lead guitar
Alex Wade – Rhythm guitar
Zach Householder – Guitar
Gabe Crisp – Bass
Brandon Zackey – Drums
Weblinks:
www.whitechapelband.com
www.facebook.com/whitechapelband
