The eagerly-anticipated follow-up to the 2019 LP, The Valley is already shaping up to be a potential AOTY candidate.
Contemporary crushers Whitechapel have confirmed October 29th as the arrival date of their highly-anticipated follow up to their herald 2019 release, The Valley. Simply titled Kin, the band’s eighth full length effort aims to confront the status quo of the genre and showcase the collective’s ever evolving artistry in their unflinching aggression.
The emphatic introduction of the most current era of the band is showcased in the first single from the album with “Lost Boy”. A skilled meld of the band’s signature brutality, combined with their commitment to further progress the genre, the four-minute assault offers the most complete iteration of the band to date – dynamic and devastating.
Guitarist Alex Wade shared the current headpiece of the band and how it materialized on Kin. “To me, it was like the stars aligning for us to create our almost perfect record in regard to songwriting, vocal performance, the mix and master, and the artwork,”says Wade. “We like to look at our albums as chapters of our career, and that is one chapter I will never forget. I think it really solidified that we can embrace a new sound, and if we execute it properly, then the fanbase is going to support and enjoy it.”
Building off the narrative and bold direction shift established on The Valley, vocalist Phil Bozeman detailed how the follow-up was crafted to emphasize the most effective portions from the previous album and build form there. “I feel with every album, we learn what worked best on the last one and try to utilize that in our writing. 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.”
Bozeman continues how this was less about meting expectations but doing what happens organically. “Musically, we just want to create what we vibe with at the given moment. We write music with how we feel and not what is expected of us, while lyrically the idea of continuing from the story of ‘The Valley’ was always the goal.”
Without compromising the integral intensity that has become the hallmark of the band, Whitechapel continue to evolve as songwriters. In much the same way The Valley challenged the conventional norms of the genre, Kin ups the ante, encompassing the band’s sonic versatility while still delivering an absolute beatdown courtesy of the band;s collective heavy hand.
Wade details the duality of staying true to the band’s creative core while never straying too far from the band’s signature, “It’s still very much a metal album, but there are elements of the record that have more of a rock and open vibe. We really wanted these songs to breathe and have life and to sound bigger than anything we’ve made so far. We have explored more singing on ‘Kin’ too. It wouldn’t make sense to have the majority of the fanbase enjoy that sound and then shy away from it.”
With “Lost Boy” serving as the album’s introduction, there is room to speculate that metal has a potential album of the year candidate on it’s hands. Moving forward from the creative corner turned on The Valley, the band’s next chapter aims to be the most compelling.
Stream “Lost Boy” from Whitechapel below. Pre-Order Kin which arrives on October 29th via Metal Blade Records – HERE
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