WHITECHAPEL: KIN 
Label them what you will, but one thing is definite. Kin is Heavy. Musically, lyrically and thematically Whitchapel's eighth full-length release is magnificently Heavy. Whitechapel have matured and evolved enormously over the last 15 years which is as clear as day here on Kin. Although Whitechapel's sound here is less constructed around the outright brutality of releases such as Exiled and A New Era Of Corruption, Kin is still an absolutely crushingly heavy album. Whether or not this music in question is Deathcore or Death-Metal or any other label is entirely irrelevant, all that needs to be said is Kin hits like a grand piano dropped from a considerable height. Concluding the chapter which began with previous release The Valley back in 2019, Kin is an incredibly raw and emotive album. The record has an honest yet bleak and heartfelt feeling about it, something so deep which is seldom expressed in music this heavy. Throughout Kin frontman Phil Bozeman delivers a consistently excellent vocal performance, ranging from bestial unhuman guttural growls to wonderfully clear and talented clean singing. Backed by a collection of notable musicians, including three guitarists, Kin plays host to a sonic performance of the heaviest and well executed kind. Opening track "I Will Find You" unfurls with a technical and progressive flair, flowing from acoustic guitars through machine gun drumming, monstrously heavy riffs and majestic solos, with pace changes reflecting Phil's vocals drifting between roars and clean harmonies. Blast-beats and growls unleashed in a rapid rap-like vocal delivery juxtaposes angelic singing on "Lost Boy", perfectly highlighting Whitechapel's expansive abilities. The merciless "A Bloodsoaked Symphony", complete with suspenseful builds and skull fracturing breakdowns, may very well be the heaviest track Whitechapel have released since the days of Our Endless War. With atmospherics and guitarwork that would make Tom G Warrior proud, "Anticure" is a slower paced but still monolithically heavy and abysmally deep track which is nothing short of intoxicating. The muted chugging riffs present on the pummelling "The Ones That Made Us" are so heavy that there is a very real danger they could disrupt Earth's gravity. This flawless track harks back to the era of the self-titled Whitechapel album, with huge riffs and intricate leads seamlessly intertwined. Triggering existential crises and hitting you square in the soft and sensitive feels, tracks like "History Is Silent" and the harrowing "Orphan" masterfully fuse slamming brutality with genuine emotion and tearful melodies. Full throttle and punishingly weighty, "To The Wolves" is fast, ferocious and loaded with blackened riffs and mechanical drums. Following beautiful acoustic interlude "Without You", "Without Us" opens with breakdown riffing that impacts like foundry hammers before rumbling bass, chilling guitars and Phil's gentle singing combine to create an eerie and almost unsettling ambience. The closing title track "Kin" is as tear inducing as it is mesmerising, with some of the finest clean singing and musicianship of the album, opening with acoustic guitars which build into soaring leads and blinding solos, it is a perfect finale to a beautiful work of art. Overall, Kin is a sublime album. Honest and heavy, passionate and punishingly heavy, Kin shows Whitechapel on top form as mature and progressive musicians who are unafraid to push their unique brand of musical extremity to ever further reaches.
You can watch the full album review here on Youtube;
NO NONSENSE METAL RATING: 9.0/10
FOR FANS OF; TRIVIUM, KATAKLYSM, SUICIDE SILENCE
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