Whitechapel @ The CornerHotel, Melbourne (13/01/09)

Sun 18th Jan, 2009 in Gig Reviews

On their first Australian tour since forming in 2006, Tennessee deathcore outfit Whitechapel blasted their way into Melbourne on the back of their new album This is Exile. While not a sell out, the crowd at the Corner Hotel was respectable for a Tuesday night and eager to hear the band’s guttural vocal stylings and sonic blasting of their tunes.

The support acts really were a representation of Australian metal which included Geelong based progressive death metallers A Fallen Theory, Melbourne’s thrash outfit Tenth Dan, Perth’s Dyscord and Tasmanian tech metal outfit Psycroptic.

After building up a solid history of support roles for some well known international acts, it was logical that hirsute death metallers Dyscord would assist in the Whitechapel support duties nationally. Swinging dreads were the norm for the set that they played.

Fresh from release of their most recent studio offering (OB(SERVANT)) in 2008 and an Australian tour in December, Tasmania’s tech metal maniacs Psycroptic did not disappoint in the penultimate support role. Highlights of their set included the title track off the new album and Initiate. The prowess of drummer Dave Haley is truly something to behold. His blasting and double kick proficiency in a live setting would have to set him apart as one of the best current exponents of such drumming methods on the globe.

Whitechapel had a huge stage presence and sound that appeared to be mostly due to having three guitarists in the line up. I was surprised at the sheer brutality and range of vocalist Phil Bozeman’s style. Pig squeals were constantly followed by amazingly low guttural growls throughout the set and the use of an electronic bass effect during the live show was great. The guitar sound was fantastic and the drumming nothing short of extraordinary. The crowd was right into every track they played, each being a true reflection of their recorded sound in a live setting.

The set was surprisingly short and most punters were left wondering where the rest of it was when Whitechapel left the stage. In the relatively short time that they played the stand out tracks were To All That Are Dead, Possession and the flawless title track off the new album This Is Exile. Although a great spectacle and sound for what they did play, I thought that they would have played longer given that they have never been to Australia before. Not many other punters seemed disappointed by the relatively short show, probably because of the standout quality of the tracks that they did play. Whitechapel definitely have the talent and stage presence – I just hope that next time they play for a bit longer.