Whitechapel - The Rituals of Hate Tour

When you have a chance to see the current reigning kings of Deathcore, you don't miss the opportunity. Whitechapel brought their Rituals of Hate Tour through The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, WI, (the band's 14th time playing the historic venue!) with support from Bodysnatcher, Angelmaker, and Disembodied Tyrant.

This tour is a celebration of sorts of the band's newest album, Hymns in Dissonance, out now on Metal Blade Records, playing it in it's entirety. This album ranks among the top contenders for album of the year for 2025 across just about every list that matters, and I feel was a definitive answer to past criticisms made towards the band for turning "soft", when they took some creative liberties with past releases. Personally, I think Hymns in Dissonance is a huge and much deserved "fuck you" to those critics. Whitechapel has definitely earned the ability to do whatever they want creatively with their music, but this album just felt like a "oh, you think we can't do what we do anymore because we had some clean vocals in the last few releases? Bet." Then proceeded to drop the impending hammer that is Hymns in Dissonance.

From the moment the band took to the stage, it was an overwhelming barrage of sound and light, with the opening riffs of Prisoner 666 and legendary vocalist Phil Bozeman taking over with his unmatched vocal prowess. Guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder, along with bassist Gabe Crisp, and drummer Brandon Zackey are all unmatched in their own rights, with their absolute technical precision and brutality of riffs and snare bombs echoing throughout the venue the entire night.

A lot of bands wouldn't take the risk of playing an album in it's entirety, let alone their newest release, but Whitechapel isn't a lot of bands. This album is soooo good, that it didn't feel like a risk at all. It felt like it was a much needed chapter in the ongoing story that is Whitechapel. A fuck you to the critics, a thank you to the fans, and maybe a turning point in the band, to prove to themselves that they still are the kings of this genre of heavy music.

From start to finish, Whitechapel proved on this tour that they're right where they belong. Packed rooms, literally non=stop moshing and crowd surfing, and a setlist that just destroys, (including a 4 song encore that showcases a handful of classics), Whitechapel isn't going anywhere. This was a turning point tour for them, in my opinion, and one that will set the standard for the future of this band, and in a similar vein, the standard for heavy music and deathcore. The gauntlet has been laid down, and there isn't any other band that I feel should be leading the charge of what heavy music albums and touring should look like. Go listen to their new album and go see Whitechapel wherever and whenever you have the chance. You will not be disappointed.

View the entire Whitechapel photo gallery here: https://www.thesoundofviolence.co/whitechapel