WHITE CHAPEL
"This is Exile" (Metal Blade;
2008)
Reviewed by Jeff Rogers
It didn’t take me long to absorb what this band is about and, yes, that does mean that they are fairly limited in what they do. "This is Exile" is kind of deathcore with more death metal leanings than hardcore, but both are there although I am not sure that either is complementing the other in this case.
Many of the songs have some potential at the beginning with a few guitar melodies here and there, but those are mostly swept away rather unceremoniously by a wall of clicking and clanking mess.
This band has three guitarists ... wait, can that really be correct? Three guitarists? How many guitarists does it take to make uninspired, bloated noise? Well, the answer here is three and, unfortunately, the joke is on us this time around. I tried hard to reach in and focus on some promising parts in this sea of repetitive chaos, but there wasn’t a whole lot there other than at the start of a few tracks.
The drums just fall in line with a similar kind of faceless, frantic chugging as they pushed just to keep up rather than to really help define anything. The vocals are a little better as there is certainly some depth to them and they probably could have been even better with some stronger music behind them.
“This is Exile” is a fairly mediocre gust of wind that blows in and blows out and it’s rather difficult to really remember that much about it because White Chapel doesn't succeed at, or even apparently attempt to, create that much.
For more information, check out http://www.myspace.com/whitechapel.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2008 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 04 Dec 2023 22:19:33 -0500.
