An uncompromising deathcore outfit based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, Whitechapel (named for the London neighborhood where the notorious Jack the Ripper disposed of most of his victims) blend grindcore, hardcore, and melodic black metal into an unholy trinity of audio violence. Emerging in 2007 with the punitive Somatic Defilement, the group issued a string of dark underground gems before bloodying up the mainstream with the release of 2014's Our Endless War, which remains the group's highest charting album to date.nn Formed in 2006 by Phil Bozeman, Brandon Cagle, and Ben Savage, the lineup grew with the arrivals of guitarist Alex Wade, bassist Gabe Crisp, and drummer Derek Martin, all of whom appeared on the band's 2006 self-produced demo. A European record deal with the Siege of Amida label and a distribution deal with Candlelight soon followed, resulting in the release of the group's debut long-player The Somatic Defilement in 2007. That same year, the band parted ways with Savage and Martin, who were replaced by guitarist Zach Householder and drummer Kevin Lane. After signing on with Metal Blade, Whitechapel returned with its sophomore effort, This Is Exile, in 2008, followed shortly thereafter by A New Era of Corruption in 2010. In 2011, the group parted ways with Lane, replacing the drummer with Ben Harclerode, who made his debut on the remix EP Recorrupted later that year. Whitechapel returned the following year with a self-titled album, which was followed by their fifth album, Our Endless War, in 2014, the latter of which debuted at number one the Billboard Hard Rock Charts, and garnered near universal acclaim in the metal community. 2015 saw the release of the crowd-funded live CD/DVD Brotherhood of the Blade, which fans regarded as another high point. The band re-entered the studio at the beginning of 2016 with producer Mark Lewis (Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse), completing 11 new songs that showcased an evolution in their deathcore sound to include both clean and dirty vocals. The resulting Mark of the Blade later that June. Whitechapel continued to seek out a more melodic style of death metal on 2019's The Valley. ~ James Christopher Monger