Whitechapel at the Gramercy Theatre

Phil Bozeman

From Knoxville, Tennessee, deathcore band Whitechapel formed in 2006 and is named after the Whitechapel district in London, England, where Jack the Ripper committed a series of murders. The group presently consists of vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade and Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp, and drummer Ben Harclerode. The band's fifth studio album, Our Endless War, was released on April 29, 2014.

Whitechapel returned to New York tonight as a headliner at the Gramercy Theatre after opening for Devildriver at Stage 48 only five months ago. Whitechapel proved itself this time around with a brutal metal performance. Bozeman growled in front of a thunderous avalanche of breakdowns and metal riffs. The band came on stage to the recorded sound of the instrumental "Rise" and then launched into "Our Endless War" with manic force, as Bozeman's growling vocals articulated an angry message citing the failure of the American system. Throughout the hard banging performance, the music remained uber-intense and dynamic enough to spin one's head. The band's greatest weakness, however, was that although the band has three guitarists, the music failed to feature a high level of guitar leads.

Visit Whitechapel at www.whitechapelband.com.