Fans of Whitechapel got a special present from the band in December 2022 when the band returned to its hometown of Knoxville, TN for its annual Christmas Benefit concert. Now more than a year after that concert took place, fans of the band far beyond its hometown are getting to take in that concert through the group’s newly released live recording, Live in The Valley. Recorded live at the Mill & Mine in the band’s hometown, this 13-song set is an imperfect but still enjoyable recording that most Whitechapel fans will find appealing. To its positive is the concert’s set list and the band’s performance thereof, which will be addressed shortly. The recording’s sole downside, which is not enough to doom the presentation but still is problematic, is its general presentation. This will be addressed a little later. The recording’s audio production rounds out its most important elements and is its own positive. It will also be addressed later. Each item noted is crucial in its own way to the overall presentation of Live in the Valley. All things considered they make this recently released live recording from Whitechapel enjoyable despite its imperfection.
Live in the Valley, the recently released live recording from Whitechapel, is an interesting new offering from the veteran death metal outfit. Only the second live recording from the band (it follows 2015’s Brotherhood of the Blade), it succeeds in part through its set list and the band’s performance thereof. Spanning 13-songs and clocking in at just under an hour, the set list lifts from the band’s most recent album, 2021’s Kin and its predecessor, 2019’s The Valley. It also reaches all the way back to the band’s 2008 sophomore album, This Is Exile with the set’s penultimate entry (the album’s title track) and offers one more special treat with the concert’s closer, ‘The Saw Is The Law,’ which is featured in the band’s 2014 record, Our Endless War. Why the band opted for such a direct and focused set list is anyone’s guess. Regardless, the set list is full on heaviness that also puts front man Phil Bozeman’s brutal screams and more recently, Maynard James Keenan-esque singing on full display. At the same time, it also shows the continued growth of Bozeman’s fellow band mates, Ben Savage and Alex Wade (guitars), Gabe Crisp (bass) and touring drummer Brandon Zackey. It keeps audiences fully engaged as the band wastes little time between songs with any banter, opting instead to let its collective performances do the talking throughout. The energy in each performance is at its peak. In other words, the musicians’ performances show the group collectively just as strong as ever on his respective work.
While the concert’s set list and the band’s performance thereof does plenty to engage and entertain audiences, the recording is not without at least one fault. That fault in question is that the recording was released digitally. There is no full audiovisual presentation of the concert. It is an audio-only recording, at least for now. Concerts are meant to be heard and seen, not just heard. So to not have that extra experiential aspect here does detract from the recording’s presentation. Add in that the recording was promoted through a live clip that can be viewed on YouTube, and it leaves one scratching one’s head why the recording has been released as an audio-only presentation if the full footage is there. Keeping that in mind, with any luck, maybe Metal Blade Records’ officials and the band will re-issue the concert in the not too distant future in a full presentation, whether on Blu-ray, DVD or even a 4K showing.
The lack of a full audiovisual presentation of Live in The Valley is detrimental to the recording’s presentation. There is no doubt about that. At the same time that it certainly would have been nice to have more than just an audio presentation of this concert, it is not enough to doom the presentation. The general audio production presented herein makes for at least some more engagement and entertainment. The audio production is so rich throughout the concert. Thanks to those responsible for the production in house and in post are to be highly commended for their work. Thanks to their painstaking efforts, audiences are fully immersed in the concert through the listening experience. The vocals, instrumentation and crowd noise are expertly balanced from the concert’s opening to its end. It is a tribute to the time and effort that went into making this all too important aspect of any concert recording work. The result is that the listening experience makes up for the lack of a visual experience at least to a point, and quite well at that. When the positive therein is considered along with the recording’s set list and the band’s performance thereof, the whole makes the recording a largely successful presentation that Whitechapel’s audiences will for the most part, appreciate despite its one shortcoming.
Live in The Valley, the recently released sophomore live recording from Whitechapel, is an interesting new offering from the veteran death metal outfit. It is not a perfect presentation, what with the fact that it has been released exclusively as an audio-only concert recording. That aside, the recording is still mostly successful through its set list, which largely pulls from its two most recent album, Kin and The Valley. The band does reach back in its catalog in the set’s last two songs, though, as a way to give audiences a special treat. The focus of the set list is interesting but still positive for the most part as there had to be a reason the band focused primarily on the two noted albums. The band’s performance of the set list makes for its own interest, as it exhibits the band fully focused and in turn, giving audiences the band’s full energy. The concert’s audio production rounds out the recording’s most important elements, fully immersing audiences fully in the concert even despite being an audio-only recording. It expertly balances the instrumentation, vocals, and crowd noise for a whole that is its own success. Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of Live in the Valley. All things considered they make Live in the Valley an imperfect but still enjoyable concert recording.
Live at the Valley is available now through Metal Blade Records. More information on the recording is available along with all of Whitechapel’s latest news at:
Website: http://www.whitechapelband.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/whitechapelmetal
Twitter: http://twitter.com/whitechapelband
