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So, deathcore eh? That didn’t last long, did it? Especially with the cream of the movement’s bands hotfooting as far away from the scene as they possibly can and leaving the chancers standing over the corpse, bloodied knife in hand.

First BMTH, then Suicide Silence and now Whitechapel have made the move from omnipresent breakdowns and pig squeals to striving for a more song-orientated approach.

With Our Endless War, Whitechapel’s transformation is complete. From the opening title track’s brutal yet oddly catchy grooves, you get the feeling this is a band who are really beginning to hit their stride. Thick, pulverising, juggernaut riffs fill every song but it’s now more of a mix of Emmure’s gobby swagger and the dizzying waves of the tech-metal movement.

What’s most impressive are the hooks of songs like Let Me Burn. Not ‘poppy’, but definitely accessible enough for fans of, say, Five Finger Death Punch. Whitechapel have struck a stake through the heart of deathcore and made their finest album in the process.

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.