Concert review: Whitechapel | 05.12.23, Red Flag (with photo gallery)

Photo of Whitechapel’s Phil Bozeman by Jen Ruff

w/ Archspire, Signs of the Swarm, and Entheos

Before even entering the venue—as the line was quite lengthy—the show started off intense. The grit, the grime—it just set the mood for a good night. Upon entering, it was an absolute surprise that the band was female fronted. Entheos did not come to mess around. Vocalist Chaney Crabb had a commanding stage presence that had everyone going wild from start to finish. A handful of songs was not enough but definitely got the crowd pumped. This band will be massive. 

Signs of the Swarm are no strangers to STL and they got right into where Entheos left off. The crowd-surfed, mosh-pitted, wall-of-deathed through all half dozen songs including a fitting “Tower of Torsos.” From the Pittsburgh metal scene, Signs of the Swarm did their thing, dragging the crowd with them for their set. 

Archspire is from Vancouver and brought it with their death metal. Their set even featured an interesting dance-off midway through and a round of Twister, which is absolutely unique to any metal show but added a humor to the evening that was appreciated. 

But the evening belonged to the headliners Whitechapel. Named for the area where Jack ripped England, they’ve consistently elevated their sounds over their more-than-decade-long careers. Their 2019 album The Valley never had a proper tour given the pandemic so this tour was a real treat to fans of theirs for hanging in there. The album is largely based on frontman Phil Bozeman’s life and the fallout from having a parent with severe mental health issues. The journey through the Valley was hard and heartfelt, somber and brutal. An absolute epic evening of metal for the packed house. | Diane Ruff