WHITECHAPEL
w/ Disembodied Tyrant, Angelmaker, Bodysnatcher
11/26/25 – The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
©Justin Nuoffer/NuofferMedia.com
A cool and damp Tuesday evening didn’t deter Milwaukee metalheads from making their way to The Rave for one of the heaviest tours of the year. Donning their favorite band shirts, fans arrived early and formed a line that wrapped around the parking lot in no time. The anticipation and excitement were easy to feel in the air.
As the doors opened, the line moved through the side of the building and into the basement for security. From there, fans headed up the stairs to the box office and main foyer where tickets were scanned. To the right, the Rave Bar held all the band merch stands, and to the left was the Craft Beer Lounge. Straight ahead, through glass doors set in wooden frames, stood The Rave 1. The main room filled up fast, and the VIP deck above offered a private bar. The historic Milwaukee venue was alive and ready to rumble.
First up for the evening was Disembodied Tyrant. The band was entertaining and musically tight, but Blake Mullens, the founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist, was not with them.
Check out the Disembodied Tyrant photo gallery below:
Because of that, it wouldn’t be fair to gauge the performance on anything other than the fact that it was fun and a great way to warm up. The brutality was undeniable.
The seven-member Canadian deathcore outfit Angelmaker, with dual vocalists Casey Tyson-Pearce and relative newcomer Ian Bearer, brought pure unfiltered heaviness. Opening with “Godless,” the crowd went berserk. Pops of blue light flashed across the stage. The deep gloom and gut-wrenching vocals rumbled the room. With three guitarists, the band focused on layers and a thick, bulky sound.
Check out the Angelmaker photo gallery below:
With years of material and multiple albums behind them, only their most popular tracks made the cut for this tour. Bone-shattering riffs and pounding bass kicks tore through “Vengeance,” “Silken Hands,” and “A Dark One,” and the crowd grew rowdier with every note.
Angelmaker saved their best for last. Closing with “Leech,” Tyson-Pearce jumped off the stage and onto the barricade. He stood above the Milwaukee crowd and unleashed scream after scream while people on the floor surged toward him. Angelmaker are no strangers to Wisconsin and continue to leave their mark.
As direct support, Bodysnatcher made their return to The Rave and unleashed a gritty blend of deathcore and hardcore. Vocalist Kyle Medina stomped around the front ledge of the stage in a flannel hoodie with brass knuckles tattooed on the side of his face. If you were new to Bodysnatcher, that look alone told you what you were about to experience.
Opening with “Human Disdain” and then “Behind the Crowd,” their violent assault was on, and it was beautiful. Medina tore through deep and heavy lyrics that actually carried meaning. Honest lyricism was a staple of the genre in its early days, and Bodysnatcher carry that tradition. Kyle Carter laid down fat and chunky guitar riffs with ease. Whether performing “Wired for Destruction,” “Twelve/Seventeen,” or “Open Wounds,” Carter’s sound was bold and full.
Bassist Kyle Shope and drummer Chris Whited kept the groove lively and pushed the energy in the room. Bodysnatcher as a unit push the envelope of classic punch you in the face hardcore. Each chance they got, they demanded the crowd move forward and crowd surf. Milwaukee delivered. Bodies flew everywhere. Their fire was contagious, and they closed with “Black of My Eyes” and “King of the Rats” to drive the point home. They are future genre headliners without question.
Check out the Bodysnatcher photo gallery below:
The outpouring of love from the Milwaukee audience was overwhelming. Their merch line stretched long, and the band came over to hang out with fans. They were easily a highlight, and their growth over the years is undeniable.
After all of this came the moment everyone had waited for: the arrival of Whitechapel. Vocalist Phil Bozeman walked out onto the stage holding the ritual mask from their recent album cover. The skull with horns and multiple eyes was lifted high. The stage was bathed in red, and the drum riser with Brandon Zackey’s kit sat above the main platform like an altar. The sermon of destruction had begun.
The band opened with “Prisoner 666,” one of the greatest introduction tracks in modern deathcore. From the moment the first note hit and Bozeman unleashed his guttural screams, the venue erupted into chaos. He leaned over the front ledge of the stage, focused completely on his mic placement. Whitechapel continued with the title track “Hymns of Dissonance” and “Diabolic Slumber,” and the floors and walls of the venue rumbled harder with every passing second.
Bassist Gabe Crisp, a massive presence onstage, oversaw the crowd while ripping through his parts. With him and Zackey controlling the rhythm, the pace belonged entirely to them. The crushing opening run rolled into “A Visceral Retch,” followed by the first interlude “Ex Infernis.” In a rare bit of stage banter, Bozeman welcomed the crowd and explained that they would be performing the entire new album in full. He also mentioned how much they love The Rave and that they have played there sixteen of seventeen times.
A guitar rang out and the mosh pit spun again as Whitechapel tore into “Hate Cult Ritual” and “The Abysmal Gospel.” The strength of the band comes from the guitars, and the three players built layer after layer. Ben Savage handled lead duties and was an absolute menace. He was in peak form. The full playthrough of Hymns of Dissonance was a defiant punch to the throat and packed full of punishing body blows. Savage moved back and forth along the small catwalk at the front of the stage every time he went into a solo or lead passage. His artistry was matched by Zach Householder and Alex Wade, who anchored and thickened the massive sound that defines Whitechapel’s legacy. Their tone obliterated eardrums. It was perfect.
The album closed with “Mammoth God” and “Nothing Is Coming for Any of Us,” a disturbing and emotional ride that eased into a heavy, melodic conclusion. Much like the conceptual nature of the album, which follows a cult leader and his disciples attempting to enter another dimension for power, this version of Whitechapel feels like a return to their origins while still moving forward.
Bozeman returned to the mic and said that playing the full album was never in question. He then promised they would finish the night with their most popular tracks. Whitechapel went back to the beginning with two songs from their first album: “The Somatic Defilement” and “Devirgination Studies.” The devastation in the general admission pit was huge. The overhead view was incredible. The sense of brotherhood was strong. That energy carried through the final two songs, “The Darkest Days of Man” and “This Is Exile.” Deathcore, black metal, and death metal blended into one heavy blast, and the crowd wanted more. The chanting continued as Whitechapel exited. The merch area was packed with fans grabbing gear.
Check out the Whitechapel photo gallery below:
No matter how cold or miserable the weather grew, the Milwaukee crowd made their way to the historic Rave and took part in a ceremony of metal. Whitechapel were everything they have always been, but on this run they brought back their roots. The early material that built them into what they are returned to the spotlight. No one can say Whitechapel haven’t impacted the genre. They have left a crater. Everything they do continues to hit, and this tour is easily one of the heaviest of the year. The second leg should be just as intense.
