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Buy Here: Whitechapel “Black Bear“ from the album “The Valley“. The valley of the title relates to the part of Hardin Valley, west of Knoxville, Tennessee, where Bozeman grew up. Set against this backdrop, he approaches his subject matter unflinchingly, building upon everything that came before, making it clear that he has survived that which he was forced to endure and is not afraid to confront it. “Phil has been upfront in his lyrics in the past about hardships he endured in his life as a child, and I believe with this record we tried to paint a better picture of that,“ says Wade, who alongside his bandmates stands 100% behind everything their vocalist has to say. “I feel our music is Phil's release from his past, being able to get it out and speak about it, and hopefully anyone who hears it that may have gone through similar experiences can find some release in it as well.“ To track this powerful collection, the band once again teamed up with producer Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder) whose commitment to creating the best possible record reflects that of the musicians involved. “Mark has done the last three records so we are all aware of each other's work ethic from the start. I was pressed for time on lyrics but I always like to write when I'm pressured. Makes it easier for me somehow,“ Bozeman admits. Recorded in the home studios of Wade and Householder, with drums lain down at Warner Brothers Studio in Nashville, TN, the process was very comfortable for all concerned, taking longer than usual due to the band interrupting sessions to tour, but not to their detriment. “The sessions were fun to me overall but very much down to business,“ Wade says. “Not really much partying going on during tracking, it seemed everyone was there to do their job, and because they were pretty spaced out it did not seem like we were too rushed or stressed.“ #whitechapel #blackbear #thevalley
