The Valley (Whitechapel album)

The Valley is a concept album based on vocalist and writer Phil Bozeman's childhood; the title is a reference to Hardin Valley, Tennessee, where Bozeman grew up.^[9] His father, Michael Gary Bozeman, suddenly died on December 30, 1995,^[10] when Phil was ten.^[11] His mother, Theresa, already struggled with alcoholism and schizophrenia;^[12] the album's opening song, "When a Demon Defiles a Witch", is an interpretation of one of her visions she wrote down in a journal entry.^[13] Theresa eventually remarried, but Bozeman's step-father was abusive toward both of them,^[12] with Phil referring to the man as a "predator"^[14] and holding him responsible for introducing his mother to crack cocaine.^[10] Theresa eventually died from a drug overdose in 2000.^[10][15]

The Valley continues Bozeman's experiments with clean vocals,^[4][13] and slightly distances Whitechapel from their signature deathcore style.^[4] The vocals on the fourth track, "Hickory Creek", are almost exclusively sung.^[7] As a whole, the record has been variously described as deathcore,^[1] progressive metal,^[2] and groove metal.^[3] The band's follow-up album, Kin, continues Bozeman's story,^[16] and features much more extensive use of singing.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Consequence of Sound	B+[4]
Exclaim!	9/10[5]
Kerrang!	[6]
MetalSucks	[7]
Metal Injection	9/10[9]