Naked Whipper – Chapel Defilement

Band: Naked Whipper
Album: Chapel Defilement
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Release date: January 31st, 2025
Country: Germany
Format reviewed: High-quality digital recording
Over thirty years after their first full length, Germany’s Naked Whipper are back with another round of bestial devastation in the form of “Chapel Defilement”. Now, for anyone who thinks blasphemy in black metal has gotten too cheesy and out of pocket, I advise you to drop this article right here and move on with your life, because there’s no way in hell you’re going to like this. That being said, “Chapel Defilement” is what I can call a war metal fan’s dream, and rightfully so. This album is comprised out of 34 minutes of pure carnage, sprinkled with some extreme thrash elements. Albeit not as unrelenting as a Kapala or even Revenge record (speaking of revenge, keep an eye out for their upcoming album too), it is definitely a blast, both literally and figuratively. Personally I found it to be a really fun listen, in terms of song composition and lyrical matter at least. After all, it’s Naked Whipper we are talking about. But now I’ll leave the blabber aside and actually talk about the music.
Probably the first impression one gets from an album comes from the adjacent artwork, and in this case, the first impression is not very far fetched. What caught me off guard, however, were the thrash elements, and heck, they definitely give the album most of its charm, as they are fairly consistent throughout the record. Do not be fooled and expect a harsher extreme thrash record, however. The meat and potatoes of it is still war metal.
The most upfront element of the music are without a doubt the drums. Consisting mainly of blast beats, they are emphasized a lot in the mix, cutting through the guitars, bass and vocals with ease. What I found most interesting is, however, the rhythmical alternations that take place occasionally, which include punkish beats and (very) few slow moments. I feel like this makes the blast beats stand out even more, and it helps define the songs better, as well as creating more tension and interest. What I enjoy perhaps the most about the drums is that they have a very full, and at times chaotic sound, compared to the very sharp and controlled drumming you generally find with this technique. This gives “Chapel Defilement” a very old school organic sound.
In terms of rhythm and depth, the bass here does a great job at keeping the album maintain that organic sound I mentioned in the previous paragraph. It is similar in intensity to the drums, while still following the riffing closely, thus bridging the gap between the two and overall just making everything much more cohesive and better connected. Truth being told, that is the death metal side of war metal being represented.
The guitars are the most “complex” part of the album, if you could even call it as such, and that is mainly due to the thrash influence that I keep mentioning. The way it manifests is through more intricate and catchier riffs that switch back to the specific “caveman” style when the blast beats kick in. The catchier side of things goes incredibly well with the punk influenced and slower moments, adding a (very) faint touch of musicality. This, I would say, makes the album easier to get through, but that is also a sort of am understatement. The riffs are brought out by the short time span of the songs, which gives them a trademark explosive quality. All of this manifests into the unholy amount of energy that this album brings.
The vocals are done in a growling, Blasphemy-like style, acting as the final catalyst for brutality on the record. They come off as very chaotic and frantic, which pairs well with the drumming, and they stay consistent throughout the album technique wise, except for some higher effects in certain tense sequences. All of these in mind, they are fairly impressive in terms of use and execution, and without a doubt very fitting.
Although it includes two intro tracks, making the two parts of the album, Naked Whipper remained fairly consistent music wise, not slacking on the energy in any way. This is one of the few cases where I would say the placement of a “break” track works, because it essentially offers a time for the listener to process what they’ve heard so far, while also maintaining the tension.
Overall, Naked Whipper did a great job with this record, offering a promising start to what is next to come this year in war metal. I definitely had a good time with it, and if you’re into the genre, you must go and check it out. 8.5/10 by Ioana
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