Artist: Naked Whipper
Country: Germany
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
With the reissue of Naked Whipper’s cult back catalogue and its (unexpected) return on stage, appearing on the Never Surrender festival, it should come as no real surprise that we now have a new album in our hands here as well. The same goes for the involvement of Iron Bonehead Productions in the release of ‘Chapel Of Defilement’, as that label was also the (co)instigator for reissuing the old material and bringing the band to the stage.
Although this “comeback” was a long time coming, it is still met with great anticipation. There are few bands in the German underground metal scene that exude more “cult” and despite being inactive since the mid 90’s, Naked Whipper is basically next there with the revered Blood. Still, the downside of this all is that there are quite big shoes to fill. I myself always try to restrain my enthusiasm somewhat, always wary of disappointment. But something in me told me not to worry too much in this particular case…
If, for a change, we’d start with a conclusion of sorts: people who enjoy their fair share of Black/Death Metal violence shouldn’t worry at all, Naked Whipper is delivering all the goods here. The album is brimming with aggressive bursts of blind rage and a barrage of instrumental whipping. In other words, a musical rampage of monumental proportions. Yet, the real aficionado who like to go down to the nitty gritty of the music, the true squeamish among us could possibly draw some quibbles.
First of all, when comparing ‘Chapel Defilement’ to the bands classic old stuff from the first half of the 90’s, it is clear that the band strayed from that trademark Naked Whipper sound. Those who hold ‘Painstreaks’ dear, originally released in 1995 by now defunct but cult Malodorous Mangled Innards Records, might feel a bit displaced. That first album had a unique sound that was basically just how Napalm Death, with its early Hellhammer-fuelled flavour, would sound when it was going on a rabid Black Metal raid. Especially the guitar sound had much in common with Napalm Death’s first record, holding that delicious Hellhammerian reverb to it. This is also what earned Naked Whipper the “Black Grind” label at the time. In all honesty, that specific sound is gone and although the album turned out to be a good and solid record, it’s a somewhat of a loss. After all, the uniqueness of Naked Whipper is somewhat lost with this.
Instead, ‘Chapel Defilement’ now is an album that can “just” be filed under Bestial Black/Death Metal, with the rest of the crowd. I can see why people feel a bit disappointed, but on the other hand, the music on offer is just on par with the current (Bestial) Black/Death Metal scene. So, in that respect, ‘Chapel Defilement’ is still an album that every fan of this niche genre should at least check out.
