The Black Dahlia Murder

Abysmal

Written by: MBC on 02/11/2015 03:35:55

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is such a worn out cliché, but sometimes seems to fit just right nonetheless. Such is the case with Michigan’s The Black Dahlia Murder, a band that has performed and perfected its take on death metal for more than a decade with one amazing album after the other. With many line-up changes since its formation in 2001 and only two original members remaining now in 2015, a few features have been constant throughout the band’s career. Every album has come out on Metal Blade Records ever since the debut “Unhallowed” from 2003, and this is still the case with the band’s new and seventh album “Abysmal”. The Black Dahlia Murder still stick to their guns and continue to excel with their patented version of death metal that combines Gothenburg-inspired melody with Floridian-esque brutality and a little bit of epic black metal thrown in the mix with ten new tracks of supreme metal song writing.

What makes The Black Dahlia Murder such an amazing band is the fact that they always fire on all cylinders and yet manage to keep everything in perfect balance. The combination of Swedish melody and American brutality just works. Death metal elitists may find enjoyment in the band’s supreme musicianship and extreme metal leanings while the more melodically inclined metal head might appreciate the thick grooves and melodious riffs. Vocalist and founding member Trevor Strnad’s dual vocal technique and frenetic delivery has defined The Black Dahlia Murder from the beginning, and the band definitely would not be the same without him. On this new album, he puts on another outstanding performance and in usual fashion switches constantly between high-pitched shrieks and guttural bursts of death which makes him sound like two vocalists at once. His superb timing and sense of melody and the way his vocals flow with both the frantic and melodic guitar riffs of Ryan Knight and the machine gun blastbeats of Alan Cassidy is simply a joy to listen to. Check out for instance Strnad’s insane vocal flows on “Threat Level No.3” or “Asylum”. I dare you to not be impressed.

Sometimes people dismiss this band for sounding too similar on their records, but why is that necessarily a bad thing? They definitely have their own style, but as long as they keep creating incredible music then that should be what is most important. The Black Dahlia Murder maintains its appeal as a melodic death metal band without succumbing to incorporating breakdowns, cleanly sung choruses or other unnecessary stuff in the songs. Instead, they seem to be evolving as a band with each record and are now playing faster and tighter than ever before and bust out some of their best riffs, solos and vocal performances yet with this new album. The current line-up of The Black Dahlia Murder is the same as on their equally incredible 2013 release “Everblack”, and on the basis of the quality of the music, this line-up might be the strongest of the band’s career. “Abysmal” is not to be missed.

Download: Receipt, Vlad Son Of The Dragon, Abysmal, Threat Level No.3, Asylum
For the fans of: At The Gates, Malevolent Creation, Revocation, Carcass, All Shall Perish
Listen: Facebook

Release date 18.09.2015
Metal Blade

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