The often imitated yet never duplicated Detroit deathsters The Black Dahlia Murder have returned to the public eye to reclaim their rightful throne as leaders of all things extreme with their third blackened opus of thrashing melodic death metal, Nocturnal. "I don't think the pretenders will be able to match this one," proclaims vocalist Trevor Strnad of their scorching new offering, "It's fucking over the top. Brian (Eschbach; guitarist/songwriter) has really outdone himself this time. The kid eats lightning and shits chains."
Lead by founding members Eschbach and Strnad, the group offers their most complex, memorable, and utterly unholy album yet. Chock full of flesh searing riffage, mind-bending guitar solos by fret-freak John Kempainen, and the disgustingly poetic gore soaked lyricism that legions of the band's manically adoring fans have been hungering for. Reenergized by the precision finger work of bass master Ryan "Bart" Williams and the skin-bashings of newest addition Shannon Lucas (ex- All That Remains), Nocturnal finds the band at their most violent while never compromising the staple melodic style that they have become synonymous with. "The album Nocturnal is a rebirth for the band," states vocalist Strnad. "We've never had such a sick rhythm section. Bart and Shannon have really stepped up and added an extra punch to this beast of a record," the singer proudly chimes. The end result is a more vehement and venomous Black Dahlia in 2007. However, no album of such a magnitude is without its tribulation.
After a relentless worldwide touring schedule ranging from successful appearances at European Festivals to a blistering set at Loud Park in Japan to tirelessly crisscrossing the US on Ozzfest and Sounds Of The Underground, the end of The Black Dahlia Murder's 2006 Australian tour found the band again without a drummer, as former skinsman Pierre Langlois decided to step down from his drum throne to pursue a more stable and normal lifestyle. "Basically, we found ourselves at the end of the Miasma touring cycle with no drummer and no new material. It was a dark time for the band filled with a lot of anguish and doubt. Needless to say I am glad that it is so far behind us now." The metal community had run rampant with a whirlwind of rumors of break ups as the band ceaselessly combed the sands of the extreme community for a drummer that would take them to the next level. "The drama and controversy that constantly surrounds this project has always been a fuel for us," vocalist Trevor Strnad assures, "the challenge and stress of refurbishing the line up while simultaneously preparing this record in such a short amount of time really shines through in the intensity level of the songs. Extreme conditions demand extreme responses, so to speak." Thematically, the band has never been more horrifying. "Lyrically, I believe Nocturnal is our most evil outing yet. It is a full return to the death/gore lyrical style that helped establish us in the first place. It is an ode to the great Death Metal records of past, while also being our most original and inventive outing to date."
The climate of the metal scene has never been more primed for the aural punishment that Nocturnal offers in spades. Prepare to revel in the abysmal horror that is The Black Dahlia Murder.
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