Melodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The genre features the heaviness of death metal but with highly melodic or harmonized guitar riffs and solos, and often features high-pitched shrieked vocals alongside the low-pitched growls commonly featured in traditional death metal. Pioneered by the English heavy metal band Carcass with their 1993 album Heartwork, melodic death metal developed further in Sweden in the mid-1990s. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquility's The Gallery, and In Flames' The Jester Race, all released in the mid-1990s, were highly influential albums in melodic death metal, with At the Gates and In Flames being the two most common influences on North American 2000s heavy metal bands. Many American heavy metal bands emulated At the Gates' sound, resulting in the usage of the phrase "At the Gates worship".
The Black Dahlia Murder is an American melodic death metal band from Waterford, Michigan, formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. Since 2016, the band had consisted of lead vocalist Trevor Strnad, rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach, bassist Max Lavelle, drummer Alan Cassidy, and lead guitarist Brandon Ellis. The Black Dahlia Murder has undergone various lineup changes, with Strnad and Eschbach remaining the only constant members, until the former's death in 2022. Out of the eight studio albums they have released to date, the last seven have charted on the U.S. Billboard 200, with their fifth album Ritual peaking at No. 31 in 2011, marking them as one of the most popular contemporary American extreme metal bands. Their ninth and latest album Verminous was released on April 17, 2020.
Unhallowed is the debut studio album by American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. It was released through Metal Blade Records on June 17, 2003. An enhanced version of the album was released that included photos and info about the band. Metal Blade released a limited edition vinyl version of Unhallowed on August 20, 2013 in honor of the album's tenth anniversary. The band performed the album in its entirety on their spring 2016 tour with Fallujah and Disentomb.
Miasma is the second studio album by American death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. Released through Metal Blade Records on July 12, 2005, Miasma is the only album to feature drummer Zach Gibson, who replaced founding member and drummer, Cory Grady, as well as being the last with bassist David Lock. Gibson also left the band the following year after the release of the album and was replaced by Shannon Lucas, formerly of All That Remains.
A Cold-Blooded Epitaph is the first EP by American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder released in May 2002 on Lovelost Records, it is released as an MCD. This is the band's last release with guitarist John Deering.
The Crusade is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 10, 2006, through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Jason Suecof and the band themselves. The album marked a significant musical departure from the metalcore sound of preceding album Ascendancy, with the band instead bringing their thrash metal influences to the fore. Accordingly, vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy sings with primarily 'clean' vocals throughout The Crusade, rather than utilizing the 'screaming' style heard on Ascendancy.
Shannon Lucas is an American heavy metal drummer from Staunton, Virginia. He is best known as the former drummer for death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder and metalcore band All That Remains.
The Fall of Ideals is the third studio album by metalcore band All That Remains, released on July 11, 2006. Three music videos were created for the songs "This Calling", "Not Alone" and "The Air That I Breathe". It is the only All That Remains release with drummer Shannon Lucas and the band's first album to feature bassist Jeanne Sagan. Musically, the album features a more metalcore sound the band would be known for.
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse is a demo album by the American metal band The Black Dahlia Murder, released independently in May 2001. It is the band's only record to feature Sean Gauvreau on bass. Although The Black Dahlia Murder is considered to be a melodic death metal band, the style of the demo has been described as metalcore. Vocalist Trevor Strnad said in an interview that much of the material on the demo is a blatant "rip-off" of the metalcore band Prayer for Cleansing.
Deflorate is the fourth studio album by American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. Released through Metal Blade Records on September 15, 2009. The album sold 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position #43 on the Billboard 200.
Ritual is the fifth studio album by American death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. It was released on June 17 in Europe and on June 21 in North America via Metal Blade Records. It is the band's last record to feature Ryan "Bart" Williams on bass and Shannon Lucas on drums. The album sold 12,960 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at No. 31 on the Billboard 200. The album has sold 51,000 copies in the US as of September 2015.
Global Flatline is the seventh album by death metal band Aborted. It was released on January 20, 2012, in Europe, through Century Media Records. The album was recorded at Hansen Studios in Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen, and is the first to feature ex-Abigail Williams members Ken Bedene on drums and Mike Wilson on guitar, as well as bassist J.B. Van Der Wal.
Everblack is the sixth studio album by American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. The album was released through Metal Blade Records on June 11, 2013. It is the first release by the band to feature drummer Alan Cassidy and bassist Max Lavelle.
War of Will is the second studio album by American extreme metal band Battlecross. Produced at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, FL, the work was released on July 9, 2013 via Metal Blade Records peaking at No. 2 on Heatseekers Albums during its first month while debuting at No. 134 on Billboard 200.
Exi(s)t is the second studio album by American metalcore band, Reflections. The album was released October 22, 2013 through labels eOne Music and Good Fight Entertainment. The album was produced by Eyal Levi, who has produced albums for bands such as August Burns Red, The Black Dahlia Murder, Motionless in White, Unearth, and Whitechapel.
Dynasty is the second album by the extreme metal band As They Sleep. The album is the first to feature Drummer Tony Lukitsh.
Abysmal is the seventh studio album by American death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. It was released on September 18, 2015 through Metal Blade Records. It was produced by Mark Lewis, who also produced The Black Dahlia Murder's albums Deflorate and Ritual, and the band's former bassist Ryan Williams, who also produced their preceding album Everblack. It is the band's final album to feature guitarist Ryan Knight before his departure in February 2016.
Nightbringers is the eighth studio album by American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. This is the first album to feature Brandon Ellis on lead guitar, replacing Ryan Knight. It was released on October 6, 2017, through Metal Blade Records. Nightbringers became the best-selling direct-to-consumer pre-order in Metal Blade Records' history.
Visitant is the sixth studio album by American extreme metal band Arsis, released on November 2, 2018 via Nuclear Blast and Agonia. It was the last to feature lead guitarist Brandon Ellis before his resignation to join The Black Dahlia Murder.
Verminous is the ninth studio album by American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. It was released on April 17, 2020, through Metal Blade Records. This is the band's final album to feature original member and lead vocalist Trevor Strnad before his death on May 11, 2022. There will be auditions for a new lead singer to replace Trevor Strnad in 2022.
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