The Black Dahlia Murder | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Waterford, Michigan, U.S. |
Genres | Melodic death metal, death metal |
Years active | 2001–present |
Labels | Metal Blade |
Members |
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Past members |
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The Black Dahlia Murder is an Americanmelodic 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. Currently, the band consists of lead vocalist Brian Eschbach, bassist Max Lavelle, drummer Alan Cassidy, and guitarists Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight. The Black Dahlia Murder has undergone various lineup changes, with Trevor Strnad and Eschbach remaining the only constant members, until the former's death in 2022, which then saw Eschbach take over lead vocals and Knight (who was the band's lead guitarist from 2009 to 2016) replacing him on rhythm guitar.
Following the release of a 2001 demo album and a 2002 EP, the Black Dahlia Murder signed to Metal Blade Records in 2003, who released their debut studio album Unhallowed that same year. Out of the nine studio albums the band have released to date, the last eight 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 tenth and latest album, Servitude , was released on September 27, 2024.
The Black Dahlia Murder began its inception during late 2000 and gained the final band lineup in January 2001. The group released their demo entitled What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse , and a four-track EP, A Cold-Blooded Epitaph , the latter of which the group released on Lovelost Records. After appearing in concerts such as the Milwaukee Metal Fest, the Black Dahlia Murder signed to Metal Blade Records in 2003. [1]
Bassist Ryan "Bart" Williams left his former band, Detroit's Today I Wait, to tour with the Black Dahlia Murder. After touring with the band on their co-headlining gig with Throwdown and their European dates with Liar, he joined the group full-time, replacing former bassist David Lock. Frontman Trevor Strnad said that Lock was fired for incompetency. [2] Williams was one of two engineers (the other being Walls of Jericho's Mike Hasty) on the band's first full-length album, Unhallowed . The band then went on a tour in late 2004 supporting Unearth alongside Terror and Remembering Never throughout the United States. [3]
The band's second album Miasma was released on July 12, 2005, and peaked at No. 118 on the Billboard 200. [4] After touring for Miasma, drummer Zach Gibson left the band along with Pierre Langlois. While Gibson went on to join Abigail Williams, Langlois left the band for a more secure lifestyle, and the band finished their search for a replacement drummer when they found former All That Remains drummer, Shannon Lucas. The group played at Ozzfest 2005.
Their third album, entitled Nocturnal , was released on September 18, 2007. The album debuted at No. 72 on the Billboard 200. [5] The Black Dahlia Murder announced via their MySpace profile that they were going on a U.S. tour with Cannibal Corpse to promote their new album Nocturnal and celebrate the 25 years that Metal Blade Records had been in business. They were joined by label-mates The Red Chord, Aeon, The Absence, and Goatwhore. In January/February 2008, the band embarked on a U.S. headlining tour with 3 Inches of Blood, Hate Eternal, and Decrepit Birth, followed by another alongside Brain Drill and Animosity. They were on Hot Topic's "Summer Slaughter Tour" [6] with Kataklysm, Cryptopsy, Vader, Whitechapel, and Despised Icon.
Their longtime lead guitarist, John Kempainen left the band and was replaced by Ryan Knight during the beginning of 2009. In May 2009, the Black Dahlia Murder released their first DVD, "Majesty". The DVD contains a documentary and live footage from the Summer Slaughter tour and their tour supporting Children of Bodom in late 2008. The DVD also contains all of their music videos and behind the scenes footage. [7]
The Black Dahlia Murder released Deflorate on September 15, 2009, via Metal Blade Records. The album sold 12,000 copies in the United States in the first week of the release, debuted at position No. 43 Billboard's Top 200 charts, No. 5 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, No. 4 on Billboard's Top Hard Music Albums chart, and No. 50 on HITS Top 50 Albums chart. [8] They toured with Children of Bodom and Skeletonwitch in support of the album. After their 2010 headlining tour with Goatwhore and Arkaik, the band began writing and recording their next full-length album. [9]
In February 2011, the Black Dahlia Murder completed the songwriting process for their fifth studio album, [10] entitled Ritual . [11] It was released on June 21, 2011, in North America. [11] The band supported Amon Amarth on their May 2011 European tour, [12] as well as headlined the 2011 Summer Slaughter tour, both in support of Ritual. [13] Before the record's release, the track "Moonlight Equilibrium" was posted to the Metal Blade Records website on April 29, 2011, to critical and fan acclaim. [11] A music video for "Moonlight Equilibrium" was released on February 20, 2012. In April 2012 during the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival on the first night performance, Trevor Strnad officially welcomed new bassist Max Lavelle into the band after former bassist Ryan Williams parted ways. On November 7, Shannon Lucas announced via a YouTube video that he would be stepping down as drummer of the Black Dahlia Murder to pursue other aspirations. Alan Cassidy of Abigail Williams filled in for Shannon's touring duties.
In early 2013, despite the news of the departure of two band members (drummer Shannon Lucas and bassist Bart Williams), plans were announced for an upcoming album release, to be entitled Everblack . Tentative plans estimated its release to be early summer 2013, likely June. On April 10, 2013, the iTunes Store was updated with official release and availability information, including cover art, a full track listing, and an official U.S. release date of June 11, 2013. The album has 10 tracks in total. On the same day, the band's first single from Everblack was made available for purchase and download, titled "Into The Everblack". The album itself was then released on June 11 and peaked at No. 32 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
On November 28, 2014 (the day after Thanksgiving), the Black Dahlia Murder released a 7-inch EP titled Grind 'Em All featuring 3 short grindcore covers of punk rock songs: a cover of "Ripped Up" by Left for Dead, of "Rebel Without a Car" by Sedition and of "Populous" by Gyga. [14] The covers were originally recorded almost 10 years earlier during the era of Miasma . [14] [15] The EP was released as part of Record Store Day's Black Friday event via A389 Recordings (rather than the band's label, Metal Blade Records), [16] made available for purchase on the band's online merchandise store [15] and also streamed in its entirety via Exclaim!. [17] The album art for Grind 'Em All was designed by Szymon Siech. [14] [16]
Lead guitarist Ryan Knight confirmed in early 2015 that the band will deliver a seventh studio release that year, followed by extensive touring, and that he is planning to start working on a solo album afterwards. [18] [19] [20] Vocalist Trevor Strnad stated that the band's new album, titled Abysmal , will be "more raw and natural sounding" and feature "more dynamic and developed songs" than their previous work. [21] "Vlad, Son of the Dragon", the first song from the album, was released online on June 24, [21] followed by "Receipt" on July 22 [22] and "Threat Level No. 3" on August 19. [23] Abysmal was produced by Mark Lewis and Ryan Williams and released worldwide through Metal Blade on September 18. [21] In early February 2016, it was announced that Knight had left the band. He was replaced on lead guitar by Brandon Ellis of Arsis. [24]
The band's 8th album Nightbringers was released on October 6, 2017, to critical and commercial acclaim, charting at 35 on the Billboard 200.
The Black Dahlia Murder released their ninth studio album, Verminous , on April 17, 2020. [25]
On May 11, 2022, it was announced that the band's frontman Trevor Strnad had died. While no official cause of death has been given, the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was provided at the end of the statement. [26]
On September 14, 2022, the Black Dahlia Murder announced a tribute concert taking place for Trevor Strnad on October 28 at Saint Andrew's Hall in Detroit, supported by Darkest Hour and Plague Years. It was also announced that Brian Eschbach would be stepping down from guitar and taking over vocals, as Eschbach himself said in an interview with Decibel magazine: "I know Trevor would keep this band going if I went down a deep, dark path and weren't here." In Eschbach's place, Ryan Knight returned to the band as their rhythm guitarist. [27]
In November 2023, The Black Dahlia Murder entered the studio to begin recording their tenth studio album for a 2024 release. [28] [29] [30]
On June 13, 2024, the band released the single, "Aftermath", from their tenth studio album, Servitude , which was released on September 27. [31]
The Black Dahlia Murder headlined the 2008 Summer Slaughter Tour with Kataklysm, Vader, Cryptopsy, The Faceless, Despised Icon, Aborted, Born of Osiris, Psycroptic, and Whitechapel. [32] In late 2008, they joined a U.S. tour with Finland's Children of Bodom and Raleigh, NC's Between the Buried and Me. They were initially announced as "... with special guests" at the start of the tour, though it was later confirmed by Revolver Magazine that they were on tour. They appeared on the Hot Topic Stage in the 2009 Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. In late 2009, they embarked on a U.S. tour with Finland's Children of Bodom and Skeletonwitch. The band headlined the Bonecrusher Fest tour of Europe in Spring 2010 alongside 3 Inches of Blood, Necrophobic, Obscura, The Faceless, Carnifex and Ingested. In August 2010 they played at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone, UK. The band played the entire Warped Tour 2013. As a tribute to the 10th anniversary of the Nocturnal album, they headlined the 2017 Summer Slaughter Tour, performing the album in its entirety. [33]
The Black Dahlia Murder has been described as melodic death metal, [34] [35] [36] [37] or simply death metal. [38] [39] [40] Their 2001 demo What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse has been described as metalcore. [41]
Influences for the band include heavy metal bands such as Carcass, At the Gates, Darkane, Dissection, Darkthrone, Morbid Angel, The Haunted, In Flames, Dimension Zero, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Pantera and Megadeth.[ citation needed ] Vocalist Trevor Strnad cited on many occasions that he was primarily influenced by Carcass in vocalizing technique.[ citation needed ]
When asked to describe what kind of music the band plays, Strnad commented:
"I've always said that we're melodic death metal. We are mostly influenced by Swedish bands and Carcass. The heavy end of our sound is the American style creeping in, with some Floridian influences like Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation and that kind of stuff. We've been labeled more often because of our look than our sound, which is dumb, and speaks volumes about what kind of geniuses are out there!" [42]
However, in an interview with Uranium Magazine, Strnad stated,
"Some bands that get labeled as metalcore are actually good, like Between the Buried and Me or The Red Chord. Metal is what I grew up with, and then I learned about punk and hardcore. But a lot of our ethics, the way we carry ourselves, is more punk... I like that hardcore has a sense of community without the competition you see in metal." [43]
Current
Former
The Black Dahlia Murder discography | |
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Studio albums | 10 |
EPs | 2 |
Video albums | 2 |
Music videos | 15 |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [44] | US Heat. [45] | US Ind. [46] | US Rock [47] | US Hard Rock [48] | GER [49] | |||||||||
Unhallowed |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Miasma |
| 118 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | |||||||
Nocturnal |
| 72 | — | 6 | 20 | 7 | — | |||||||
Deflorate |
| 43 | — | 5 | 15 | 4 | — | |||||||
Ritual |
| 31 | — | 6 | 9 | 3 | — | |||||||
Everblack |
| 32 | — | 9 | 13 | 3 | 91 | |||||||
Abysmal |
| 45 | — | 12 | 15 | 8 | 66 | |||||||
Nightbringers |
| 35 | — | 3 | 6 | 3 | 47 | |||||||
Verminous |
| 99 | — | — | — | — | 7 | |||||||
Servitude |
| — | — | — | — | — | 55 | |||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Year | Song | Director |
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2003 | "Funeral Thirst" | |
2006 | "A Vulgar Picture" | |
"Miasma" | Joe Lynch [50] | |
"Statutory Ape" | ||
2007 | "Everything Went Black" | |
"What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse" | ||
2009 | "Necropolis" | |
2011 | "Moonlight Equilibrium" | Dave Brodsky [51] |
2013 | "Goat of Departure" | |
2015 | "Receipt" | Robert Graves [52] |
2016 | "Threat Level No. 3" | Adam Avilla [53] |
2017 | "Nightbringers" | Vince Edwards [54] |
2018 | "Kings of the Night World" | Marshall Wieczorek [55] |
2020 | "Child of Night" | Vesa Ranta & Kaira Films [56] |
2024 | "Aftermath" | Dave Brodsky |
Carcass are an English extreme metal band from Liverpool, formed in 1985. The band have gone through several line-up changes, leaving guitarist Bill Steer and bassist-vocalist Jeff Walker as the only constant members. They broke up in 1996, but reformed in 2007 without original drummer Ken Owen, for health reasons. To date, the band have released seven studio albums, two compilation albums, four EPs, two demo albums, one video album, and six music videos.
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 melodic 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.
Job for a Cowboy is an American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week to debut at position No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band comprises vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Tony Sannicandro and Al Glassman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Davy is the only remaining founding member.
Nocturnal is the third studio album by American melodic death metal band the Black Dahlia Murder. It was released through Metal Blade Records on September 18, 2007, and is the band's first album to feature bassist Bart Williams, who replaced Dave Lock, and drummer Shannon Lucas. It is also the last album to feature longtime guitarist John Kempainen.
Whitechapel is an American deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The band is named after the Whitechapel district in East London, England, where Jack the Ripper committed a series of murders. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp and drummer Brandon Zackey. Their core lineup, with the exception of the drummer, has remained consistent since Householder replaced original guitarist Brandon Cagle in 2007. Founded in 2006 by Bozeman and Savage, the band has released eight studio albums and fourteen music videos, and it's currently signed to Metal Blade Records. Whitechapel's 2010 album A New Era of Corruption, sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's self-titled fourth album was released in 2012 and debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 9,200 copies in its first week. In 2014 the band released their fifth full-length album, Our Endless War to generally positive reviews. The album sold roughly 16,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. They released their sixth full-length album Mark of the Blade in 2016 to greater critical acclaim, selling roughly 8,000 copies in the first week of its release. In 2019, Whitechapel released their seventh album, The Valley, which debuted at No. 143 on the Billboard 200 also to critical acclaim. Their newest album, Kin, was released on October 29, 2021.
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse is the first demo album by American melodic death 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.
Carnifex is an American deathcore band from San Diego County, California. Formed in 2005, they are currently signed to Nuclear Blast after having been signed to Victory Records. They have released nine studio albums and three EPs. Since 2022, the band has consisted of founding members, lead vocalist Scott Ian Lewis and drummer Shawn Cameron, along with rhythm guitarist Cory Arford, bassist Fred Calderon and lead guitarist Neal Tiemann.
Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of frontman Alexi Laiho, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henkka Seppälä, keyboardist Janne Wirman and rhythm guitarist Daniel Freyberg. The band released ten studio albums, three live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD.
Light This City is an American melodic death metal band from the Bay Area of San Francisco, that has been active from 2002. The band is notable for the aggressive vocal approach of frontwoman Laura Nichol.
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.
After the Burial is an American progressive metal band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released five of their six full-length albums through the label. Since their inception in 2004, the band has gone through two vocalist changes, two drummer changes, the departure and death of founding rhythm guitarist Justin Lowe, and the departure of bassist Lerichard Foral. Lead guitarist Trent Hafdahl remains the sole remaining founding member. They are considered key contributors to the development of subgenres such as djent and progressive metalcore.
Ritual is the fifth studio album by American melodic 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.
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.
Abysmal is the seventh studio album by American melodic 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 was the band's last album to feature guitarist Ryan Knight before his departure in February 2016, until his return in 2022 and performance on Servitude in 2024.
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.
Ingested is an English death metal/deathcore band from Manchester, formed in 2006. The band consists of vocalist Jason Evans, guitarist Sean Hynes and drummer Lyn Jeffs. The band has released seven studio albums since formation, with the latest being “The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams” in 2024 via Metal Blade Records.
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.
Servitude is the tenth studio album by American melodic death metal band the Black Dahlia Murder, released on September 27, 2024, through Metal Blade Records. This is the band's first studio album since Verminous (2020), marking the longest gap between studio albums in their career, and their first after the death of former lead vocalist Trevor Strnad, with Brian Eschbach taking over vocals. It is also The Black Dahlia Murder's first album to feature guitarist Ryan Knight since Abysmal (2015). The album includes the singles "Aftermath" and "Mammoth's Hand".
...be sure to keep scrolling down to preview [The Black Dahlia Murder's] brand-new track, "Threat Level Number Three."
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