THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER: “EVERBLACK”

 Album Reviews  18 Responses »
May 302013
 

(Here’s TheMadIsraeli’s review of the new album by The Black Dahlia Murder, which will be released on June 11 by Metal Blade. At the end of the review you’ll find all three of the songs that have premiered to date.)

Some bands only get better with age. I honestly feared that The Black Dahlia Murder would have sold out by now, compromised their sound, watered it down (especially due to the unusual amount of acclaim they’ve received as an American melodic death metal band), but instead they’ve only become more vicious.

I’ve been a fan of this band since before Unhallowed with the A Cold-Blooded Epitath EP and have remained a die-hard fan since. The savage way in which they attack their melodic assault, the vein-bursting stylings of Trevor Strnad’s now patented and oft-copied high and low vocal attack, and a commitment to producing music that’s melodic without pussing out in the slightest have really cemented BDM as an unstoppable force in American metal.

And the thing is, Everblack is The Black Dahlia Murder’s best album yet. Deflorate and Ritual both had cool things to offer and were great albums, but this is definitely BDM at their most brutal and dark. Continue reading »

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER PREMIERE ANOTHER GENTLE NEW SONG: “RAPED IN HATRED BY VINES OF THORN”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
May 152013
 

Revolver Magazine has just premiered another new song from The Black Dahlia Murder. It will appear on the band’s Everblack album, which is coming on June 11 from Metal Blade. The new song is titled “Raped in Hatred by Vines of Thorn” and was written as “an ode” to one of frontman Trevor Strnad’s favorite horror movies, Evil Dead.

Revolver included the lyrics to the song. As you reflect upon being raped in hatred by vine of thorn, and as you peruse the lyrics, begin trying to imagine the music. I was thinking something along the lines of a lullaby.

Dense dark forest dismal fog a spectral force perverts these woods flight prevails frantic escape the unearthly horrors at each turn they wait wandering roots they creak and move slithering toward what mortal life intrudes terrified eyes opened wide ensnare her flailing limbs to the earth they are tightly tied raped in hatred by vines of thorn by the evil dead to ribbons ripped and torn raped in hatred by vines of thorn pierced from within her child is skewered unborn raped in hatred by vines of thorn twisted in halves in this gruesome tug-of-war raped in hatred by vines of thorn flora possessed suckling the gore untamed kudzu green cocoon inside her flesh their food death prevails gnarled roots entwine syphon the marrows from her splintered spine animate trees shuffle their roots gathering around this late night rendezvous murderous orgy in full bloom her screams they cut the fog this night on sheer terror the seedlings thrive raped in hatred by vines of thorn behold the wrath of the necromicon raped in hatred by vines of thorn lancing her womb the child inside is gorged raped in hatred by vines of thorn broken in two entwined within the growth raped in hatred by vines of thorn necrotized demonic spores you brought this all unto yourselves should not have tampered with this hell opening the book your last mistake these haunted woods shall be thine grave raped in hatred by vines of thorn by the evil dead to ribbons ripped and torn raped in hatred by vines of thorn pierced from within her child is skewered unborn raped in hatred by vines of thorn twisted in halves in this gruesome tug-of-war raped in hatred by vines of thorn flora possessed suckling the gore

Okay, ready for the music? Go past the jump . . . Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ALAN CASSIDY (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER)

 Interviews  3 Responses »
May 012013
 

(In this post, our own Andy Synn turns in an interview with Alan Cassidy, formerly of Abigail Williams and now the designated hitter for The Black Dahlia Murder, whose new album Everblack is coming to North America on June 11 via Metal Blade.)

Hello Alan. So to start things off, please, introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Alan and I like to party… I also play drums for The Black Dahlia Murder.

 

Ok, simple enough! Let’s keep on with some basic background information. When did you first start playing drums, and who were your earliest inspirations behind the kit?

I’ve been playing drums ever since I was a baby. I used to grab toys and piece together makeshift kits to bang on. I grew up listening to the Beatles cause of my dad so Ringo was there from the start but my early influences on drums were mainly Travis Barker and Joey Jordison. I loved the speed Travis had with all the interesting fills and drum beats he would put into songs and Joey had a cool style too but he was one of the first guys I heard playing double bass.

 

What bands were you involved with prior to being picked up by Abigail Williams/The Black Dahlia Murder?

I started out playing for a band called The Breathing Process in 2008 then I joined a band out of Ohio called Karen Page that had some guys from another band I had met there while I was in The Breathing Process. After that I joined Abigail and then Dahlia. Continue reading »

OH LOOK, ANOTHER MUSICIAN IS BITCHING ABOUT PIRACY

 Mosh Pit  40 Responses »
Apr 182013
 

Yesterday Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder (a band we like quite a bit around here) went on a rant about piracy on Facebook. That was yesterday. Today, he posted this on the band’s Facebook page:

“I want to apologize to any of you guys that were bummed out by my frustrated, overly aggressive, and pessimistic posts yesterday. Me and the guys are eternally grateful for all of you and your support, whatever form. THANK YOU! We’ll see you this Summer and beyond… – Trevor”

Apart from sounding a retreat, it looks like he and the band have also deleted the original rant, too.

I sort of wish he had stuck to his guns, even if he did go a bit overboard with yesterday’s missives to the masses. Saying nothing that might conceivably alienate a potentially paying customer, or apologizing when you do, is the way mainstream recording artists are trained (and ordered) to behave by their handlers, and are therefore bland as shit to listen to (except when they’re wasted and going after the paparazzi). And besides, what potentially paying customers did Trevor risk alienating? A bunch of thieves who think they’re entitled to download and probably aren’t going to spend any money on TBDM anyway?

Truthfully, Trevor really didn’t say anything new, and nothing new has come  out of the flood of vitriolic comments, rants, and counter-rants that have swept through the interhole since his first broadside. It’s the same old story. It’s like listening to the latest round of “debates” over gun control. Not one new thing gets said, and not one thing seems to change. But still, I think Trevor should have been making a different argument than the one he made. Continue reading »

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER RELEASE NEW SONG (“INTO THE EVERBLACK”) AND ALBUM DETAILS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Apr 092013
 

We’re way past the end of our typical posting day, but this news can’t wait: The Black Dahlia Murder and Metal Blade have revealed the album cover and release date for the band’s new album Everblack and have given all of us the first new song from the album for streaming: “Into the Everblack”.

The album will be released on June 11 and has now become available for pre-order here. The cover art, which is just fuckin’ delicious, is by none other than New Zealand’s Nick Keller. If you hang around this site with any regularity, you’ll know who he is because we’ve repeatedly raved about his work for NZ’s Beastwars, among other accomplishments.

Other luminaries were involved in the album’s creation — mixing by Jason Suecof (with Ryan Williams) and mastering by Alan Douches — and the album will include for the first time a song (“In Hell Is Where She Waits For Me”) that’s actually about the famous, unsolved 1947 “Black Dahlia murder” of Elizabeth Short from which the band took its name.

And that brings me to the just-released new song . . . Continue reading »

CANNIBAL CORPSE / THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER / HOUR OF PENANCE – NOTTINGHAM, ROCK CITY – MARCH 8, 2013

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Mar 132013
 

(Andy Synn weighs in from England with a review of the live show by Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Hour of Penance in Nottingham.) 

Pretty badass line-up, right? I definitely count myself lucky to have caught this tour, as not only have I never seen HoP live before, but I never miss a Black Dahlia show if I can help it, AND I’d been hearing awesome things about Cannibal Corpse’s form this time around.

I count myself doubly lucky because the damn doors to the show were scheduled for half freaking 5, with Hour Of Penance hitting the stage at the ungodly time of 5:45 pm, a time when a huge number of people were either still in work, or still stuck in traffic. In fact I know several people who came from surrounding cities who missed the first two bands entirely, and barely made it in time to see Cannibal Corpse!

Bad form Rock City, bad form… Continue reading »

NEWSNEWSNEWS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jan 142013
 

(Here’s a newsy post from DGR.)

Normally Islander is like a sponge when it comes to a lot of the news that is happening around the web; however, like a lot of us he has a job outside of the website (some of you may have already met him!) so some stuff may have flown by him that happened throughout the week. Well not anymore, as I present a round up of stuff that caught my eye that unfortunately never got yacked about here on NCS.

We’re running through a glut of all sorts of things this week from music videos, lyric videos, free tuneage (almost typed this as free tuna! – didn’t want to overpromise to you folks, we’re not that rich…yet), to album announcements, to a limited-time charity deal if you like electronica-rock, to the ever-lovely melodrama of a band as members leave and use the loveliness of Facebook to get those last few barbs in. Have your coffees at the ready to slam into your face as we work our way through the stuff we missed that might be of interest to you.

Aborted

Aborted (above) rang in 2012 pretty early with the release of Global Flatline and that disc quickly became a favorite around NCS. It appeared on a couple of our lists and really reminded people why we all thought Aborted were a great band. Late last week the group released a lyric video for the song “Vermincular, Obscene, and Obese” that animates their cover art for Global Flatline in the background so you can actually see what the heck Sven is saying when he growls out the closing lines of each sentence. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, AZURE EMOTE, AND SOREPTION

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jan 082013
 

Yesterday brought many items of news and new music that caught my attention, so many that I’m funneling them your way in a couple of posts this morning, this being the first.

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

Last night the above image appeared on the Facebook page of The Black Dahlia Murder, with no further explanation. Preceding the appearance of this visual announcement, the gents at Metal Sucks posted some studio photos and a few more details, speculating that the band would have a new album ready by June — which turns out to be a good guess.

Presumably, the above image is simply a flyer of sorts and not the album cover, yet I’m intrigued by the absence of color and by the album’s title — Everblack. Not that I really needed anything further to cause eager anticipation for the band’s next work. That was a given.

Next, we move from a band whose name has become something of a household word in the realms of extreme metal to one I had never heard of before last night — and whose new album I’m now anticipating just as eagerly as new BDM. Check out this arresting album cover: Continue reading »

FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE . . . SONGS ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Dec 212012
 

(Andy Synn wrote this latest installment in the “Five of My Favourite” series.  He seems pretty smug, given that today isn’t over yet.)

Well since the world didn’t end (you’re welcome by the way…) how about a quick column on five of my favourite songs about… the end of the world?

 

SCAR SYMMETRY – “CALCULATE THE APOCALYPSE”

Ah, what a tune. Thick and crunchy cyber-ised melodic death metal, with lyrics about the destruction of the world via the medium of a gigantic asteroid. Our inevitable destruction has never been so catchy.

‘Estimate time of impact
Calculate the fatal fact
Estimate the cataclysm
Calculate the apocalypse’

Continue reading »

NEW TOUR CONFIRMED, WITH DATES: DETHKLOK, MACHINE HEAD, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, and all that remains

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Sep 102012
 

Last week, numerous metal blogs reported the rumor that Dethklok, Machine Head, All That Remains, and The Black Dahlia Murder would be touring North America together this fall. Preferring to wait for something more concrete, we didn’t post about that. But this morning we saw confirmation via Lambgoat that the tour really is happening, along with a schedule of the dates and places.

The tour will hit 31 cities, beginning on October 30 in Norfolk, Virginia, and ending on December 8 in Atlanta. It’s almost entirely a U.S. tour, but there will be shows in Montreal and Toronto.

My feelings about the tour were pretty well summed up by Axl at Metal Sucks when he reported the rumor: “[T]his tour . . . does have one weak spot, in the form of a certain auto-tuned metalcore band whose frontman loves guns. That being said, I still wouldn’t skip this tour — thirty or forty minutes to take a breather at a show with three other awesome bands on the bill isn’t a bad thing.”

I still have great memories of Dethklok’s performance when they toured with Mastodon a few years ago and would think hard about paying to see them regardless of who else was along for the ride. But The Black Dahlia Murder will put on a helluva show, and I’ve never seen Machine Head and want to.

And as for All That Remains, their early albums were among my favorites for years when metalcore first exploded, but I’ve gradually lost interest. Still, maybe ATR will play some songs from This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals, which could be a cool nostalgia trip. But I’m not counting on that. What are your thoughts about this tour?

Check out the schedule after the jump, and stream a song (“I Ejaculate Fire”) from Dethklok’s new album while you’re at it. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries