THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER owns you!!

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER – Deflorate (2009)
Metal Blade Records
Written by: Alex Gilbert ©

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER has always been one of those bands to unleash the power at full force, and with their latest, Deflorate, the band has reached new heights. Deflorate shows the band with better riffs, song arrangements, and a ton of epic and bonecrushing composition. A huge part of their improvement is due to Ex-Arsis guitarist Ryan Knight joining THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER ranks, and that dude can seriously shred! THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER’s guitar solos show a ton more fretboard wizardry, the guitar riffs more technical while more melodic at the same time, and the tones itself are incredible! Also to note, Trevor Strnad’s vocals have never sounded more solid, sincere, and both his high rasps and low guttural growls are at their best.


“Denounced, Disgraced” is my favorite track on Deflorate, and unleashes all sorts of hell. The intro riffs stun with huge blasts of power, while the verses take an epic stomp that breaks off into even more chaos and destruction. Knight’s shredding guitar solo fits the picture perfectly, and his soaring lead really takes this song into metal greatness. “Denounced, Disgraced” is THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER at their most memorable, and the song structure is unbreakable! Put this one on repeat.

“Eyes of Thousand” is another strongpoint on Deflorate, and blasts out of the gates with some deep chugging madness and death metal excellence. The production is ace, and without a doubt THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER’s musical direction is at an all time high on Deflorate. The guitar counterattacks are absolutely killer, add in some dark melodies, and “Eyes Of Thousand” really let’s THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER’s strength show.

Closing on “I Will Return” the song is downright epic! THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER really makes their mark, and let’s us know that they mean business. The verses are insane with death metal glory, and the low ended tremolo picking really lets the metal flow in your veins. THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER will return as an even bigger beast at some point, and “I Will Return” leaves me super hungry for more.

Being a Michigander myself and following the band from the early days (Yes, before Unhallowed), it feels great to see them make it big, because these guys deserve every bit of it. If there’s a band that has the potential to change the face of death metal, it’s THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. Their future is going to continue to grow even bigger, and I’m super stoked to see what’s next.

Go bowling with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER in their latest music video, “Necropolis”, off of their 2009 Metal Blade release, Deflorate. The song/video is killer!


((( Headbang here: http://www.myspace.com/blackdahliamurder )))