Nightbringers

I spend so much of my time discovering new music, it's insane! The decade is coming to a close and I'm frantically searching for an album to call the best. In order to find that album, I've joined online groups and spoken with fellow metal fans but nothing really pops up. I mean, I'm discovering older bands and great 90s death metal albums (which is great!), but finding a good recent album is really hard. This brings me to today's topic, and how I find it unfair that I picked up one of the decade's best albums sitting right next to Beyoncé, at my local Walmart. Who would have thought? I'm online all the time looking through underground demos and obscure bands from across the world and yet, the album I've been searching for was right here. There really is no point to this little story, I just thought it should be mentioned. The album I picked up is The Black Dahlia Murder's latest offering, Nightbringers.

There are literally no bad songs here. It's a 33 minute onslaught from the beginning to the end. It's really short, gets its message across and doesn't overstay its welcome. Everything you would expect from a Black Dahlia Murder album is here. All the songs contain rhythmic, bouncy and criminally catchy riffs that mix melody and dissonance together. The drums are brutal and the lead work is catchy, memorable and occasionally hummable. This means that everyone in the band, including newcomer Brandon Ellis, is doing their job correctly. I'm no production expert, but I'd say the mix sounds about right. My only issue is that everything is really loud and it can be hard to hear certain parts, at times. Trevor's vocals really carry the band, it's just that the riffs get drowned out every once in a while. This really isn't an issue, and I'm going to tell you why.

Trevor Strnad's vocals are fantastic; there is a reason he's in the spotlight. He switches between highs and lows constantly. He's not just growling the lyrics, it's as if he's having fun with them. He keeps things interesting and keeps you interested, as you wonder what odd and piggish sound he'll spit out next. The vocals are rhythmic, hook-laden and delivered flawlessly. On top of that, his lyrics are terrific! Most metal bands have lyrics that consist of stupid metaphors about darkness and other generic metal topics. Nightbringers, on the other hand, is the lyrical equivalent of an anthology horror film. Every song is unique a tale of horror. Whether it be about a sniper, someone who does odd things with corpses in a morgue or "infinite bringers of the night", the lyrics keep you engaged from the very beginning. On top of that, they are very well written. This album's lyrical content has made me expect more from the average metal band.

This review is dragging on a bit, it's just that there is so much to say. I'm desperately waiting for another year to pass so that I can make it official: It is one of, if not, the best album of the decade. I can't see any band releasing an album in the next year that will be as fun, and memorable as this one. Nightbringers is a collection of great songs with strong vocals and engaging lyrical content. A few reviews ago, I mentioned that most new melodic death metal albums feel stale and predictable. I need to clarify that this is absolutely not one of those albums. There is a recurring style throughout Nightbringers and yet, the album never feels predictable, nor do the songs sound the same. That is a feat on its own. I don't have anything original or quirky to say. I only ask that if you haven't heard this album, that you listen to it as soon as possible. If you have heard Nightbringers, I hope that this review allowed you to see and appreciate it as I do.