Nightbringers

The Black Dahlia Murder is definitely resting on their laurels (or their master-class releases). It's not so much that I can say this is a bad album, but just that TBDM is relying on releasing an album that's main selling-point is that it sounds like them. From start to finish, it's unabashedly a TBDM release. If you are a hardcore fan of theirs, then this album is a good place-holder to tide you over until they release a more solid album. Keep in mind that all the negative aspects of Abysmal are more common here.

The new guitarist, also from Arsis, fits right in but brings absolutely nothing new or really even different from any of their other releases. There is a very strict framework he follows for any solo and varies from that rarely. The rhythm guitar sections are mostly made up of filler riffs that sound like they were never used from previous records that were deemed to boring. Trevor changed up his vocals a little bit here and it's not worse or better, just a little different. A great example is on track #2, "Of God and Serpent, of Spectre and Snake" where he says "Serpuayent". It's like he normally does but he seems to add more superfluous vowels than normal. The drums have some cool maneuvers that sync up nicely with the rhythm section, but don't impress you on their own. The most important song for the bass is the last track, "The Lonely Deceased". It is as much as a bass solo as we can get from modern metal (With a few exceptions).

As you listen to the album, you may get disheartened, but it starts to get actually interesting for the final three tracks (With the exception of track #3, "Matriarch" being pretty solid. It's more of the same but the best of the same. These last three tracks actually sound different and I could actually tell them apart, and especially tell them apart from the rest of the cookie-cutter album. "Catacomb Hecatomb" has a great composition around 0:52 and the solo that rivals the final track. "As Good as Dead" has real character with variation in vocal patterns, and "The Lonely Deceased" evokes morose emotion with it's lead melodies . Even though these three are the best on the album, if they were on any other TBDM release, they would be average or maybe even filler tracks. "Kings of the Nightworld" starts off promising but cycles into monotony quickly thereafter.

Favorite tracks:
--Catacomb Hecatomb
--The Lonely Deceased
--As Good as Dead
--Matriarch (Honorable mention)

Technical Skill: 87% Originality: 44% Songwriting: 34% Album structure: 46%