Nightbringers

Named after the notorious murder of waitress Elizabeth Short (soon dubbed ‘The Black Dahlia’ by local press) in Los Angeles in 1947, The Black Dahlia Murder (BDM) have been dishing out Detroit-originated melodic death metal since 2001’s What a Horrible Night To Have A Curse demo, with lyrical content as dark as their namesake, and blistering musicianship that has become a staple of their content. Vocalist Trevor Strnad (not a typo, I assure you) and rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach are the only original members from the 2001 lineup, and although repeated lineup changes have plagued BDM since it’s inception, they have garnered themselves a reputation for incredibly consistent, unfathomably technical, and overall excellent releases, no matter the lineup on any given album. This reputation is added to with brand new release Nightbringers, and arguably showcases The Black Dahlia Murder at the highest point of their career.

When I began listening to The Black Dahlia Murder around the beginning of 2015, I distinctly remember finding 2013’s Everblack on Youtube, and although initially being bored by the minute-long introductory meanderings of the first track, ‘In Hell Is Where She Waits for Me’, the moment Trevor Strnad’s vicious high-pitched shriek emanated from the sides of my headphones, I was transfixed. Beginning with BDM’s Everblack, soon accompanied by the singles to then-upcoming album Abysmal, and gloriously perverse track ‘The Window’ off of 2011’s Ritual, The Black Dahlia Murder became a staple of my early death metal playlists and explorations. Now, a little over two years since the release of Abysmal, Nightbringers sees the departure of long-time guitarist Ryan Knight (remember those repeated lineup changes?) and serves as the studio debut of Brandon Ellis on lead guitar (and what a debut!). Ellis brings an energy and sheer velocity to the pacing of every track that also meticulously works to flow with the band, as well as to include injections of musical flair to keep you guessing the direction of every track. His dynamic with fellow guitarist Brian Eschbach matches that of former guitarist Ryan Knight, and at times truly surpasses it. His solos are exceptionally technical, and although excellent and face-melting (a good thing!), this technicality can occasionally risk one of BDM’s strongest aspects, that of their melodies. Both Ryan Knight and Knight’s precursor John Kempainen brought a near neo-classical approach to the riffs and solos of BDM that Ellis does not seem to prioritize entirely in the same way. Furthermore, John Kempainen’s more hook-laden style is mostly in stark contrast to Ellis. When asked about Ellis’ place in the sound of Nightbringers, friend and fellow metalhead Brennan Chaudhry concurred, adding that Ellis’ playing isn’t as “note-heavy as [Ryan] Knight’s”, following with “but I still think he stands up on his own, and the surrounding music is good enough to forgive that difference [between Knight/Kempainen and Ellis].” Ellis’ approach embodies some aspects of both former guitarists’ playing, but mainly utilizes elements of his playing from Technical/Melodic death metal stalwarts Arsis, and although largely different in style than his predecessors, Ellis also manages to bring an ostensibly simple yet largely unheard ability: to balance lead-guitar flair with truly playing as a member of a band.

Having addressed the new-comer and young gun Brandon Ellis as the virtuosic 7-string wizard that he is in this review, let’s turn to the (relatively) old guard of the rest of BDM; rhythm section Max Lavelle and Alan Cassidy (bass and drums, respectively) charge through Nightbringers as one of the tightest rhythm duos in current metal. Lavelle manhandles his bass, playing it with the calculated frenzy and low-end menace he and drummer Alan Cassidy have displayed on the previous two albums with eachother, 2015’s Abysmal and 2013’s Everblack (which saw the debut of drummer Cassidy). Although, there’s a new level and intensity to that frenzied attack with this most recent outing. Cassidy’s drumming is incomprehensibly tight, with double-kick bass rolls at machine gun tempo, blast beats that push his snare drum to it’s physical limits, all topped off with massive and foreboding cymbal flourishes. In a fashion near identical to Brandon Ellis’ guitar leads, Alan Cassidy flawlessly balances being, well, a drummer, i.e. keeping the tempo (breakneck that it is) as well as showcasing his own skills in a stylish, mind-blowing, and astounding fashion. Alan Cassidy began his time with BDM as a truly excellent drummer, but Nightbringers unveils Cassidy barreling through each track with a completely new level of skill and musical awareness that not even percussive machine Shannon Lucas (BDM’s previous drummer) captured to the extent Cassidy has. Somehow, through all of this, Lavelle’s bass playing is right there in the thick of it, nestled between Cassidy’s percussive insanity and the raw furious dynamo of Brian Eschbach and Brandon Ellis, and ties the entire band together in a way all-too-rarely seen from bassists. Brian Eschbach’s role simply cannot be overstated; the guitarist throws down riffs with Brandon Ellis that simultaneously sound fresh, yet like classic BDM, and his backup vocals for Trevor Strnad add a sincere malevolence to the already verbal onslaught that is Strnad. Arguably the centrepiece of BDM since the very beginning, Trevor Strnad’s vocals and lyrics have consistently been amongst the highest points of each BDM record, but like the rest of his bandmates, Nightbringers captures Strnad upping the ante, in his case with a vocal style and attack already near-legendary in metal. Characteristically alternating between high-pitched screams and low-end death growls that would make Jeff Walker of Carcass (or as I affectionately call him, “Carcass’ Verbal Meat Grinder”) beam with pride, Strnad attacks his lyrics on Nightbringers like they owe him lunch money, and then some. The lyrics themselves are, frankly, the best of Strnad’s lyrically legendary career, and although referencing his standard playground of malevolence, ranging from the monologue of an assassin, a far more sinister telling of Adam and Eve, to cannibalistic serial killers and a first-hand account of turning into a zombie, Strnad’s delivery spews them forth with an unparalleled ferocity and viciousness that makes Melodic Death Metal’s sister genre Brutal Death Metal (think Cannibal Corpse) plug in it’s angry skull-shaped nightlight.

With Nightbringers, The Black Dahlia Murder have taken the strongest elements of their previous releases, including the complex song-structure of 2011’s Ritual, the riff-driven ferocity of 2009’s Deflorate, and the scale and monolithic production of 2013’s Everblack (plus an insane first-track scream courtesy of Strnad!), to form a coalescence of their strengths and musical flourishes throughout their career into a lean, mean, death metal machine, worthy of the hype and praise it has garnered already. Although lamenting the departure of Ryan Knight, I’m beyond pleased with Brandon Ellis’ contribution to the album, and his performances coupled with those of the rest of BDM enable me to declare, in full confidence, that Nightbringers is the finest album to date of The Black Dahlia Murder’s astounding catalogue.

Originally written for https://qehsjournalismcbe.wordpress.com/