On May 11th 2022 I opened my phone like any other day and began scrolling through social media. After a few minutes I came across the announcement: Trevor Strnad, lead vocalist of one of my favorite metal bands The Black Dahlia Murder, was gone.
I was heartbroken, along with the rest of the TBDM’s diehard fanbase. I thought for sure the band was finished after this devastating loss. They already have a solid back catalog of records to enjoy but I had had no expectations of ever hearing new music.
Then almost 2 years later, like a death metal miracle, the news broke that rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach would take over as lead vocalist and new material was on the way. Trevor would have wanted it this way no doubt.
“Everyone that’s in the band now is someone that Trevor and I searched for,” Eschbach says. “We spent so much time on the road together that everyone understands the mission statement. We don’t really need to talk about it. We just need to make great music and try to make people happy playing it.”
This Friday, September 27th The Black Dahlia Murder will release their tenth studio album, Servitude via Metal Blade Records.
The opening track Evening Ephemeral starts with a slow and dark plinking melody before bursting into a full blown audio assault. This type of subtle intro followed by an explosion has proven to be an effective way to open albums. The second song Panic Hysteric is one of the faster and heavier tracks on the album. Blistering guitar lines are delivered with typical speed and precision and the arrangements sound like they could be from a classical piece.
The third track Aftermath really kicks everything into high gear and was also the most recent single the band released. Cursed Creator brings some new styles to the table. It has an almost, dare I say “prog” feel to it. Don’t get it twisted though, the song is proggy in the best and most brutal way possible. TBDM have not gone the way of Dream Theater.
After a short Intermission track played with classical guitars, the brutality resumes with Asserting Dominion. Guitarists Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight take turns shredding and dancing around each other in an insane, hurricane like flurry of notes. When they do match up it makes for some of the heaviest grooves in the track.
Once you hear the title track Servitude it is clear why it was given this honor. The track pummels you relentlessly from the opening note before morphing into a cutting breakdown that eventually blossoms into the dual guitar melody that creates the hook. Then it turns right back around and resumes the pummeling.
Mammoth’s Hand the first single, is a slow and trudging groove as the title suggests. Ryan Knight told us it’s the slowest track the band has ever recorded. To make things even better, breakdown riff sounds like a kind of deranged waltz. We got a chance to speak with Ryan at the end of August, watch the full interview:
Transcosmic Blueprint is the crowning jewel of the album in my personal opinion. Jagged timing changes and all out chaos prevail throughout this banger of a track. The double guitar interplay on this one is top tier and the melodic guitar hooks will get stuck in your head. To top it off during the breakdown they go into a rhythm pattern that is completely foreign in TBDM’s previous catalog. It somehow ties the track together and works extremely well in the midst of all the chaos.
The final track Utopia Black is the perfect bookend to the album. It has all the elements fans like myself have come to love about the band. The dual guitar solos reach peak form here and somehow sound completely fresh and new… despite their familiarity. The track ends with the slow and ominous plinking that kicked the album off, almost as if it’s hypnotically urging you to start the journey over again.
Servitude is proof that a new era of brutality and creativity has arrived for The Black Dahlia Murder. It’s already my favorite metal album of 2024 and after Friday, it will more than likely be yours too.
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