- Album list
- Singer Intro
The Black Dahlia Murder is an American death metal band from Waterford, Michigan, formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. The band currently comprises vocalist Trevor Strnad, guitarists Brian Eschbach and Brandon Ellis, drummer Alan Cassidy, and bassist Max Lavelle. Out of the eight studio albums they have released to date, the last seven have charted on the U.S. Billboard 200, with their fifth album Ritual peaking at No. 31 in 2011, marking them as one of the most popular contemporary American extreme metal bands. Their eighth and latest album Nightbringers was released on October 6.
Musical style and influences
The Black Dahlia Murder has been described as melodic death metal or simply death metal. Their style combines characteristics of melodic death metal with those of traditional American death metal, such as high speeds, blast beats and growled vocals. Furthermore, the style of their 2001 demo What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse has been described as metalcore, and the band's later work is sometimes also labeled as such.
Influences for the band include heavy metal bands such as Carcass, At the Gates, Darkane, Dissection, Darkthrone, Morbid Angel, The Haunted, In Flames, Dimension Zero, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Pantera and Megadeth. Vocalist Trevor Strnad has cited on many occasions that he is primarily influenced by Carcass in vocalizing technique.
When asked to describe what kind of music the band plays, Strnad commented:
'I've always said that we're melodic death metal. We are mostly influenced by Swedish bands and Carcass. The heavy end of our sound is the American style creeping in, with some Floridian influences like Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation and that kind of stuff. We've been labeled more often because of our look than our sound, which is dumb, and speaks volumes about what kind of geniuses are out there!' However, in an interview with Uranium Magazine, Strnad also stated, 'Some bands that get labeled as metalcore are actually good, like Between the Buried and Me or The Red Chord. Metal is what I grew up with, and then I learned about punk and hardcore. But a lot of our ethics, the way we carry ourselves, is more punk... I like that hardcore has a sense of community without the competition you see in metal.'
Members
Current
Brian Eschbach – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2001–present)
Trevor Strnad – lead vocals (2001–present)
Max Lavelle – bass (2012–present)
Alan Cassidy – drums (2012–present)
Brandon Ellis – lead guitar (2016–present)
Former
Mike Schepman – bass (2001)
John Deering – lead guitar (2001–2002)
Sean Gauvreau – bass (2001–2002)
Cory Grady – drums (2001–2004)
David Lock – bass (2002–2005)
John Kempainen – lead guitar (2002–2008)
Zach Gibson – drums (2005)
Ryan 'Bart' Williams – bass (2005–2012)
Pierre Langlois – drums (2006)
Shannon Lucas – drums (2007–2012)
Ryan Knight – lead guitar (2009–2016)
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