The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal

Band: The Black Dahlia Murder
Album: Nocturnal
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade

Tracks:
1. Everything Went Black
2. What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
3. Virally Yours
4. I Worship Only What You Bleed
5. Nocturnal
6. Deathmask Divine
7. Of Darkness Spawned
8. Climatic Degradation
9. To A Breathless Oblivion
10. Warborn

I have always considered myself to be a fan of hardcore and metal music. I am not the obsessive type who lurks in seedy clubs hoping to see some band on the rise, but rather the type to enjoy whatever band he may come across that entertains him. Prior to receiving, "Nocturnal," the new album by The Black Dahlia Murder, I had never heard the band's music, but was mor ethan familiar with their name. They were one of those bands that you know of, but never really listen to. However, I figured that since I'd known of them for quite some time, I was in for something quite phenomenal, but unfortunately, this was not the case.

"Nocturnal," is presented is a very unoriginal fashion. The cover has the band's logo over the top of a very dark drawing of a castle surrounded by mountains with a path leading to the bottom of the booklet with gargoyles on the side. The colors are white for the font, and dark blues and black for the picture. It just screams, "we're so dark and evil," but in a way that just looks forced. After taking in the cover, I flipped the materials and, after one glance at the track list, I honestly laughed a little. Each track is so cliche that once again, I just felt like was forced in order to make the band appeal to "metalheads." Regardless though, I'm not one to judge based on the outside, it's the music that matters. The album begins with, Everything Went Black," a forceful drum and guitar intro brings in the extremely throaty vocals. The lyrics on this track, as the rest of th album are typical topics of death, bad love, Armageddon, beasts/demons, murder, etc. Personally, the vocals did nothing for me, as they just seemed straining and not really as strong as I like to hear. The musicianship was solid, except for the drums which seem to revert to simple 1-2 [snare/high hat] beats that get repetitive very quickly. The next few tracks flowed much the same, with similar beats and the same vocals. Then came, "I Worship What You Bleed," which is under two minutes in length, but showcases deeper vocals and a ridiculously catchy riff on guitar. However, like I've mentioned already, the drumming just felt stale and old. After Bleed, The album just drones on through 6 more uninspired tracks of quick riffing and quick tempo drum beats. I really wanted to find something that showcased why this band has lasted so long, but nothing seemed to click.

The Black Dahlia Murder is a Michigan based band who've managed to climb the rankings in the metal world. Unfortunately, their new album, "Nocturnal," doesn't give any reason for the band's popularity, but rather finds the band disappearing behind rundown cliches and way to simple drumming. Lyrically, the band needs to evolve and touch some new topics, but guitar wise, the riffs are some of the tightest I've heard in awhile. Production on, "Nocturnal," does a lot to help make the album more enjoyable, but even top shelf production can't disguise an average album as anything more than run of the mill.

GRADE: 4/10