The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous

Key Facts

Country: 🇺🇸

Genre: Death Metal

Release Date: 17th April 2020

Record Label(s): Metal Blade Records

Band Members:

Trevor Strnad – lead vocals 

Brian Eschbach – rhythm guitar, backing vocals 

Max Lavelle – bass 

Alan Cassidy – drums 

Brandon Ellis – lead guitar, backing vocals 

The Black Dahlia Murder - Child Of Night

Review

Rating (out of 5🤘): 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

Favourite Track(s): Godlessly, Verminous, Removal Of The Oaken Stake, Sunless Empire, How Very Dead

Death metal legends The Black Dahlia Murder (TBDM) have unleashed their monster on all of our ears and it is out of this world! Having listened to Verminous, I was already super excited for the rest of the album, so when it went beyond my expectations I loved every single minute of it's ball busting death metal brutality. With its green album art portraying a grizzly and dark image, Verminous as a whole gives you the sense that you've been trapped in a dungeon to feed on the rats and become their king. I always had a thought that 2017's Nightbringers was going to be hard to follow up as that album or me is a quintessential one in terms of introducing TBDM to new death metal fans. As you can expect, I was very happy when Verminous, quite rightfully proved me wrong and slapped me back into my place.

Musically, it is death metal done in the distinctly TBDM way, relentless riffs and pig squealing lead guitar passages. Despite this, there is a more of a groove side to the band that appears here and there throughout the album. I think one of the best songs to demonstrate this would be Sunless Empire, the main verse riff had me uncontrollably moving in my seat, despite it being a slower song it is still packed with a doom laden atmosphere, one that reminds me of the intro riff to Nightbringers. I've always enjoyed the slight black metal tinge to Trevor's vocals and on Verminous they sound stronger than ever in the highs, the screeching demon he releases is phenomenal. The album as a whole feels a lot slower that it's 2017 predecessor, which I think has worked in its favour. Instead of reinventing the wheel the band have offered a contrasting output, with an emphasis on a slower, forbidding doom style atmohspere instead of the relentless force of 2017's Nightbringers and 2015's Abysmal. It definitely draws comparisons to one of the bands best albums in my opinion, 2013's Everblack. For me it just has that same dark vibe and uses the dynamics in a similar way. One thing I love about the album is the A Womb In Dark Chrysalis interlude, taking the energy right down before thrusting you straight into the album closer Dawn Of Rats, which is an epic way to close such a rollercoaster of an album. Overall, it is incredibly well written with a multitude of complexity and overarching venom in the riffs that excites you no end.

The production is another level up from the band's last album too. Everything seems a lot cleaner whilst retaining that dungeon style rawness that we've become accustomed to on a TBDM record. Obviously the two stereotypical death metal album production style is a quagmire of indistinguishable bass frequencies or it is so clean that the music loses some of it's edge, I think TBDM have found a happy medium with Verminous. The album doesn't sound as narrow as Nightbringers, there is a lot more space and air in between everything. I love how razor sharp the guitar tones sound lead and rhythm. Even though they cut through, there is a great chunkiness to them that hammers home the rhythms. The drums sound thunderous, the kick leans a bit more towards the clicker kick sound but I really enjoy it on this album, and the bass fills out any remaining low end with a monstrous distortions sound. The snare has a good snap, with the cymbals cutting through the ensuing chaos like knives. Overall, incredibly well mixed and definitely a new a way to produce death metal.

If you feel like joining this Verminous cult then spin this album loud enough for your neighbours to hear! Another awesome effort from TBDM!

The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous