The Black Dahlia Murder: Goat Of Departure – new video

Now you see why I like them so much?! Heh. ‘Goat Of Departure’, directed by Ben Mayer, comes off one of my all-time favourite band's, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, sixth album ‘Everblack’, issued in June 2013 on Metal Blade Records. Selling 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release and landing at position number 32 on The Billboard Top 200, the album was recorded at Audiohammer Studios (lead guitars and vocals), Rustbelt Studios (drums), and Regal Fecal (guitar and bass). ‘Everblack’ was mixed by Jason Suecof and Ryan Williams, and mastered by Alan Douches at West Westside, while its art was created by Nick Keller. Metal Blade have this time made it really easy for us to buy the album, so kindly do so here (Metal Blade store):

“Though metal has become an increasingly codified genre over the years, ‘Everblack’ shows the heights a band can reach by simply having the confidence to forge its own path, following influences and inspirations wherever they may lead without worrying about whether or not death metal is being created “the right way”. In a way, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER have figured out how to create a new sound not by innovation, but invitation, welcoming bits and pieces from all over the metal world to make something exciting and exhilarating, which, aside from being a huge boon for metal fans, is the most hopeful thing to be said about an album containing a song titled ‘Raped In Hatred By Vines Of Thorn’,” [wrote Gregory Heaney, AllMusic – more here]

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER formed in 2001 in Waterford, Michigan and have since released six albums, three EPs and a DVD, 2009's ‘Majesty’. (“Yeah, initially we thought we were going to get together on Sundays and try to put a song together every week,” recalls guitarist Brian Eschbach.) With two demos out and after a a number of acclaimed concerts appearances, TBDM signed with Metal Blade in 2003 and soon released their debut full-length, ‘Unhallowed’:

“There are two extreme vocal styles on ‘Miasma’ - death metal's deep, guttural growl and black metal's high-pitched rasp - and throughout the 33-minute disc, the growl and the rasp interact in a duet-like fashion. Wherever the growl goes, the rasp is never far away (and vice versa). The growl and the rasp are so integrated on ‘Miasma’ that TBDM never really shows a preference for either death metal or black metal,” [was impressed with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER's second album, 2005's ‘Miasma’, AllMusic's Alex Henderson – more here]

The band continued to blow away critics and listening public alike with the likes of their 2007 LP ‘Nocturnal’, which was the first album to feature bassist Bart Williams, who replaced Dave Lock, and Shannon Lucas, who took over drumming duties from Pierre Langlois. Evidence of melodic streak in TBDM music came to materialization on 2009's “brutal, but majestic” album ‘Deflorate’, which is their first album to feature new guitarist Ryan Knight, who replaced John Kempainen. The album had sold 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position number 43 on the American albums chart Billboard Top 200. THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER's Mark Lewis-produced, Jason Suecof-produced and mixed masterpiece, ‘Ritual’, followed in June 2011. ‘Ritual’ can be somehow still streamed in its unstoppable  entirety here (MSN Music), and I wholeheartedly advise you to take a listen if yet unfamiliar with the beast. The last record to feature Ryan “Bart” Williams on bass and Shannon Lucas on drums, ‘Ritual’ sold nearly 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position number 31 on the Billboard Top 200:

“Rising above the predictable black din of contemporary death metal can be a formidable task, but Michigan-based melodic death rockers THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER manage to do just that on their fifth studio album, the relentless and rewarding ‘Ritual’. Employing a lethal mix of old-school American thrash, Scandinavian black metal, CARCASS-era grindcore, and classic dual-lead power metal, ‘Ritual’ roars in like a runaway train and leaves the listener in pieces,” [complimented James Christopher Monger, AllMusic – more here]

[Elaborated Trevor Strnad:] “Yes, we sing about Satan. But really, how I see it, our evil is for your own good! The character Satan in our music represents the freedom to think for yourself… the strength to see through the facades of the norm that is presented to us at birth, and the courage to live your own way, free of the burden of guilt and shame. That’s how it’s always been for us…]

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER features: Trevor Strnad − vocals, Brian Eschbach − guitar and vocals, Ryan Knight − guitar, Max Lavelle − bass and Alan Cassidy – drums