I remember that, even while I was preparing my review for the band's 2005 release "Miasma", I felt that the second component of the term Death Metal/Metalcore was not at all accurate in describing the musical direction that the Michigan-based quintet The Black Dahlia Murder have chosen to serve and follow since they were first brought to life back in the year 2000. Rhythm has always been a very important element in the band's musical outlook, yet their approach is slightly different than that of the more generic US metalcore bands in the sense that the members of this band seemed to look more towards both the Swedish and American melodic Death Metal scenes in order to provide themselves with much-desired inspiration.

This different attitude should have been more than enough to attract both my attention and support, but unfortunately apart from a few really good guitar solos and clever drumming performances, what I was exposed to in "Miasma" could hardly be described as either original or inspiring. I found most compositions to be quite simple and predictable in nature and also felt that the majority of Trevor Strnad's vocal performances, especially the Screamo/Black Metally ones, were not only annoying but also below the standards expected from a band of this genre. When I received the promo of the band's latest effort "Nocturnal”, I did that with the hope that I would finally be exposed to something much more mature and challenging, but sadly it left me with the impression of the members of The Black Dahlia Murder being prone to 'play it safe', releasing what I can only describe as "Miasma's" 'clone', thereby clearly aiming to easily satisfy their already existing fanbase.

Even though I found the sound to be quite polished and lacking in dynamism, especially as far as the drums were concerned, "Nocturnal" should be considered amongst the most professionally-made efforts of the genre, both in terms of production and overall presentation. The compositions are once again divided between those following a more Swedish/Thrashy approach, such as the opener "Everything Went Black" and those predominantly influenced by the classic US Death Metal scene, such as the Morbid Angel-sounding "Climatic Degradation". Both these compositions managed to stand out from the 'mob' not only based on the brilliantly performed guitar solos and interesting/complex drumming that they feature, but also because they include far fewer performances of Trevor Strnad's annoying screamo vocals than the remaining seven compositions of the album, the only other exception being the Dark Tranquillity sounding "Deathmask Divine".

As for the rest of the album, apart from a few good quality-drumming themes, I found nothing in them capable of convincing me to give this release a few more good spins in the months/years to come.

If all that this band is concerned with is to take advantage of the current popularity of the genre that they've chosen to represent, then "Nocturnal" will almost definitely succeed in bringing fresh cash into the members' bank accounts - especially with the intense promotion that they have been enjoying as part of the Metal Blade family. We all know, though, that trends change quite often and with that in mind, I cannot see this band being around in the next five years if they continue to invest in the same music formulas that so many other bands have used before them and which they once again seem to be happy enough to rely on.

***

Review by John Stefanis