“So here we are, you thought you’ve seen it all.“
If your fan of death metal in the modern era, or pretty much any time since the beginning of the 2000s, then chances are you have heard of the American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. Since starting out in in the early part of the century in 2001, The Black Dahlia Murder have made a big name for themselves in the scene through their electrifying live shows and excellent songwriting. Albums such as their 2007 album Nocturnal, 2011’s Ritual and 2017’s Nightbringers have made them a household name when someone thinks of death metal. They’re often the band is brought up as a death metal gateway band, thanks to their infectious songwriting and consistent quality.
However, the biggest reason for their success and their continued popularity is thanks to the legacy of their frontman Trevor Strnad. His distinct vocal style ranked him among the top vocalists in the genre, and he’s is often cited as one the biggest influences of many of your favourite vocalists in death metal today. Furthermore, he was consistently been one of the friendliest frontmen in metal, and has one of biggest proponents of the underground scene through his columns for various sites. Tragically, Strnad passed away in 2022 due to suicide, leaving many wondering what happen to the band, Would they break up? Would they continue on with another vocalist? The answer to this question came later in the year, when The Black Dahlia Murder announced a memorial show for Strnad with founding songwriter and current rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach stepping up to fill the vocal role. Former lead guitarist Ryan Knight returned to the band to fill the now vacant rhythm guitar role. A little less than two years on from that memorial show, we come to the first Eschbach fronted Album Servitude.
Starting off the album, “Evening Ephemeral” opens with a brief but very moody and mystical sounding string piece. It would not be out of place in a monster movie, when life is being given to its titular beast – it really sets the mood of the album in place, showing that these songs are going to be something magical. Some rather chunky mid paced riffs that give way to Eschbach’s thundering screams, demonstrating that he and Strnad worked side by side over many years as brothers. Apart from Eschbach’s vocals sounding a bit more gruffer, they really sound astoundingly similar throughout the album. As the song ends we are immediately thrust into the bludgeoning song “Panic Hysteric” that gives the listener no time to breathe. Its precise assault of moody riffs and fast paced screams are the type you have come to know and love from this legendary band and will certainly leave you wanting more.
The listener is not left wanting for long as lead single “Aftermath” follows, armed with super speedy riffs and metaphorical lyrics about the continuing on the legacy of their late great frontman. “Aftermath” really delivers that sense of epicness and wonder of The Black Dahlia Murder – they mean business when they say that they aren’t going to let anything stop them. “Cursed Creator” acts as a showcase of what Eschbach can do vocally. Within the space of only a few seconds he switches between with his screams and growls effortlessly without missing a beat. It puts a lot of other death metal vocalists to shame.
Following “Cursed Creator” we come to the end of the songs on the album that indirectly dealt with the band continuing on without Strnad. A much needed brief rest, “An Intermission“, continues the eery string piece that opened Servitude. We are thrust immediately back in the band’s sonic assault with “Asserting Dominion” which is expertly crafted. Just when one might think that album cant get any better, the title track “Servitude” starts and shows the band completely dialled into their full power. They expertly meld speedy technicality and menacing heaviness with fantastical atmosphere; it might just be the best song on the album.
Towards the end we have a lurching monster of a song and the second single of the album, “Mammoths Hand“. It peels back the speed of an otherwise fast album to show The Black Dahlia Murder are unafraid to experiment with their sound while keeping all the elements that fans love. Trading out the lurching swagger of the pervious song, “Transcosmic Blueprint” is by far the most technical track, masterfully pulling off interesting guitar solos that will make any guitarist gleam with envy. Our final song “Utopia Black” that returns to the jack of all trades approach to songwriting that band has perfected. All the facets of the band’s sound are put into action before giving way to a final string piece to really put a bow on what has been an absolute joy of a listening experience.
There is really nothing negative to say about the album at all. It fully meets, and often times exceeds, all expectations that you could possibly have with album coming from such a storied band like The Black Dahlia Murder really are. The only other thoughts I had after listening was excitedly wondering where the band can and will go from here.
Servitude is nothing less than absolute monumental achievement for a band as legendary as The Black Dahlia Murder. They proudly carry on the legacy of their fallen comrade Trevor Strnad and will do so for years and years to come. If Strnad was able to be here right now, he would have be beaming with pride with how truly incredible of an album Servitude is.
9.5/10
Servitude releases September 27th and you can pre-order it here.