It’s that time. The Black Dahlia Murder have released the first track from Abysmal. Pull your finger out of your ass and pay attention. “Vlad, Son Of The Dragon” is a perfectly fitting cut from the record as it does everything you want a new Black Dahlia song to do. It does however throw in a couple of cheeky surprises too, cheeky enough to merit a couple of words after the jump. Get pumped and ready to party, the boys are back in toon.
“Vlad, Son Of The Dragon” has an immediacy that takes less than a second to engage. The opening riff reminds this Dahlia fanatic of material that predates their first full length, in parts. The band’s more recent dip into blackened and slightly symphonic elements rears its pretty head again; cacophonous blastbeats and dampened choral singing making a melodic death track stand out impressively. Trevor Strnad’s vocals seem a bit different, his lows and growls seem more prominent, but could this just be for the purposes of this particular track? Who knows.
Strnad had the following to say about Abysmal itself, alongside the debut of new material,
“The new album, Abysmal, is true to The Black Dahlia Murder formula, but further down the evolutionary path we began with our Ritual release. It has bigger, more dynamic and developed songs. People can expect a more raw and natural sounding TBDM record. It’s the most real and live sounding thing we’ve done since our debut. It has a real energy and urgency to it. We made a conscious effort of having a more lively and dynamic sound and I feel the result is truly excellent. What I hear is my band playing as they do live when I step off the stage at soundcheck. Therefore, this is the real TBDM incarnate.”
From someone who has seen the band more times than is healthy, this is most exciting news. Who wouldn’t be happy hearing this? Expect more tracks and info to trickle down before it’s release date on September 18th. Preorders are here.
-MM