Sep. 30, 2009 - Issue #728: Fall Style 2009

The Black Dahlia Murder

New blood: Michigan metal band welcomes new guitarist into the fold

The Black Dahlia Murder lead singer Trevor Strnad has a lot on his mind. When I spoke with him over the phone from his home in Michigan, he sounded as tired as you'd expect for someone at the height of a North American tour supporting a brand new recording. Besides the recent release of the thrash-metal band's fourth album, Deflorate, the group also had to replace long-time guitarist John K, a move Strnad admits was worrisome at first, but has made the band stronger.

"We're facing a little skepticism from our fans about John leaving, but I think their fears will be quelled once they hear [new guitarist] Ryan Knights's playing—he's pretty much awesome."

Despite the success of its last record Nocturnal, the band realized something had to change. Though the Black Dahlia Murder is no stranger to lineup changes, John K's dismissal was one derived from taking a quick inventory of the group's aspirations and comparing that with its members' commitments.

"When things went sour with John, we wanted to move into a more professional territory. We knew we needed someone we could trust as a creative force, and we had seen the previous stuff [Knight had] done with his band ARSIS. He had written whole songs on his own, which was a whole different thing than working with John, who was lazy and didn't contribute in any way. Now we have all these minds at work, and it's a very cool, very reassuring thing. The new record is heavier, a little bit more style and technicality than anything we've done."

The addition of Knight meant a new direction with a fresh approach to studio work. "The new record was done with Ryan, and he contributed to writing a bulk of some new songs," explains Strnad. "I think overall the album has more variety, and we did some branching out into new time signatures that we haven't played in before."

So do BDM's fans have anything to worry about, as some have hinted at online, with the replacement of John K?

"We've never been worried about impressing people, or fitting in genres," Strnad admits. "The evolution of the band has been internal, expanding as players and getting out there. But I think we've realized the formula that works: expanding our sound within a certain set of parameters. We're always gonna be a progressive band. This record is the most progressive album we've ever done, so that's half of it. The better we become as players, the more we can do stuff that will grab people." V

Sat, Oct 3 (7 pm)
THE Black Dahlia Murder
With Skeletonwitch, Children of Bodom
Edmonton Event Centre, $35

New comments for this entry have been turned off and any existing ones are hidden. We apologize for any inconvenience.