Out of the nine studio albums they have released to date, the last eight have charted on the U.S. Billboard 200, with their fifth album Ritual peaking at No. 31 in 2011, marking them as one of the most popular contemporary American extreme metal bands. Their ninth and latest album Verminous was released on April 17, 2020.
Current Line-Up:
Brian Eschbach – lead vocals (2022–present), rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2001–2022)
Ryan Knight – rhythm guitar (2022–present), lead guitar (2009–2016)
Max Lavelle – bass (2012–present)
Alan Cassidy – drums (2012–present)
Brandon Ellis – lead guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
The Black Dahlia Murder began its inception during late 2000 and gained the final band lineup in January 2001. The group released their demo entitled "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse", and a four-track EP, "A Cold-Blooded Epitaph", the latter of which the group released on Lovelost Records. After appearing in concerts such as the Milwaukee Metal Fest, The Black Dahlia Murder signed to Metal Blade Records in 2003.
Bassist Ryan "Bart" Williams left his former band, Detroit's Today I Wait, to tour with the Black Dahlia Murder. After touring with the band on their co-headlining gig with Throwdown and their European dates with Liar, he joined the group full-time, replacing former bassist David Lock. Frontman Trevor Strnad said that Lock was fired for incompetency. Williams was one of two engineers (the other being Walls of Jericho's Mike Hasty) on the band's first full-length album, "Unhallowed". The band then went on a tour in late 2004 supporting Unearth alongside with Terror and Remembering Never throughout the United States.
The band's second album "Miasma" was released on July 12, 2005, and peaked at No. 118 on the Billboard 200. After touring for "Miasma", drummer Zach Gibson left the band along with Pierre Langlois. While Gibson went on to join Abigail Williams, Langlois left the band for a more secure lifestyle, and the band finished their search for a replacement drummer when they found former All That Remains drummer, Shannon Lucas.
Their third album, entitled "Nocturnal", was released on September 18, 2007. The album debuted at No. 72 on the Billboard 200. Their longtime lead guitarist, John Kempainen left the band and was replaced by Ryan Knight during the beginning of 2009. In May 2009, The Black Dahlia Murder released their first DVD, "Majesty". The DVD contains a documentary and live footage from the Summer Slaughter tour and their tour supporting Children of Bodom in late 2008. The DVD also contains all of their music videos and behind the scenes footage.
The Black Dahlia Murder released Deflorate on September 15, 2009, via Metal Blade Records. The album sold 12,000 copies in the United States in the first week of the release, debuted at position No. 43 Billboard's Top 200 charts, No. 5 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, No. 4 on Billboard's Top Hard Music Albums chart, and No. 50 on HITS Top 50 Albums chart. They toured with Children of Bodom and Skeletonwitch in support of the album. After their 2010 headlining tour with Goatwhore and Arkaik, the band began writing and recording their next full-length album.
In February 2011, The Black Dahlia Murder completed the songwriting process for their fifth studio album, entitled "Ritual". It was released on June 21, 2011, in North America.
In April 2012 during the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival on the first night performance, Trevor Strnad officially welcomed new bassist Max Lavelle into the band after former bassist Ryan Williams parted ways. On November 7, Shannon Lucas announced via a YouTube video that he would be stepping down as drummer of The Black Dahlia Murder to pursue other aspirations. Alan Cassidy of Abigail Williams filled in for Shannon's touring duties.
In early 2013, despite the news of the departure of two band members (drummer Shannon Lucas and bassist Bart Williams), plans were announced for an upcoming album release, to be entitled "Everblack". Tentative plans estimated its release to be early summer 2013; likely June. On April 10, 2013, the iTunes Store was updated with official release and availability information, including cover art, a full track listing, and an official U.S. release date of June 11, 2013. The album has 10 tracks in total. On the same day, the band's first single from "Everblack" was made available for purchase and download, titled "Into The Everblack". The album itself was then released on June 11 and peaked at No. 32 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
On November 28, 2014, The Black Dahlia Murder released a 7" EP titled Grind 'Em All featuring 3 short grindcore covers of punk rock songs: a cover of "Ripped Up" by Left for Dead, of "Rebel Without a Car" by Sedition and of "Populous" by Gyga. The covers were originally recorded almost 10 years earlier during the era of "Miasma". The EP was released as part of Record Store Day's Black Friday event via A389 Recordings (rather than the band's label, Metal Blade Records), made available for purchase on the band's online merchandise store and also streamed in its entirety via Exclaim!. The album art for Grind 'Em All was designed by Szymon Siech.
Lead guitarist Ryan Knight confirmed in early 2015 that the band will deliver a seventh studio release that year, followed by extensive touring, and that he is planning to start working on a solo album afterwards. Vocalist Trevor Strnad stated that the band's new album, titled "Abysmal", will be "more raw and natural sounding" and feature "more dynamic and developed songs" than their previous work. "Vlad, Son of the Dragon", the first song from the album, was released online on June 24, followed by "Receipt" on July 22 and "Threat Level No. 3" on August 19. "Abysmal" was produced by Mark Lewis and Ryan Williams and released worldwide through Metal Blade on September 18.In early February 2016, it was announced that Knight had left the band. He was replaced on lead guitar by Brandon Ellis of Arsis.
The band's 8th album "Nightbringers" was released on October 6, 2017, to critical and commercial acclaim, charting at 35 on the Billboard 200.
The Black Dahlia Murder released their ninth studio album, "Verminous", on April 17, 2020.
On May 11, 2022, it was announced that the band's frontman Trevor Strnad had died. While no official cause of death has been given, the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was provided at the end of the statement.
On September 14, 2022, The Black Dahlia Murder announced a tribute concert taking place for Trevor Strnad on October 28 at Saint Andrew's Hall in Detroit, Michigan, supported by Darkest Hour and Plague Years. It was also announced that Brian Eschbach will be stepping down from guitar and taking over as lead vocalist as he states in an interview with Decibel Magazine; "I know Trevor would keep this band going if I went down a deep, dark path and weren’t here.". In Brian's place, Ryan Knight will be returning to the band as the rhythm guitarist.
Blood Mine
The Black Dahlia Murder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In moss covered tunnels labyrinthine are the shadows in which we do roam
In bondage kept the vessels the living breathing beasts
Hosts to a meal most exquisite the very blood their veins do keep
Herding them in, forcibly reproduced
Impatience to sink our fangs in deep
Rarely transcending youth
A farm of human beings
Inbred the speechless stock
Sightless eyes vestigial now
Never to know the glowing sun
Shepard them in violently consumed in captivity
So fearfully to become this evenings food
Blood mine
Feed on the weaklings
Blood mine
Harvest this nectar of life
Blood mine
Cyclic devourment
Over ages perfected
Your earth is protected for now
Our curse must be sated somehow
A secret best kept underground
Destroy, create
Manacled, skin grey
Vampiric we feast
The bigger the mortal the harder they bleed
In bondage kept the vessels
The living breathing beasts
Hosts to a meal most exquisite
The very blood their veins do keep
Herding them in, forcibly reproduced
Impatience to sink our fangs in deep
Rarely transcending youth
Blood mine
Feed on the weaklings
Blood mine
Harvest this nectar of life
Blood mine
Cyclic devourment over ages perfected your earth is protected for now
The lyrics to “Blood Mine” by The Black Dahlia Murder speak of a group of vampires who have made their home in the catacombs that lie beneath the surface of the earth. The surrounding tunnels are labyrinthine and the shadows conceal the creatures as they go about their unnatural existence. The vampires have amassed a collection of human beings who they have forced into captivity, herded like cattle and selectively bred to create the perfect victim.
The lyrics describe the vampires as having an insatiable hunger for blood, an impatience to sink their fangs deep into their prey. They have created a farm of human beings, inbred and sightless – creatures that have never seen the sun. The vampires view their victims as vessels holding a meal most exquisite, with the very blood in their veins being used to sustain the unholy creatures who have been hiding in the depths for ages.
The chorus of the song echoes the idea of a “Blood Mine,” where the vampires partake in their cyclic devourment, protecting the earth from the curse that afflicts them. The lyrics serve to paint a picture of horror and disgust, as the beings in question have no mercy when it comes to satisfying their craving for blood, and are willing to go to any lengths to lock their victims away and satisfy their own demonic cravings.
Line by Line Meaning
Forgotten miles below the surface through catacombs of stone
We are in hidden tunnels deep underground, far removed from the surface world.
In moss covered tunnels labyrinthine are the shadows in which we do roam
The tunnels we are in are intricate and winding, shrouded in darkness and covered in moss.
In bondage kept the vessels the living breathing beasts
We have captive humans who are kept as vessels, living and breathing but not for long.
Hosts to a meal most exquisite the very blood their veins do keep
These humans contain the best meal we could ever have, their blood to nourish and strengthen us.
Herding them in, forcibly reproduced
We have a system in place to breed these humans like livestock, to ensure a constant supply of food.
Impatience to sink our fangs in deep
We can hardly wait to take a bite, to sink our fangs deep into their flesh and taste that sweet, sweet blood.
Rarely transcending youth
These humans do not get to live long, they are taken before they have a chance to grow old.
A farm of human beings
We treat these humans like livestock, like animals that we've bred and raised to consume.
Inbred the speechless stock
We've bred them to be speechless, to be passive and obedient.
Sightless eyes vestigial now
The humans have lost their sense of sight, they cannot see what is happening around them.
Never to know the glowing sun
These humans will never again see the warmth and light of the sun, they are trapped in darkness forever.
Shepard them in violently consumed in captivity
We bring in these humans and consume them in captivity, without any regard for their well-being or freedom.
So fearfully to become this evenings food
These humans are afraid, they know that they will soon become our food and there is nothing they can do to stop it.
Blood mine
We have created a mine, where we extract the life-giving blood of these humans.
Feed on the weaklings
We only choose the weak and helpless humans, who cannot fight back against us.
Harvest this nectar of life
We see the blood of humans as a precious and life-giving juice, which we must extract to survive.
Cyclic devourment over ages perfected your earth is protected for now
We have been perfecting this cycle of consuming human blood for generations, and we believe that it is necessary to protect the earth from harm.
Our curse must be sated somehow
We see our hunger for human blood as a curse, a need that we cannot control or resist.
A secret best kept underground
We know that what we are doing is horrific and terrible, and we must keep it a secret from the rest of the world.
Destroy, create
Our need for blood drives us to destroy human life, even as we create more of these beings to feed our hunger.
Manacled, skin grey
The humans we keep captive are often restrained and have a sickly, grey pallor to their skin.
Vampiric we feast
We are like vampires, feeding on the blood of humans to satisfy our hunger.
The bigger the mortal the harder they bleed
We prefer to feed on larger humans, who contain more blood and give us a greater yield of nourishment.
Lyrics © BUG MUSIC
Written by: Brian Eschbach, John Kempainen, Ryan Williams, Shannon Lucas, Trevor Strnad
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind