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.
Flies
The Black Dahlia Murder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another string of lies is born
You must exemplify perfection
Bronzing a broken life of shit
You filthy liar
Septic tongue; shit-eating grin
Slow internal suicide
This disease, it is your mainstay
It wears its wires within me
Tender tissues scraped away of secrets
Etched in nameless graves
The smell of vomit hangs in the air tonight
Blush, eyeliner, lipstick
It's all alright tonight
You filthy liar
Septic tongue; shit-eating grin
Love me with your yellowed smile
My flies are hungry for your kiss
Poison me my darling
Graves grow deeper with each passing day
This appalling love
Bask in your putrid revelry
Beauty lost in between the lashes of sick drunken eye
Like a fool, you have believed
Life of shame, you have fallen completely beneath
And when the curtains finally part,
You'll see that everyone is laughing
I am weakness, just like you
I'll bury you before you're dead
Cockroach come crawling home!
Crawl!
Slithering through this world of sculpted shit
So thrust those fingers deep my child,
It is your burden and your gift
You filthy liar
Septic tongue; shit-eating grin
Slow internal suicide
An inch within a trigger's pull again
Poison me my darling
Graves grow deeper with each passing day
This appalling love
Bask in your putrid revelry!
The song "Flies" by The Black Dahlia Murder is about being in love with someone who is a compulsive liar and addict. The lyrics speak to the toxicity of this kind of relationship and how it can lead to internal suicide. The chorus repeats the phrase "You filthy liar, septic tongue, shit-eating grin," using harsh language to drive home the point of how disgusting and destructive the behavior of lying and addiction can be.
The verse "This disease, it is your mainstay" speaks to how addiction can become a central part of a person's life, consuming them and becoming the driving force behind their compulsions. The line "My flies are hungry for your kiss" refers to the idea that the person in the relationship is willing to endure the lying and addiction because they love the person so much, even though they know it's unhealthy.
The closing lines of the song, "Poison me my darling, Graves grow deeper with each passing day, This appalling love, Bask in your putrid revelry" suggest that the person in the relationship is willing to sacrifice their own well-being for the sake of their partner, even though they know it's harmful. It's a dark and disturbing exploration of the dangers of addiction and, more importantly, the damage it can cause to interpersonal relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Down, start digging down your throat
Begin to lie and deceive, even to yourself
Another string of lies is born
More lies are added to the already existing ones
You must exemplify perfection
You're expected to be ideal even though it's not possible
Bronzing a broken life of shit
Covering up a ruined life with superficial things
You filthy liar
You are a deceitful person
Septic tongue; shit-eating grin
You spread sickness with the words you speak and the way you smile
Slow internal suicide
You're destroying yourself slowly from the inside out
An inch within a trigger's pull again
You're close to the breaking point and about to do something drastic
This disease, it is your mainstay
Lying and being deceitful is a regular part of your life
It wears its wires within me
It's become part of who you are and how you operate
Tender tissues scraped away of secrets
Your vulnerability has been exposed and you can't hide your secrets
Etched in nameless graves
Your secrets are buried deep within you, never to be revealed
The smell of vomit hangs in the air tonight
There's a feeling of disgust and sickness in the atmosphere
Blush, eyeliner, lipstick
Using makeup to appear presentable and hide inner struggles
It's all alright tonight
Tonight, everything seems fine, but only on the surface
Love me with your yellowed smile
You fake your emotions and love with a disingenuous smile
My flies are hungry for your kiss
Your deceitful ways attract people who have their own hidden motives
Poison me my darling
Even though your love is toxic, I still desire it
Graves grow deeper with each passing day
The impact of our harmful love is becoming more intense over time
This appalling love
Our love is terrible and wrong, but we can't let go
Bask in your putrid revelry
We revel in our disgusting and immoral actions
Beauty lost in between the lashes of sick drunken eye
The ugliness of our actions has made us blind to true beauty
Like a fool, you have believed
You fell for my lies and deceit, and now you're stuck
Life of shame, you have fallen completely beneath
You've fallen to the bottom and now live a life of disgrace
And when the curtains finally part,
When all is said and done, and the truth is revealed
You'll see that everyone is laughing
Everyone is mocking and ridiculing you for being so naive
I am weakness, just like you
I'm not any better than you, we're both flawed and weak
I'll bury you before you're dead
I'll destroy you emotionally before you have a chance to leave me
Cockroach come crawling home!
You're a disgusting creature, but I want you back anyway
Crawl!
Bow down and submit to my desires
Slithering through this world of sculpted shit
Navigating through a world that's full of fake and superficial things
So thrust those fingers deep my child,
Embrace your inner darkness and give in to temptation
It is your burden and your gift
Your ability to deceive is both a burden and a gift to you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRIAN ESCHBACH, DAVID LOCK, JOHN KEMPAINEN, TREVOR STRNAD, ZACHARY GIBSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind