As bands go, The Black Dahlia Murder calls out to the true metalhead. With their teeth grinding riffs, to the menacing vocals, they don’t miss a beat. And “Verminous” steps right in and takes you by the short hairs.
A much anticipated follow-up to 2017’s “Nightbringers”, the band’s ninth full-length, “Verminous” is nine tracks of melodic death metal masterpieces.
“Verminous” begins with the nightmarish sounds of dripping water and horrific vermin scattering about. Now, with that said, TBDM cracks open with chugging guitar riffs and sends you on a trip into the darkverse. “Godlessly” shreds the hell into your speakers, with its erratic BPM unknown guitar work. The skills of drummer Alan Cassidy are amazing on this track.
Illustrating the exquisite brutality of what TBDM is, Strnad takes you on a journey lyrically that is second to none. He performs through high pitched versus guttural growls, and sears your ear holes with every minute that passes throughout this album.
“Child of Night” pulls away from what would normally hear, but nonetheless an anthem of sorts. “A Womb in Dark Chrysalis” beholds a medieval tone, which was a surprising interlude between all of the shredding. The overall technical prowess shows greatly in these two cuts.
I am again amazed by the tempo changes in “Sunless Empire” and “Removal of the Oaken Stake”. These songs will be head turners, fist bumpers, and head bangers for sure.
I loved the evolution between the two albums. As soon as “Verminous” begins to swarm the market, you’ll see that the band has brought a very different demon to the table. The elements that are usually more segmented in other releases have now made its mark here. Listen in, listen loud, and don’t stop until you finish the full album!! This is insanely brutal stuff, and the band killed it!
