The Black Dahlia Murder have announced Servitude, their first new album since original vocalist Trevor Strnad’s 2022 passing. They made the decision to continue with guitarist and co-founder Brian Eschbach moving to lead vocals and former member Ryan Knight rejoining the band on guitar, and they’ve been touring with that lineup for almost two years before announcing this new LP. The first single is “Aftermath,” and it’s a melodeath rager that sounds like something Trevor would’ve been proud of.
“We wanted that one to be heard first because it’s one of the faster songs on the album, if not the fastest,” Brian says. “We wanted that very aggressive Black Dahlia melodic death metal feel coming right at you. Lyrically, it’s about a meteor that fucks up the whole planet, but there’s still people living. Kind of like The Walking Dead, but with no zombies-so you get right to how people deal with it. And by the end, they’re eating each other.”
About coming into his new role as a vocalist and lyricist, Brian added, “Honestly, writing the lyrics for this album was easier for me than writing the music for the three songs that I wrote music for. I’d pick a subject, research it, and just kinda dive in. Even though it’s not something I’d really ever done before, there was a natural flow to it once I started.”
The second single will be “Mammoth’s Hand,” which the band’s bio says is a “slower, groove-driven song,” and the third single “Panic Hysteria” is being touted as “a very modern, classic TBDM waltz in the time-honored Swedish style.” Stay tuned for those and check out the new song and its video below.
TBDM recorded the guitars, bass, and vocals for the new album at guitarist Brandon Ellis’ home studio in New Jersey, and they did the drums with engineer Mark Lewis in Nashville, where Mark and Brandon also mixed it. It comes out September 27 via Metal Blade (pre-order).
Tracklist
01. Evening Ephemeral
02. Panic Hysteric
03. Aftermath
04. Cursed Creator
05. An Intermission
06. Asserting Dominion
07. Servitude
08. Mammoth’s Hand
09. Transcosmic Blueprint
10. Utopia Black
The Black Dahlia Murder — 2024 Tour Dates
Fri, JUN 14: Download Festival 2024, Castle Donington, United Kingdom
Sun, JUN 16: Donington Park Circuit, Derby, United Kingdom
Mon, JUN 17: Limelight, Belfast, United Kingdom
Tue, JUN 18: Opium, Dublin, Ireland
Mon, JUN 24: Hirsch, Nurnberg, Germany
Thu, JUN 27: Mergener Hof e.V., Trier, Germany
Fri, JUN 28: Vaudeville e.V. Club, Lindau (bodensee), Germany
Sat, JUN 29: Jera On Air, Ysselsteyn, Netherlands
Sun, JUN 30: Hellfest 2024, Clisson, France
Tue, AUG 6: L.A. Live Style Cafe, Cham, Germany
Wed, AUG 7: Brutal Assault 2024, Jaroměř, Czech Republic
Fri, AUG 9: Szene, Wien, Austria
Sun, AUG 11: Slaughter Club, Paderno Dugnano, Italy
Tue, AUG 13: Rockhouse-Bar, Salzburg, Austria
Wed, AUG 14: KIFF, Aarau, Switzerland
Thu, AUG 15: SITE DE KERAMPUILH CARH3, Carhaix-plouguer, France
Sun, AUG 18: SITE DE KERAMPUILH CARH3, Carhaix-plouguer, France