OneMetal.com REVIEW:
The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate

Bands seem to be dropping members like the US army drops bombs lately, another band too suffer this fate has been The Black Dahlia Murder, on the eve of their new tour in November 2008 Dahlia’s master of the melodic riffs John Kempainen parted company with his band mates at extremely short notice, claiming that he no longer wished to be on tour for 10 months of the year, so went home to spend time with his family. Despite the abrupt end to the partnership, the remaining members, staying true to the fans that had made them, continued the tour as a four piece.

Being four a piece was never going to be ideal for a band like Dahlia so the call went out for a replacement. The call was soon answered when they snapped up ex-Arsis guitarist Ryan Knight, much to the delight of the rest of the band as vocalist Strnad exclaimed

“ So I have a boner right now. [Laughs] I’m so excited to f*cking play with this kid. We’ve toured with them before, and we know he’s cool. It’s hard, because we love ARSIS, but he was already leaving them. He was actually… Some people were gonna hook him up with DEICIDE, but we swept him just in time.”

So with a new shred master in place work continued on what was to be Deflorate.

Aside from a new axe man, not much else has changed here, and this 4^th offering is a natural progression from their 2007 album, the epic Nocturnal. Shannon’s unbelievable drum skills are as furious as ever, providing the solid back bone needed for Brian and new man Ryan to lay down some ever so satisfying brutal riffary. Opening with Black valour the onslaught begins before moving into one of the stand out moments from this album Necropolis, which retains a very Nocturnal feel among the new material making fans feel instantly comfortable. Admittedly it is taking me a while to get used to new man Ryan, who is more than capable for the job, but the small but subtle shift in playing style feels a little uneasy at first, but that is probably just the guitarist in me talking. The most melodic track on the album would have to be the final track I Will Return, certainly a favoriate for me on the album, and a good clue as to what we might expect from future albums.

Dahlia are still completely unrelenting in their tempo, which even now still leaves me stunned at the precision at which riffs, dynamics and changes are executed. Vocalist Strnad sounds suitably on form and still impresses with his ability to sound like two completely different vocalists as he shifts from his low guttural bellows to the shrieking highs that would even leave Mr Filth himself crying in the corner. Of course vocal credits also go to guitarist Brian who can sound equally as menacing. While all this brutality ensues credit goes out to bass player Bart holding the back line with razor like precision. New man Ryan has plenty of opportunity to flex his skills, Christ Deformed being a fine example of what is to come from the new guy.

Bottom Line

Dahlia has certainly not disappointed on this album, and although maybe not as catchy as tracks like Deathmask Devine or What a horrible night, this album delivers a swift boot to the face of any non belivers and guts you like a serial killer. I was quite fond of John Kempainen’s role in the band, and I do find myself missing his melodic licks, Deflorate is an altogether more brutal album and this is a lot to do with the line up change I feel. This said new man Ryan hasn’t had a lot of time to grow with the band yet, and walking in half way through an albums production is always going to be a tall order. He’s more than capable of this job and I look forward to hearing how he progresses with the band.