“You know, every other band playing today has been yapping on about how awesome it is to be sharing a bill with Metallica. Well we fucking HATE Metallica!” In one statement, Detroit death metal quintet The Black Dahlia Murder had transformed the Barfly Stage of 2004’s Download Festival into a mixing bowl of boos, cheers, laughter; and sheer disbelief. As I stood among the crowd with what can only be described as a shit eating grin spread across my face, one thing became blatantly obvious. This is a band that takes absolutely no prisoners. New album ‘Miasma’ sees the group stating this conclusion sonically as well as verbally, hoisting modern day metal further up the ladder in the process. A devastating mix of traditional death metal savagery and thrash metal technicality, it’s the type of album that comes along once in a blue moon; blurring the lines and smashing all boundaries of the contemporary scene.
Boasting gut-wrenching roars, screaming guitars and thundering drums – ‘I’m Charming’ is the type of balls-out metal anthem that separates the strong from the weak. ‘Miasma’ is out now through Metal Blade Records.
Ryan Bird