If you look back at the history of American music, you'll notice that audiences have a history of connecting with blue-collar individuals. Artists like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and John Mellencamp have ridden their relatable working class aesthetic to incredibly successful careers that have spanned 4+ decades. In the world of extreme metal, The Black Dahlia Murder are the torchbearers for the salt of the earth average joes. Their ability to constantly overcome adversity (8 member changes in the last 14 years) combined with a work ethic that would make Joe the Plumber seem like a lazy twat (releasing an album every 2 years since 2003) has blessed them with a level of popularity that is nearly unprecedented in the extreme metal realm. This gritty mentality has given birth to Nighbringers, which sees the Michigan-bred quintet releasing some of their most incendiary and deeply satisfying material to-date.
Nightbringers couldn't have possibly arrived at a better time. With a handful of exceptions (Dying Fetus' Wrong One to Fuck With, Darkest Hour's Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, While She Sleeps' You Are We, Archspire's Relentless Mutation), 2017 had been a very underwhelming year for metal and this lack of high quality releases forced my overdramatic ass to start thinking that the genre was headed towards a quick, brutal death. Not only did Nightbringers shelve my fears about the rapid decline of metal, it straight-up reignited my love for the genre. Going through this record brought back a feeling of child-like excitement that I haven't experienced while listening to an album since I first heard Between the Buried and Me's The Parallax II: Future Sequence nearly five years ago. The level of pure energy, passion and catchiness that's present on Nightbringers left me headbanging with a huge shit-eating grin on my face for the duration of its brisk 33-minute runtime. I applaud The Black Dahlia Murder for being able to make a death metal record full of graphic horror-inspired lyrics this much fun to listen to.
While Black Dahlia's glue members (vocalist Trevor Strnad and rhythm guitarist/primary songwriter Brian Eschbach) are the driving force behind the level of excellence they've maintained over the past 15 years, the X-factor on Nightbringers is their new lead guitarist Brandon Ellis. Ellis was tasked with filling the huge void left by the departure of longtime axeman (and fellow ex-member of Arsis) Ryan Knight and he manages to absolutely obliterate any reasonable expectations that were placed upon him. His blistering playing style allows the band to delve deeper into the world of thrash and traditional Gothenburg melodeath without losing sight of the American death metal crunch they've possessed since their inception. In addition to his versatility as a player, the 24-year old also throws down some phenomenal solos that play a crucial role in establishing the album's chaotic yet fun tone. The Black Dahlia Murder have been able to outlast many of their peers in terms of both popularity and quality of their output, and with the addition of a gifted guitar player that allows them to expand upon their well-established formula, the odds of them slipping into a state of compliancy are arguably lower than ever before.
Despite the strong love affair I've already developed with it, I'm not ready to say that Nightbringers has surpassed Ritual as my favorite Black Dahlia record. That being said, I can say with complete confidence that it's among the best material they've put over the course of their excellence-filled career. There's not a single song on here that didn't grab me (picking my 3 favorite tracks was an absolute BITCH) and the breakneck atmosphere, volume of memorable riffs and overall tightness of the songwriting has only grown more impressive on subsequent listens. While it goes against everything I stand for as a miserable, stubborn asshole that hates when people prematurely hand out year-end awards, there's no way in hell that Nightbringers won't be my AOTY for 2017. Records that connect with you on such a deep, visceral level are incredibly rare and I'd be lying to myself and my audience if I thought there was another record set to be released in the final 11 weeks of the year that would be able to surpass the euphoric experience I had while listening to this record. S/O to Black Dahlia for creating this fucking wonderful slab of death metal bliss and restoring my faith in the genre that made me fall in love with music as a teenager.
Nightbringers couldn't have possibly arrived at a better time. With a handful of exceptions (Dying Fetus' Wrong One to Fuck With, Darkest Hour's Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, While She Sleeps' You Are We, Archspire's Relentless Mutation), 2017 had been a very underwhelming year for metal and this lack of high quality releases forced my overdramatic ass to start thinking that the genre was headed towards a quick, brutal death. Not only did Nightbringers shelve my fears about the rapid decline of metal, it straight-up reignited my love for the genre. Going through this record brought back a feeling of child-like excitement that I haven't experienced while listening to an album since I first heard Between the Buried and Me's The Parallax II: Future Sequence nearly five years ago. The level of pure energy, passion and catchiness that's present on Nightbringers left me headbanging with a huge shit-eating grin on my face for the duration of its brisk 33-minute runtime. I applaud The Black Dahlia Murder for being able to make a death metal record full of graphic horror-inspired lyrics this much fun to listen to.
While Black Dahlia's glue members (vocalist Trevor Strnad and rhythm guitarist/primary songwriter Brian Eschbach) are the driving force behind the level of excellence they've maintained over the past 15 years, the X-factor on Nightbringers is their new lead guitarist Brandon Ellis. Ellis was tasked with filling the huge void left by the departure of longtime axeman (and fellow ex-member of Arsis) Ryan Knight and he manages to absolutely obliterate any reasonable expectations that were placed upon him. His blistering playing style allows the band to delve deeper into the world of thrash and traditional Gothenburg melodeath without losing sight of the American death metal crunch they've possessed since their inception. In addition to his versatility as a player, the 24-year old also throws down some phenomenal solos that play a crucial role in establishing the album's chaotic yet fun tone. The Black Dahlia Murder have been able to outlast many of their peers in terms of both popularity and quality of their output, and with the addition of a gifted guitar player that allows them to expand upon their well-established formula, the odds of them slipping into a state of compliancy are arguably lower than ever before.
Despite the strong love affair I've already developed with it, I'm not ready to say that Nightbringers has surpassed Ritual as my favorite Black Dahlia record. That being said, I can say with complete confidence that it's among the best material they've put over the course of their excellence-filled career. There's not a single song on here that didn't grab me (picking my 3 favorite tracks was an absolute BITCH) and the breakneck atmosphere, volume of memorable riffs and overall tightness of the songwriting has only grown more impressive on subsequent listens. While it goes against everything I stand for as a miserable, stubborn asshole that hates when people prematurely hand out year-end awards, there's no way in hell that Nightbringers won't be my AOTY for 2017. Records that connect with you on such a deep, visceral level are incredibly rare and I'd be lying to myself and my audience if I thought there was another record set to be released in the final 11 weeks of the year that would be able to surpass the euphoric experience I had while listening to this record. S/O to Black Dahlia for creating this fucking wonderful slab of death metal bliss and restoring my faith in the genre that made me fall in love with music as a teenager.
5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Matriarch
2.Kings of the Nightworld
3.As Good as Dead
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