Saturday 21 November 2009

Interview: The Black Dahlia Murder

I recently got to do my first e-mail interview, with The Black Dahlia Murder, you can read it below. For more reviews and interviews you can check out The Metalheadz Website.


1. You're new album, Deflorate, came out in September, how would you say it's been received by critics? And more importantly, the fans?
The reviews have been pretty good. I’d say this is probably our best reviewed album so far. The fans seem to like it too. They keep requesting “I Will Return” and “Denounced, Disgraced” at the shows. I am happy that they like the record.


2. How would you say this album differs from your past releases?
I think it’s the result of more completely developed ideas… I think we are older and wiser as writers, and its shows. The songs are catchy, but also demand repeated listens to hear all of the little intricacies that are involved, the technical bits, so to speak. I think its also the most varied album we’ve written, each song has more of its own identity than ever before. “Growth” and “variety” are words that can scare long time fans, but I assure you when playing as fast as we tend to do, you really have to pay attention to dynamics to make an album worth listening to all the way through.


3. This is your first album with new guitarist Ryan Knight, what do you feel he brought to the the writing/recording process for the new album?
I think a lot of the enthusiasm came from our personnel change... Ryan Knight brought a lot of energy and positivity into the band that was lacking with John’s departure… we were really excited to get Ryan on our album and see what he was capable of… he definitely exceeded our expectations on all fronts. He even felt confident enough in spite of the tight schedule to contribute the bulk of two songs for the album, which turned out absolutely killer.


4. This is your 4th album with Metalblade and your first to break in to the top 50 on the Billboard 200, your previous two albums placing 118th and 43th, does it mean a lot to you to see that sort of commercial progress with each album?
Its not important to me but it’s been cool as far as measuring our success… it means we are reaching a lot more people with every year, and that all of our hard work touring has not been in vain.


5. The cover of the new album has some pretty interesting art, can you tell us more about it?
It was influenced by a dream I had… was a really intense nightmare. The bright look of the piece is inspired by “Powerslave” and the awesome art of the early to mid nineties old school death metal releases… right down to the choice of a yellow logo for the cover. I wanted to do something different from “Nocturnal” that would give it a strong identity of it’s own and also do something that would stand out on the shelves when stacked next to a hundred other metal cds. I am happy with the cover, it came out awesome.


6. You're currently touring in support of Deflorate with Skeletonwitch and Toxic Holocaust, how's the tour going? What're your plans after this tour finishes?
The tour was awesome. I like and respect the bands. Its extra fun to be on a tour where you can have a lot of pride in the package that you’ve assembled. I think it was a good mix of different aspects of the underground metal scene.


7. You'll be touring the UK as part of the Bonecrusher Fest in February. Are you looking forward to that tour? Seven Bands for £14 seems like a bargain for the fans!
Yeah that’s the idea, to have a really kick ass varied lineup and expose the kids to some new bands they may not have had the pleasure of hearing. I really like a lot of the bands on the bill so I am personally very excited.


8. How do you find playing to UK and European crowds, compared to American crowds?
I think the vibe is generally the same worldwide. People come to a show to have fun, and we try to encourage that.

9. What does the future hold for The Black Dahlia Murder?
More tours and more albums as long as you’ll have us.

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