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Killing it
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One of the biggest subgenres in the metal scene over the past couple of years would be metalcore. In theory, the merging of metal’s technical complexity and hardcore’s angst and rage may make sense on paper, but more often than not, we’re left with retread riffs peddled by fey young men with careerism on their mind and angular haircuts on their noggins. Michigan’s the Black Dahlia Murder have been trying to shake the metalcore tag ever since they first got started in 2001. A shame, really, because they are about as molten metal as it gets. By exposing their roots with a nod to the Bay Area thrash of the mid-’80s, and the blast beats and Cookie Monster vocals of the later death metal wave, there should be little room for error. “I used to care more about being called a metalcore band in the beginning,” says singer Trevor Strnad. “I can understand it. We are on a label that has a lot of metalcore bands and we don’t have long hair, so I guess some people thought we were a hardcore band. It can be annoying, because a lot of people won’t check us out because they already have it made up in their mind that we’re something other than what we are. It can be a pain in the ass because I really don’t like metalcore, but I think we have started to win over the death metal crowd now. Sadly, I think that will just be a constant battle for us—and who am I to complain about who likes our band?” If misunderstandings due to record label affiliations and metalcore mag coverage have lost them some potential fans, BDM have been doing their share to set the record straight. Their last album, Nocturnal, was released in 2007, but the band have barely had time to even scratch the surface of writing for the next one as they have been on the road constantly. Labels and zines aside, it’s this nonstop touring, nine months out of every year, that has really seen them surge out of the underground, and help put the death metal genre back on the map. “Touring is just like full-time camping, and the people in the band are really my best friends, so we have a pretty good time. You have to be a positive person to be able to tour as much as we do. We really look up to bands like Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death because I think the reason they’ve managed to stick it out for this long is they seem to enjoy each other’s company and know how to have a good time with it.” While metal is currently going through its biggest resurgence since the death metal wave of the early ’90s, Strnad insists that the death genre is far from peaking just yet. “I think a lot of death metal’s staple sounds are now starting to cross over into other metal genres, and kids are starting to want to dig a little bit deeper and find out where this sound is coming from. I think extreme music of all forms is kind of on an upswing right now and as long as that’s happening, death metal is always going to exist.” WITH SOILENT GREEN, MISERY INDEX |
