Album review: THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER – “Servitude”

“What can I get?”

“Um. I'm going to have some ripping death metal. But hold back the tomatoes and lettuce.”

I'm not trying to make my mouth a little heavier with nutritious stuff; Hell no! But when it comes to heavyweight, we have a new portion because THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER (TBDM) is back with a new album called bondage (Metal Blade Records) with 10 tracks of breakneck fury that are guaranteed to blow your mind in no time.

A moment to reflect

Now before we move on, I would like to take a moment and talk about Jorel Xavier Sanchez, better known as JOR-EL. He was a great friend who also wrote for my last publication: Amplifiers and green screens. Unfortunately, Jor-El passed away on May 13, 2023, but the metal community will long remember his work as the founder of TBDM's official fan club, The Blast Fiends. Jor-El and I went to a lot of shows and his contributions were great, but most of all he was a great person and a real metal fan.

Shortly after his death, I contacted his fiancée, an amazing woman named Ash Trent. I wanted your blessing to review the new TBDM album because I felt Jor-El needed to be included on this one – he deserves it. However, the last thing I wanted to do was upset or offend Ash or any of Jor-El's friends or family. RIP, Jor El. You are missed by many!

bondage

So let's talk about slavery.

The entire album is fantastic, all 10 songs come at you full force and are eager to blow your mind open. “Asserting Dominion” was my favorite from the start as the band is in full swing.

“Mammoth's Hand” and “Transcomic Blueprint” are also standouts that blew me away from the first note to the last. Album closer “Utopia Black” takes a sledgehammer to the listener, but in a good way, I promise.

Look, I know I didn't mention the untimely death of Trevor Strnad, and more than two years later, many of us are still suffering from it. But THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER has decided to move forward with Brian Eschbach on the microphone in his honor.

For my part, I can't think of a better way to honor his legacy.

Standout titles: ALL

– THE MAESTRO