Yesterday, the MetalSucks reader known as “Ibo” e-mailed us to say that he attended a Black Dahlia Murder concert in Glasgow, Scotland on January 22 — and that bassist Ryan “Bart” Williams “wasn’t on bass. It was some guy I’d never seen before.” A quick YouTube search turned up fan-filmed footage from the show which confirms that, yes, indeed, Mr. Williams was not the bass player at this show — and, we can therefore presume, the band’s entire European tour:

So is Williams out of the band?

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What makes The Black Dahlia Murder the cream of metal’s crop is that, while never abandoning their face-ripping ways, they refuse to just spin their wheels from album to album. The dudes started out good, and they keep getting better. No amount of flowery verbiage myself could back that statement up more than just one listen to Ritual will. Because just one listen is all The Black Dahlia Murder needs to grab you by the throat, beat you senseless, and leave you lying on the pavement like some ninety-pound moron who just picked a fight with Georges St-Pierre. But, being the sadistic little fuck you are, you’re gonna pop right back up and listen again, aren’t you? Damn right you are, because this is hands down one of the most vicious slabs of metal we’ll get this year.

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Actually I dunno if “Malenchantments of the Necrosphere” is still Vince’s favorite song from The Black Dahlia Murder’s Ritual or not, but I know he proclaimed to be so when we first got the album. In any case, it would be hard to blame him if it were his favorite song on the record, because, by golly, does it ever rock.

The swirling riff that appears beneath the verse always makes me envision a sentient, malicious tornado that has specific aims with regards to whose life it wants to royally fuck, and the riff beneath the chorus is some pretty sweet machine gun shit. And, of course, Ryan Knight’s guitar solo is totally killer. Really, there’s nothing bad about this song. If for some reason you weren’t already desperate to hear Ritual, hopefully this will do the trick.

The track is now streaming over at AP. Crank that shit, and then crank that shit again (these songs are so well-written as to be fairly addictive, so we won’t blame you should you feel the need to listen multiple times in a row), and then come back and let us know what you think in the comments section. But our guess is that what you think will be some variation of “YES!!!!”

Ritual comes out via Metal Blade on June 21. It’s so goddamn good.

-AR

Metal Injection posted this video of The Black Dahlia Murder’s lead guitarist, Ryan Knight, gettin’ jiggy wit it (or whatever the white kids who wish they were black are saying these days) at the wedding of the band’s former tour manager. And let me please be clear: I am laughing with Knight, not at Knight. I wish I lacked the self-consciousness to have this good a time on a dance floor. I mean, I’m sure ten or twenty drinks helps, but still.

If BDM don’t somehow incorporate this into their next video, they’re fools.

-AR

I’ve always hated top-whatever lists. Best guitarist, best band, best blowjob, best double anal with a horse, whatever. I think that those lists are pretty much all slanted by politics, or bought and paid for. I first got that idea in my head when Titanic won as many Oscars as it did. There were so many movies that year that were far more deserving of the title that my faith in the award system died.

Jump forward about ten years. I just got back in town from the Revolver Golden God Awards. I’ll just say that I’m stoked they exist. Metal needs that in the U.S. I have no issue with their nominees and obviously you can’t pick everyone so this is definitely not directed at them. Again, THIS IS NOT DIRECTED AT REVOLVER MAGAZINE, but the concept of picking “best shredder” or “shredder of the year “is just one of those things you can’t accurately do with the amount of talent that’s out there. You want to nominate Zack Wylde or Dave Mustaine? Okay. That’s cool. Those guys have earned it. But when you leave the circle of greats and legends, how exactly do you pick a BEST shredder? I mean am I alone in thinking that when so many amazing guitarists are overlooked that the award itself loses its meaning? What guitarists am I talking about? Okay… I’ll name a few. In my opinion these guys should be winning all the awards. If I left someone out, it’s because either I haven’t heard of them, I’ve heard them and I don’t think they’re among the very best, I forgot to mention them, or I’ve heard them and I know for a fact that what you think is shredding is just studio trickery.

So here it is. My personal list of whom I think should be winning all the metal guitar awards. Am I biased? Maybe. But I’d like to also think that considering what I do for a living that I’m a good judge of competency in the field. This is in no particular order. These guys all rule for different reasons. (DISCLAIMER: Sorry that there aren’t videos for every dude I mention, but sometimes finding quality footage is tough.)

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For some reason I thought John Kempainen was one of those “I hate touring” dudes, and that said hatred of fart boxes and no pay was one of the key reasons behind his split with The Black Dahlia Murder. But I guess I thought wrong, because Metal Injection tells us that Kempainen is teaming with original BDM drummer Cory Grady to form a new band, Graves Ablaze. They don’t have a vocalist yet (or a bassist or rhythm guitarist), but there’s an instrumental demo streaming here.

Kempainen is obviously a really talented guy and I was sad to see him leave BDM – his solos were one of my favorite parts of that band. That being said, Ryan Knight (ex-Arsis) has obviously turned out to be a more than able replacement, and I think Deflorate is probably BDM’s best album yet. And this Graves Ablaze demo doesn’t knock my socks off. It’s not bad – it’s just not jizz-inducing or whatever.

What does that say about their future? Very little. Maybe the time just wasn’t right yet for them to post a demo – maybe they need to wait ’til they’re further along in their evolutionary process. For now, I’m just glad that Kempainen is out there trying to make new metal…

-AR

It’s the guitar solo on “Christ Deformed” that really gets me (go to 1:52ish). And not just the solo part of the solo – although Ryan Knight is playing a killer solo – but also what the rest of the band is doing during the solo. That whole start-stop thing makes me wanna stab someone in the neck with a screwdriver or pen every time I hear it, and I mean that as a compliment.

And listen to that crowd, man! The chanting! Few things are more metal than a good chant. It’s part of the fundamental dichotomy of being a headbanger: we’re supposed to be sullen, serious people, but we love  a good opportunity to all cheer in unison like some date raping fratboy at a kegger.

Deflorate is out now on Metal Blade. There are a lotta other good songs on it, too. If you have a favorite that isn’t “Christ Deformed,” why don’t you share with the group?

-AR

Between their music videos, goofy photo shoots, and Majesty DVD, one gets the impression that even if the members of The Black Dahlia Murder take their music seriously, they don’t take themselves too seriously. The portrait that’s been painted of this band over the years is not that of a brooding death metal band, but that of a group of dudes who want to have fun (remember fun?) while making the most brutal death metal possible.

So we weren’t surprised to find that vocalist Trevor Strnad is a pretty chill fella. Speaking to Axl and Vince backstage at the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, Strand was only too happy to openly and honestly discuss the band’s new album, Deflorate (out September 15 on Metal Blade), the differences between new guitarist Ryan Knight and old guitarist John Kempainen, the joys of big band music, and the worst puke he’s ever smelled. Check out our full conversation after the jump.

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John Kempainen’s awesome guitar solos were major part of the appeal of The Black Dahlia Murder, at least for me. That being said, his replacement, former Arsis axeman Ryan Knight, is no slouch, so I’m definitely down to hear whatever the band comes up with next.

Our pals at Metal Injection captured some lo-fi footage of BDM doing a new song, “Necropolis,” and although it’s hard to hear much besides Trevor Strnad’s vocals, the track sounds heavy as a hippo (And I’ll even forgive the fact that The Absence, as well about as a gajillion other bands, already have a song called “Necropolis.”). Check it out:

Meanwhile, Blabbermouth posted footage of Vader doing a new song, “Rise of the Undead,” which will appear on their new album, entitled… Necropolis. Jesus H. Christ death metal bands, get some new fucking ideas already.

Check out the Vader video after the jump. Their Necropolis drops September 22.

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When The Black Dahlia Murder announced earlier this week that former Arsis guitarist Ryan Knight had been tapped to fill the role vacated by John Kempainen just three weeks ago, a simmering side-story went mostly ignored: apparently at some point Ryan Knight decided to leave Arsis. WTF? Totally missed that announcement, unless the Black Dahlia announcement was meant to kill two birds with one stone.

The news officially elevates Arsis to new levels of the “ex-members of” department, rivaling only L.A. Guns and Guns N’ Roses in that vaunted arena; a game of “six degrees of Arsis” would make for some mighty fine death metal campfire chatter. The departure of Knight also marks the departure of Arsis’ 597th member, so we figured we’d reach Ryan via phone* to comment on the situation**:

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