Nocturnal
Lately I’ve been getting into the heavy stuff, although I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of death metal, at least not yet. It’s very hit or miss with me when it comes to that. I saw Nocturnal by The Black Dahlia Murder in a store one day, and I was curious to know what they were all about. I got home and punched up some music excerpts, and it only took one or two to convince me that this was an album to add to my collection. Nocturnal was my introduction to The Black Dahlia Murder, and to say that I only thought it was a great album would not do it justice. I was fucking STOKED by song one.
What can you say about Nocturnal? It’s heavy… REAL fucking heavy. When you play the album you are entering a world of fast and intense guitar playing along with blood-chilling growls and screams that give the lyrics and songs that extra edge. While it is full of screams, growls and shrieking, you can understand what is being sung. Some may consider the lyrics and subject matter demented and disgusting, but that’s what these guys are all about. Nobody wants an extreme metal band to sing about fluffy bunny rabbits and the funny feeling you get when you fall in love. You want to hear carnage, hopelessness and grotesque lines like, “they dance by night and drink the blood of a child’s broken neck.” Of course, keep in mind that in the process they are having fun with the genre and that these lullabies of nightmares and brutality shouldn’t be taken seriously.
How good is Nocturnal? Let me put it this way. Only after a few hours of listening to the entire album, I rushed out and bought their other two albums. That’s how impressive and effective the album is. It’s probably their most polished sounding one to date, but do not let that fool nor scare you. They are as dark and vicious as they ever have been, if not more. The album from start to finish is amazing. Nocturnal is also one of those rare albums that you enjoy in the exact order the songs appear. Nine out of ten times you’ll want to listen to this all the way through as opposed to only individual tracks. My favorite songs are “Everything Went Black,” “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse,” “Nocturnal,” “A Breathless Oblivion,” and the very last song, “Warborn” which is the album’s slowest song, but still no less crushing or heavy as the others.
Nocturnal by The Black Dahlia Murder definitely ranks up there as one of my favorite releases of 2007. It was a fine introduction to the boys and I hope they continue to produce bone-crushing music for years to come. Even if you’re not a fan of death metal but are looking for something heavy and unapologetic, check these guys out and sample some of the songs. It’ll be hard to find another album this year that impressed me the way that Nocturnal did.
