First of all, can you give us a bit of an intro to yourself and the band.

 

Hi. I'm Brian and play in the melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder. I have been clan leader and chief song writer since our inception in Detroit, Michigan in 2001.

 

So lets get straight to it, your new album, Abysmal, is out in a couple of weeks, how would you describe it?

 

I would describe it as sonic hell to bedazzle and enslave the listener.

 

Nice. You've dropped 3 tracks from it so far, do they represent the rest of the album or is there variation?

 

I like the think that each one of the tracks has its own unique identity. That being said, there is much more to come for the listeners.

 

Good to know. Abysmal is your 7th studio album, is the hunger for making music and performing live still there?

 

I think for everyone involved in the band, there is always a hunger to perform. Making music is more of a fun adventure in that, for me, it's a lot like starting a journey from one clue (riff/idea)

 

Is that how your songs tend to come about, using a single idea and building around it and has it always been like that?

 

Absolutely as far as the songs that I write the music for. I'm fairly certain it goes the same way for Ryan.

 

Excellent. You've confirmed 'extensive touring' will follow the album. Where are you planning on heading?

 

Anywhere that brings us there! We are talking about hitting up the European continent early in 2016. Hard booked though, we have two tours coming up this fall in North America with goatwhore, iron. Reagan, harms way, maruta, entheos, and artificial brain.

 

It's going to be a busy time for you then!

 

That's how we try to keep it.

 

On to the band itself, you and Trevor are the 2 'original' members, feel like your project with other people chipping in, or does everyone bring something to the band?

 

After this amount of material, the Black Dahlia Murder sound is bigger than any one member of the band. At the same time though, everyone has always brought their own little flairs to the material. Trevor and I are the only original members since 2004 and a lot of stuff with a couple of different line ups has happened since then.

 

Talking of change, with keeping a band going harder now than seemingly it has ever been, how do you think The Black Dahlia Murder and also the death metal scene is holding up?

 

That's like asking how the rat breeding is going. Metal is infinite. Look at all the different subgenres that have been born in just ten years.

 

That is true. There will always be a place for bands willing to put the time and effort in.

 

There is always a band or song right around the corner to make the spirit and head bang as one.

 

Another convenient segway, do you get much chance to listen to new bands? If you do, who would you recommend?

 

Since we started wrapping up the last tours for Everblack and now. I haven't really heard too much new stuff that I got hooked on. This had more to do with writing for Abysmal than lack of interest, but I will say that revocation's 2014 album deathless was probably the last new stuff I was jamming on.

 

Fair enough. Haven't heard it myself but I'll get it on now! Back to touring, you've played shows and festivals all over the world, anything stand out in the memory? For good and/or bad reasons?

 

We went to China and Russia in one year (2014). I was born in 1982 when we still feared the commi's! That's gonna stick out forever.

 

Haha, yeah that sounds like something that would stay in the mind! You've done festivals like Download and you've done small club shows. Are the club shows your favourite cause of the intimacy?

 

I wouldn't say clubs were favored as much as they are preferred for the intimacy as you mentioned. There is the rare occasion outside where a festival show is going so well that you could call the experience with the crowd intimate, just of a different fashion.

 

Fair enough, finally, is there anything left on The Black Dahlia Murder 'bucketlist'?

 

1. Play Antarctica 

2. Play Iran 

3. Play the international space station.

 

There is probably more though.

 

They're a good start! Thanks very much for this Brian and I hope to catch you on tour next year!

 

Be well Sir Dan