Brief, bold and unforgettable – review of “Servitude” by The Black Dahlia Murder

Bands all over the world create art differently and uniquely, which is what I like most when I am reviewing records. Some records last more than one hour, some less. Some create lengthy and sophisticated tracks; others don’t. There is no right or wrong way – art is an expression, and we welcome them all. Now, it’s time for The Black Dahlia Murder to show us what they’ve got, with their latest release, “Servitude,” out September 27th.

They have decided on a very excellent approach, if I may say so. The tracks aren’t longer than 4 minutes each, with a single instrumental one (“An Intermission“) just like in “Verminous”. Who needs long songs when you can go straight to the point in 3 minutes? The Black Dahlia Murder doesn’t need to go round and round; they keep it short and direct. Whether it’s about denouncing something as wrong, like in “Cursed Creator,” or perhaps a description of a situation, like in “Transcomic Blueprint,” this band has no boundaries when it comes to creativity.

The raw intensity of their music, especially the vocals, makes it easy to distinguish when The Black Dahlia Murder is on. The production, mixing and mastering are done very well, but in my personal taste, I would have given a bit more space to the bass in the mix. This, however, does not impact the overall effect and impression of the album, which sounds very smooth and spins quite quickly. Most of the time, the songs are structured very similarly, giving the record a cohesive vibe.

A beautiful detail of “Servitude” is that the last seconds of the closing track and the first seconds of the first track are connected, so it can be listened to as a loop infinite times. To fully appreciate this record, it needs to be listened to more than once, and this feature makes me appreciate it even more.

In conclusion, The Black Dahlia Murder have not lost their touch, and with “Servitude,” they are ready to come back as a melodic death metal force, reckoned as such worldwide. “Begin our sacred march anew,” they sing in “Mammoth’s Hand,” and that is exactly what we should do.

Tracklist:

1. Evening Ephemeral
2. Panic Hysteric
3. Aftermath
4. Cursed Creator
5. An Intermission
6. Asserting Dominion
7. Servitude
8. Mammoth’s Hand
9. Transcosmic Blueprint
10. Utopia Black