To start things off, are you naked right now?

Funny you should ask. I’m naked, stoned, and listening to “The End Complete.” This is an almost daily ritual for me.

You’ve recently released your newest album, Nocturnal. Are you happy with how it has been received so far?

Yes, I’m very stoked on how its being recieved. First and foremost, it seems that our fans are very happy with it. Even some of the fans that fell off during the “Miasma” cycle seem to be coming around to us again. I think we really hit the nail on the head here with this album, and its by far the clearest representation of who we are and what we’re all about.

Everything about the album, including the artwork, seems to have a way more old school vibe to it. Was this a conscious effort to go for this sound?

Soundswise, I can’t say, as thats not really my department. I can’t speak for Brian (who writes the actual music), although I can say that when I heard the tracks initially, I felt as though he had really outdone himself. I don’t think our influences have changed musically that much, but there is a bit of a black metal flavor to some of the material, and the overall feel of the record is much more sinister than Miasma. As far as the lyrical and visual themes go, I was intending to capture the spirit of the oldschool way of death from the early to mid ninties. I wanted the lyrics to be completely horrific and to really pay tribute to the classics of the death metal genre. The artwork just seemed to be the missing piece. We’ve always lagged behind, in my opinion, on the visual aspects of this band. I feel for the first time we are being properly represented with Nocturnal. I wanted young kids who are just breaking into the scene to have a clear representation of what I think death metal is all about, and to take it from there. I hope that we can be a gateway band for these young people to want to explore what the underground has to offer.

Does it bother you that the album leaked online before it was released and was downloaded thousands of times?

I was looking forward to the leak because I couldn’t wait to hear what people would say about it. I feel like this album is something special, and I could hardly contain it any longer. It didn’t leak til just before the release, so I guess Metal Blade has been making some advancements in security. Hats off to Slagel for that.

Has anyone in the band ever been caught jerking off while on tour?

I wouldn’t say that anyone has been ‘caught,’ but there are times during the touring experiece when you just know that the dude in the bathroom that’s currently taking a shower is also peeling a cap.

A lot of people seem to feel this album is your best work, especially after some were let down by Miasma. Did you keep the ciritcisms people had for that album in mind while recording this new album, or do you just ignore everything and do your own thing?

I think that we were just doing our own thing… this is just another step in our constant evolution. I think we all realized that this is a huge album for us, and we reacted accordingly. The new album is a much more focused endeavor than Miasma was. We came into the studio very prepared and the thematic end of things (lyrics and artwork) were all more in tune as well.

What was it like shooting the video for “What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse,” and at what point during the filming did you feel the dumbest?

We aren’t a band that knows much shame, but when I was up on top of that rock pile lip syncing I felt like a complete dick. What people out there don’t know is that making videos really fucking sucks.

After a lengthy search for a new drummer, you finally settled on Shannon Lucas. How is he adjusting to the band, and did you add him in order to win over more metalcore fans?

The drum search was a bit of a nightmare this time. It was sheer luck that Shannon ended up in our area. I think he is adjusting pretty well. I think we can be a lot to handle for a straight edger. Adding him to the band had nothing to do with trying to ride on any success of All That Remains… we are from a different side of the tracks then them and honestly want nothing to do with them. I have nothing against them personally, but I am not a fan of their music at all. He is a very talented drummer who has a very similar set of influences to our own.. it was pretty much meant to be.

Do you think this will be the lineup that finally sticks?

I fucking hope so.

Now that At The Gates have reformed, do you think your fans will accuse them of ripping off The Black Dahlia Murder?

Ya know, I think there is some kid dumb enough out there.

You recently finished the Metal Blade Records 25th anniversary tour with Cannibal Corpse. How did that go for you?

It was our most successful tour to date. Touring with Cannibal is always fucking awesome, and the rest of the bands were great as well. It was one giant party, basically.

Did Corpsegrinder try to get you to play World of Warcraft?

Nah. There were however people showing up to the shows with signs reading “FUCK THE ALLIANCE!”

What was the first thing you did when you got home?

Cleaned my ears out with cotton swabs. You should have seen what I found.

On average, how many calories do you think you take in per day?

A lot. Today I’ve been tearing these two flavor Doritos a new asshole.

Were you bored to death with Brian De Palma’s movie The Black Dahlia, like the other 10 people who’ve seen it?

I am not the 11th person. I didn’t see it. I appreciate that it heightened the awareness of how to pronounce “Dahlia,” but other than that, we’ll consider that one a stain to the legacy.

You’ll be doing a European tour soon with Job For A Cowboy…doesn’t that make you feel a little gay?

Nah, I think Job is a talented band. They are cool guys to boot. Its going to be our biggest tour over there by far, and I am pretty excited about it. Our buddies in The Red Chord are on the bill as well.

You’ve also got a headlining U.S. tour early next year with 3 Inches of Blood, Hate Eternal, and Decrepit Birth. Why did you decide to go out with that lineup, and would you consider giving lessons on how to set up tours that don’t suck to the rest of the music industry?

We’ve always wanted to tour with more bands from the thrash, black, and death ends of the spectrum. We’ve compromised enough in touring with all kinds of hardcore bands and metalcore bands to get to this point where we could start calling more of the shots… where we could take control. We wanted to use our high profile to bring a band like Decrepit Birth around the states because we are fans of the band and it will hopefully be a small step in making underground death metal more visible to the youth.

Are there any other tours in the works?

Nothing that I can mention at this point, although it looks as though we’ll be around the U.S. again in the summer time. It will be a busy couple of years for us, believe me.

Do you think there’s any chance that Carcass are reuniting for a reason other than money?

No. But I think that they deserve some money for being Carcass. I sure as hell would rather they have some money for making music than some other asshole out there. I am going to do everything in my power to see them play.

What’s your favorite Castlevania game?

It’s a tough call. I think its a tie between II: Simon’s Quest and Symphony of the Night.

Why are The Faceless in your top friends, but not SMNnews? That’s just fucking lame…

The Faceless are a good band, who like ourselves, have been wrongly branded with that ugly Metalcore tag. SMN is so metalcore not even BDM will touch it.

What are you listening to currently?

Arghoslent “Incorrigible Bigotry,” Disavowed “Stagnated Existence,” Torchure “The Essence,” A Wilhelm Scream “Career Suicide,” The Swellers “My Everest,” Aeon “Rise To Dominate,” Arkhon Infaustus “Orthodoxyn,” Infernal Revulsion “Devastate Under Hallucination,” Shining “V,” and last but not least Biohazard “Urban Discipline.”

Who is the best Swedish death metal band?

I’m a Necrophobic man, myself. This is a tough call though. Aeon is certainly up there.

Any final words for our readers?

Did you know that Dave Mustaine only wears jeans from London?

www.myspace.com/blackdahliamurder

Rate this interview: (53 votes, average: 4.7 out of 5)
 Loading ...

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 3:47 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

sofialenae wrote:

5 stars

October 25th, 2007 at 3:57 pm

RE3 wrote:

October 25th, 2007 at 4:06 pm

blackdahliaincarnate wrote:

**giggles**Trevor was naked.Wo0t!wo0t! BDM is awesome no matter what..

October 25th, 2007 at 9:11 pm

Crucified Coma wrote:

Trevorzh0tomgg

October 25th, 2007 at 11:40 pm

RE3 wrote:

I No RiTe CoMA

October 26th, 2007 at 11:08 am

fastfingers wrote:

“Now that At The Gates have reformed, do you think your fans will accuse them of ripping off The Black Dahlia Murder?”

lol trevors a sport.

October 30th, 2007 at 2:58 pm

GringoDeath wrote:

why do i hear people talk shit about miasma it was and still is a killer album

November 2nd, 2007 at 12:30 pm

Slimjim367 wrote:

agreed

November 4th, 2007 at 12:29 pm

bloodbledblack wrote:

yeah i thought it was a step in there evolution as a band.

January 12th, 2008 at 1:49 am

Animal Sex Free Animal Sex Stories Sex With Dogs wrote:

Animal Sex Free Animal Sex Stories Sex With Dogs…

I can not agree with you in 100% regarding some thoughts, but you got good point of view…

January 12th, 2008 at 2:03 pm

Make a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment. Register now for free!

PREVIOUS USERS PLEASE NOTE: We now have one login system for posting in the forums and posting comments. To post comments, you must be registered for the forums. We apologize for the inconvenience!