The Black Dahlia Murder have announced their new record Verminous will be released on April 19th via Metal Blade records. The band has also shared a lyric video of the self-titled track, which can be heard below.
Guitarist Brandon Ellis took hold of the production duties at his home studio, the Shred Light District but the drums were recorded at The Pipeyard in Plymouth, MI with the band’s ex-bassist Ryan “Bart” Williams. Mixing everything together was none other than Tue Madsen (Madball, Suicide Silence) and mastering was done by Alan Douches.
Vocalist Trevor Strnad commented of the album:
“I think this is the biggest evolutionary leap we’ve ever taken from one album to the next. We stoked the creative fires with 2017’s ‘Nightbringers‘ and it’s gone much further now in ‘Verminous‘. It’s a very colorful, moody, and charismatic album that experiments with new sounds and ideas without losing the cutthroat Black Dahlia edge. There is a lot of minutiae to digest. Plenty of delicious little Easter eggs woven into the fabric of each song. Each one is a living, breathing entity that will stand on its own as some of the best music this band has ever created.”
Speaking of the inspiration for the title, he offered:
“We, members of our beloved and hidden world of the heavy metal underground teeming just below the surface, are the verminous. The rats and roaches looming in the cracks and crevices of this fallen world. We are the pariahs that the world of normality finds loathsome and obscene. We are the carriers of a plague of knowledge so vile that it could bring the unsuspecting mankind to its knees. Always the underdogs. Our love for this music and what it means to our lives is foolishly underestimated.
The outside world of religion-warped ‘normalcy’ is the opposing viewpoint. We are the ultimate antagonist to their archaic ways of thought, the dreamers of the nightmares that shake them to their very core. Although we are but lowly vermin to them, the unseen and underestimated, our numbers are millions strong. We cast aside their ways and prefer to take solace in the hidden realm of the underground where the dark fruits of free thought can be enjoyed. We are our own Gods. The responsibility of our actions is ours alone.”
The frontman also commented on Tue’s excellent mixing job:
“To say we were anal-retentive would be an understatement. Tue did an outstanding job. His mix is organic. Classic sounding. Not too slick. It’s got an old-school ‘real-life’ feel to it rather than being the overly polished quantized-to-hell drek that is coming out these days. We wanted the album’s sound to have its own personality, and he helped us achieve just that. Finally, Alan did a great job of smoothing out the final details with his mastering. He beefed it up into what you hear now.”
Pre-orders Verminous here and check out the self-title track below:
Catch The Black Dahlia Murder on tour this spring with Testament, Municipal Waste & Meshiaak. Dates can be viewed here.
