Friday, January 28, 2011

The Black Dahlia Murder Debate


As my close friends know, I'm actually somewhat of a fan of The Black Dahlia Murder. They particularly know about this, due in part like most metalheads I seem to run into, they don't much agree with it. Indeed, despite what I consider to be the truest of melodic death metal chops, TBDM has been met with crossed arms, scowls and furrowed brows from the true metal community for years now. As any footage from a Black Dahlia show will reveal to you, the majority of their fanbase lies in the younger generation of deathcore and metalcore followers. This has led many of us to assume or ponder; is The Black Dahlia Murder just a deathcore band themselves?

Even though nothing drives me up the wall quite like a genre debate, I refuse to believe that. I've been listening to death metal for years now, and all the right elements are in proper place. The only strikes against them being their long-winded name, their fashion sense, and the country of their birth. TBDM are a truly great death metal novel covered up by a deathcore dust jacket; and because of this, many metal fans don't even bother to pick up and read them in the first place.

I wish I could say I'm the end-all-be-all grand wizard of knowledge when it comes to what's true metal and what's not, (I certainly feel that way sometimes) and end the debate here and now by officially declaring The Black Dahlia Murder as a proper death metal band and nothing else. However, I'll let the readers decide. On the sidebar to the right of the page I've started a poll asking "Is The Black Dahlia Murder Deathcore or Death Metal?" Anyone can select what they think, but you can only vote once, so make it count. The poll will close February 10th, and I'll announce the results on that date. Although it's not really going to alter my opinion of the band, I'm just curious to know what all of you think.

Keep in mind you don't have to necessarily like them to accept them as a death metal outfit. Some mandatory listening before you make your choice would be their songs Funeral Thirst, A Vulgar Picture, Death Mask Divine, and I Will Return.

See you at the polls dudes. 

15 comments:

  1. The problem doesn't lie in the music itself, it lies in how the band is marketed. For years Black Dahlia Murder, as well as bands like Lamb of God, A Life Once Lost, Converge (fine say what you will about Converge) and The Red Chord were put on tours with some Metalcore acts. I don't think it was a decision to lump them in with Metalcore, it was just the way they needed to tour to gain recognition. Let's face it, it's tough to build a fan base in the underground metal scene unless you just throw your song on Guitar Hero and even then you are just attracting angsty 13 year olds and douchey Marines. I remember the first time I saw Lamb of God was when they OPENED for Unearth, Killswitch, and Shadows Fall. ALOL was touring with Daughters. Black Dahlia was touring with Throwdown (WTF?? Edge bands???). So while they have some crappy skinny jeans fans, they really were just bringing real metal back by riding the wake of Metalcore. It's like how Fall Out Boy brought punk rock back by coming up in the dying Emo scene. LOL HAHAHA... That's a joke.

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  2. TBDM looks and sounds like crap. No offense.To each their own. But all I hear is over-produced whiny wannabe thrash, which is borderline screamo, and each song listed above does not have much variation. Almost as if they took they same song and jumbled it up 4 times hoping you wouldn't notice. I would kick that lead singer in his faggot balls for just looking and sounding like such a faggot. "Bottom chug, then one-note, bottom chug, another one-note, snare snare snare, FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.... I can play better riffs out of a chinese B.C. Rich.

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    1. the way you responded makes you seem like a douche who has never actually listened to this band or even "melodic death metal"

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    2. Stefen you really make yourself sound stuppid and ignorant. The debate is about wether they are death metal or death core, screamo has nothing to do with it, its people like you why there is so much contiversy in the metal community, if your going to talk about music at least be educated about, screamo bands are bands more like orchid and i hate myself. Iersonally do not like them or any scremo nor deathcore or metal core, i am more of a fan of black metal and death metal, but i actually like the black dahlia murder and in my opinion its stupid to say their death core or with your ignorance "screamo ". Deathcore consist of breakdowns complete different vocals techniques and has pig squeels, the black dahlia has none of that, they use riffs as many melodic death metal uses and his vocals have closer of a relation to black death vocals than core vocals,its ust the fan base whyeople consider them death core, thats why a typical person who listens to death metal turns from their cd when it shouldnt be oh their a core band i do not like it should be oh a death metal band i. Dont like, i consider them death metal for those reasons, im not saying you have to like them but except they are death metal

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    3. You're a fucking idiot. Trevor has more talent in his left nut, than any of your faggit scene bands. And Ryan Knight? Ryan motherfucking Knight is bar-none, one of the best fucking guitarists alive. Only a stupid prick such as yourself would talk shit based on ignorance.

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  3. Tosin Abasi can probably play better than you using nothing more than a string tied to a shovel. Does that make you a crap player?

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  4. Probably. To somebody. Somewhere. Does referencing a versatile, talented guitarist in comparison to an entire band of prefabricated, monotonous bullshit make you a crap player? Or just butthurt? If the latter, then read the second sentence in my post above.

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  5. What does that 8-stringed tapfest Tosin Abasi have anything to do with anything? Anyway, I'm hardly offended if you don't like them, I'm actually thrilled to see someone elaborate on an argument. But I'll disagree with you that they're monotonous. If anything they bring something fresh to one of the most monotonous genres in music. Death Metal is a vast ocean long polluted with bands that sound exactly like one another, and it's nice to find an island of something original once in a while. Also, TBDM is vocally about as screamo as Gorgoroth, hence why they're often referred to as "Blackened Death Metal". In regards to the songs sounding the same, I find plenty of variation there. You can't expect a whole lot of difference when you're listening to songs by the same band. It's like you pick apples from just one tree and are shocked to find they taste pretty similar. I refuse to believe however, that you can't tell the big differences between songs like Funeral Thirst from their debut album and I Will Return from their latest, leading me to believe you didn't really listen to them. Like I said, I don't really care much if you like them. I'd be happier to hear you say they're death metal that sucks, more so than they are deathcore that you like.

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  6. If this is considered death metal, it sucks. As for genres like (insertwhatever)core, I really don't understand the branding and I hate the genre debate as well. His low growl is VERY death metal, but his higher pitched "Gorgoroth-esque" snarl is more like something I hate. But Gorgoroth just isn't so lame. I mean, they're lame, but the funny, haha, burning-churches-and-corpse-paint-is-awesome lame.

    To be honest, I did not listen to the last track "I will return" because I was so disgusted by the first three. Guilty. I will listen now.

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    1. dude you don't understand why there are genre for metal? Are u fucking dumb......there are genres because its all metal but bands use certain arangements techniques and structure in each song to form a genre.....each band has a formula that is used for each song...........God its like this: metal....rap......completely different right? Well TBDM and deftones are 2 different styles of metal. slayer/cradle of filth deicide=death slayer=thras Fucking fake ass mofo

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  7. I think TBDM are a great example of good, melodic death metal. I'm not really a fan (I prefer tech death), but they're hugely talented and definitely not deathcore.

    I understand why people might consider them 'core: their riffs sound like what metalcore could've been if it didn't suck and the people that played it actually knew their way around their instruments.

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  8. One of the reasons i stopped hanging out in metal forums altogether, a band gets labeled and you wonder if people even bothered to listen to them before judging, same thing happened to another American band called Light This City out of SF. Color me impressed by the vocalist who handles shrieks and gutturals solidly.

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  9. tbdm is a great example of how metalhead elitism ruins bands, people see that they dress Unmetal, and like the trend fuck fags that metalheads are, they label them as Core or as screamo or Untalented garbage ect. ect.
    TBDM has nothing unmetal bout them exept there looks, but hey. i guess thats what metalheads are obsessed with now adays.

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  10. TBDM Not Metal? You are BEYOND stupid.

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  11. If you can listen to Everblack in it's entirety and the word "core" is still in your vocabulary... you might be mentally retarded and (sadly) there is nothing I can do, enjoy your closed mind far away from me...

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All readers that post under the name "Anonymous" and are too frail and weak to represent themselves properly with a title, shall be deemed false metal poseurs for the remainder of their pitiful existence.