Where I lack power in my life, I channel it in my creations." There is a certain catharsis in putting myself into the heart of each character I create. I enjoy taking the listener on such a ride. "Not unlike the appeal of a horror movie, there is a curiously dark side in all of us that can enjoy the occasional gaze through the eyes of the all-powerful masked killer. The responsibility of our actions is ours alone." In his position, he is also able to both provide listeners with opportunities to exorcise compulsions toward exploring dark themes and find some personal release.
BLACK DAHLIA MURDER PAINT IT BLACK FREE
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. Although we are but lowly vermin to them, the unseen and underestimated, our numbers are millions strong.
We are the ultimate antagonist to their archaic ways of thought, the dreamers of the nightmares that shake them to their very core. "The outside world of religion-warped 'normalcy' is the opposing viewpoint. Our love for this music and what it means to our lives is foolishly underestimated." This ties into the lyrical themes that permeate the record, though not exclusively, Strnad not struggling to find subject matter that engaged him. We are the carriers of a plague of knowledge so vile that it could bring the unsuspecting mankind to its knees. We are the pariahs that the world of normality finds loathsome and obscene. The rats and roaches looming in the cracks and crevices of this fallen world. "We, members of our beloved and hidden world of the heavy metal underground teeming just below the surface, are the verminous. When it came to title the record, Strnad looked around at the scene he has helped nourish for two decades and found his inspiration. A journey from beginning to end that has peaks and valleys." We want an album to feel like a wild ride. I do however think it's been an underlying goal for the last several years to make more diverse music. We prefer to keep things completely organic and just let the music flow when the time is right. "As usual, there was no discussion nor preemptive planning going into the album. It was definitely intentional on our part - a band can only hope to write a song so good that it would be seen as an anthem." Likewise, there is more melancholy on the record, particularly on "Removal Of The Oaken Stake" and "Sunless Empire", adding another dimension to the band's sound and expanding the dark sonic palette with which they paint, all of this coming naturally. "'Verminous' has got some really huge parts that I'm sure will resonate greatly with our fans. One of the most immediately evident evolutions is in how anthemic their ninth record is, the band inspiring fist-in-the-air responses, particularly in closing track "Dawn Of Rats". That this is a new phase for The Black Dahlia Murder is apparent as the compellingly filthy opening title track rumbles to life, and the album remains gripping for each of the nine tracks that follow. Each one is a living, breathing entity that will stand on its own as some of the best music this band has ever created." Plenty of delicious little Easter eggs woven into the fabric of each song.
"It's a very colorful, moody, and charismatic album that experiments with new sounds and ideas without losing the cutthroat Black Dahlia edge. We stoked the creative fires with 2017's 'Nightbringers' and it's gone much further now in 'Verminous'," states vocalist Trevor Strnad. "I think this is the biggest evolutionary leap we've ever taken from one album to the next. Verminous is The Black Dahlia Murder's most dynamic, rousing and emotional release to date, and it achieves this without compromising one iota of heaviness.