For most metal bands, when they aren’t pillaging, slaying dragons, goring things up, or sharing their pessimistic views about life in general, they are walking a line. That line lies between consistency and redundancy, and as anyone who is a fan of extreme metal can attest to, it is quite thin. So thin in fact, that some may even say that it isn’t there at all; it really depends on your own personal view of the band, however subjective that view may be. The balance between reliability and dullness may be the reason why I own half (five albums) of Cannibal Corpse’s discography (a total of ten), and feel like that is quite enough (I only regularly return to three of them). Looking at things on paper, a band like The Black Dahlia Murder seems like they should go unrecognized as…yet…another…Swedish-influenced death metal band who keeps repeating themselves album after album. Still, there seems to be a number of qualities they posses, qualities that most other bands lack.

Anyone who has heard the band’s debut Unhallowed and their follow up, Miasma, should know what they are in for. The Black Dahlia Murder specializes in intense death metal, laced with melody throughout. It’s a sinister melodic style, bred from the likes of Dissection, Morbid Angel, and Dismember. Don’t expect to find any uplifting In Flames-ish melody here, for you will be sorely disappointed. That characteristic of the band was one of the reasons Unhallowed and Miasma were both high quality albums. With it’s extremely straightforward, lightning fast, melody driven brutality, the former possessed a firey energy that kept me coming back for more, but left me with the impreesion that they could do more. That improvement came with 2005’s Miasma and their then-drummer Zach Gibson. Although Gibson didn’t stay with the band very long, his much more technical style of drumming helped the band to realize their full potential. Sure, there were still blastbeats all over the place, but there was a much greater variety in the song structure than there was with Unhallowed. Because of this, Miasma didn’t have that immediate grabbing power that it’s predecessor had, but it was more of a strong album throughout. And now, even after the dozens upon dozens of times I have listened to each album, I can confidently say that Nocturnal is the band’s finest half hour.

Once the cleverly titled opening track kicks in, it doesn’t stop. Immediately, the new (and hopefully permanent) drummer Shannon Lucas steals the show. I cannot believe this guy used to be in All That Remains. Either he was holding back a ton of skill when he was with them, or he has developed the perfect practice regimen. He commands attention in every song, and makes the numerous blastbeats, rolls, frantic fills, and tempo changes seem effortless. The rest of the band is in the best condition they’ve ever been in as well. Guitarists Brian Eschbach and John Kempainen have brought some of their sharpest and heaviest riffs to the table. Check out the sledgehammer of a chorus found in Darkness Spawned, or the simply thick, brutal riff found in the opening of What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse. The title track is one of the most immediately catchy songs off the album, and contains a fantastically anthemic chorus that contains the wickedly distorted vocals of the ever talented Trevor Strnad. Not to be outdone by his bandmates, his shrieks have never sounded so wickedly acidic, nor his growls so powerfully guttural. Lyrically, the band still explores the classically evil subjects of demons, gore, and all things that would rather die than be caught in the light of day.

Another track worth mentioning is the melancholic (by BDM standards anyway) To Breathless Oblivion. The way Strnad’s voice combines with the droning, depressing melody makes this one of the best songs of the band’s career, and a definite high point of the album.

At The Gates never played this fast. Carcass never sounded this energetic. Cannibal Corpse would have trouble being this brutally melodic. These are some of the reasons why I’ve been listening to this all week, and still manage to run across drum patterns, harmonized riffs, and catchy vocal lines that I didn’t catch before. This band has always sounded like they are giving all they have with each song, and this album is far from an exception. Nocturnal combines the best aspects of the band’s last two offerings and serves it all on one plate that is as technical as it is brutal, and as catchy as it is long-lasting. This is definitely a highlight for the year.

Note: Below is the video for "What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse". In time the video may become outdated and fail to play.