I’m not big on the melodic death metal genre itself. It is one of those genres where I can pull out a handful of bands such as Arch Enemy and In Flames, enjoy there music, respect it, and than have it go not listened to many months at a time. Not completely sure why, but hey things come and go right? That aside, The Black Dahlia Murder and I met when I heard a high school friend playing the blast beat to ‘A Vulgar Picture’. I was both intrigued and impressed, asked the name of the band, heard a few songs, and acquired their newer release
Miasma.
It is quite the interesting release, filled with plenty of melodic and death metal moments. The package is complete with crisp production which still clutches onto raw resembling atmosphere. From the heavy palm muted riffs, to the melodic soloing, to the unrelenting double bass and blast beat patterns and finally to the ear splitting vocals, there are a decent amount of elements here. Ironically that statement seems like a lie about five songs into the record when listeners realize how same sounding it all becomes. In turn the record fails for the same reasons it flourishes. While
Miasma has plenty of enjoyable tunes and sounds present, its repetitiveness makes it a tripe to listen to all in one sitting.
It is funny however after a somewhat extensive time away from the record how I find myself loving it. From the brief instrumental intro in
“Built For Sin” to the immediate harmony and full onslaught of
“I’m Charming” the record starts off with a bang and will probably cause the listeners to swirl their hair in a windmill fashion. The vocals are a mix of some higher shrieks and lower growls, both of which are easily tolerated. Drums pummel the listener thoroughly keeping the double bass at a constant high speed and bringing out some spurts of blast beats. Thankfully the drummer uses the whole kit and varies his beats up decently. The guitar solo adds a major melodic touch to the song as it stays at a fairly moderate speed and provides emphasis on melody instead of shredding. A fury of double pedal, growling and some tremolo picked sections close the opening song, so far so good.
Well as Megadeth would say, so what.
“Flies” itself gets off to a fairly promising start. The vocals have some of the same patterns but are still enjoyable. This time the guitarists take a bit of a different approach to their riffs pattern wise. Drums hold their own, keeping the quality up with some speedy blasts and rolls. The solo is where puzzlement begins. It sounds darn near identical to the one in I’m Charming in both style and sound. Many acts like to rehash riffs but as the first two songs will show Black Dahlia has an unfortunate tendency to do that with solos. Once more things repeat themselves in
“ Statutory Ape”. Things are powerful, heavy, and intense yet offer so few diverse sounds from what has already been heard. Even some of the riffs are beginning to sound similar. Once more the solo sounds like a carbon copy of what has already been heard. The first few bars of the first three solos are darn close to note for note. This one seems a tad longer than some of the previous and the harmony at the very end separates it slightly from the pack. The outro sounds a bit recycled and at this point a potentially superior record seems to be going downhill at an uncontrollable speed. Certain elements of the music that once made listeners swirl their hair in a fury are now possibly tempting them to pull it out.
Despite the repetitive nature, there are some songs that are just so incredible they stick out of the pack. One of them is
“A Vulgar Picture” as its opening intro is so immense it grabs your attention right away. The drum fill right after the intro riff is guaranteed to make your ears perk up as the tom rolls and shifts are performed at a mind bending speed. Here the vocals really sound great in their transitions from the higher pitched yell to the growl. The solo is a bit similar, but it much shorter in length and straight to the point compared to the previous leads. There is also a bit of sweeping which makes it stand out from the pack. A new element also takes credit for making this track a stand out; a breakdown. While not exactly a full blown one, this indeed is the closest TBDM comes to performing a breakdown. It actually fits the song quite well as does the precisely played outro riff. Some new elements and tightly performed signature aspects of the group make “A Vulgar Picture” a standout track.
Another highlight is
“Dave Goes To Hollywood”. Once more it is a tad repetitive but its quality and some slightly new traits help pull it stand out. Its quick drum fill intro also contributes by sucking listener’s in immediately. At this point in the record the vocal patterns are becoming incredibly tiring. The quality is still present, but they are just getting to be so predictable in shifts. Guitar work does manage to pull it out of its slump as they take a heavy yet melodic approach to certain riffs. Usually the group focuses solely on brutality or melody guitar wise so mixing the two in one riff makes it quite appealing. There is a brief half time passage present whith also stands out as being unique compared to the rest of the record. Along with that there is a bit of a trick, as the guitarists play about a bar of a lead and than ditch it completely. There is not a solo to be found on this track which actually helps more repetitiveness from slipping in. While not completely breaking the typical structure of the album, “Dave Goes To Hollywood” is a step towards it. That along with its supreme quality makes it a standout.
The real saving grace and mold breaker of the album is the title track and closer. After hearing two more typical tracks,
“Miasma” shines a new light in. Opening with a stop start rhythm section, guitars introduce a wild tremolo riff. After a flash of drum fills over the riff their more traditional style comes into play. The riffs, drumming style, and vocal patterns are slightly repetitive but once more work well together. Here their power makes their recurring nature tolerable. The solo is not too similar but nothing different than what has been heard. Needless to say it works quite efficiently. However, the real treat in this song lies in its minute and a half long outro. There is a slight pause which hints at an end. Deceiving prevails as an incredible and brutal drawn out growl rips over a thunderous rhythm section. There is a lead heard very softly in the background which comes out over the intro riff. This section is possibly the heaviest heard on the record and is a great way to end things.
Miasma - a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere. Well going by dictionary.com standards it is safe to say that they nailed it with their closer and title track. It is a shame they could not break their mold sooner.
Repetitiveness certainly does bring down this record. There are plenty of excellent songs present but with a minimal diversity factor,
Miasma can be a difficult task to take in at once. While nothing screams filler here, plenty of songs fail to offer anything new well into the record, making them fairly insignificant. Listeners will realize that the majority of this record and the songs found on it are great the first time heard. But after hearing a rehashed song three times in a row it gets to be a bit much to take it. When broken up into sections this certainly is an enjoyable listen. Than again that really should not be necessary.
Regardless of that, The Black Dahlia Murder is certainly not on the quest for talent as there is an abundance of that shown throughout this record. The group is currently at a young age which gives them the benefit of the doubt; there is still time for them to wander onto a new path and to experiment and discover some diverse sounds. That is exactly what the group should be seeking for their next record, as they have the potential to make an outstanding one. Here they stick to a specific mold with few exceptions, in turn creating a bit of a monotonous and repetitive album that is nevertheless good. Usually monotonous, repetitive and good are not found in the same sentence. That should help get across exactly how much potential and talent The Black Dahlia Murder possess as well as effectively show how
Miasma fails and triumphs for similar reasons.
Final Rating: 3/5
