Here you have it: proof that death metal is absolutely and relentlessly bloodthirsty, blast-beating the ear canal into submission. On Nocturnal, the third release from the Detroit metallers,  "Everything Went Black" gasps forth and blows both speakers and minds with raging fretwork and newly pounding rhythm from new drummer Shannon Lucas (formerly of All That Remains).

Rejuvenating the bloodbath of ultra-horror/gore thems of the band's first incarnation, Nocturnal is full of the vitriol and carnage of monumental death heavyweights past, yet singer Trevor Strnad's growls and howls give hope to any metalhead with a geeky side and a penchant for the macabre.

The perpetual touring act of the Black Dahlia Murder hit a snowy, iced-over Baltimore last Thursday with plenty of fist-pumping, crowd-surfing, and showed the town that one doesn't have to "look metal" to absolutely BE metal. If you haven't heard "Funeral Thirst" live, you haven't been in the presence of evil. And when you get top billing in a venue like this, a rabid crowd brought to a frothy, sweaty fervor by stellar openers both relatively new (3 Inches of Blood, young but rising quickly) and others established (for example, Hate Eternal, featuring Erik Rutan of Morbid Angel) is absolutely foaming at the mouth to experience a tight, blistering show from a fantastic band with real skill and real charisma.

Long hair, corpse paint, and palm-muting aside, get a copy of Nocturnal, get to a tour date, and get soaked in the sound of "To A Breathless Oblivion".

Tags: Album Reviews, black dahlia murder, concert reviews, Ottobar