UMUR
"Nocturnal" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Michigan based death metal act The Black Dahlia Murder. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in September 2007. It´s the successor to "Miasma" from 2005 and there have been a couple of lineup changes since the release of the predecessor as drummer Zach Gibson has been replaced by Shannon Lucas and bassist David Lock has been replaced by Bart Williams. So that´s the third drummer and the second bassist change in, at the time, a three album discography...
...and that´s why it´s pretty amazing how consistent The Black Dahlia Murder are both when it comes to the songwriting and to the quality of the material. So if you´re familiar with the first two albums and the high energy melodic death metal style, with both high pitched screaming vocals and deeper growling vocals, that is featured on those releases, you´ll find very few surprises on "Nocturnal". The material on the 10 track, 34:58 minutes long album is a direct continuation of where "Miasma (2005)" left off. The consistency of the material is both a strength and a weakness as you´ll always be treated to high quality tracks, but stylistically "Nocturnal" is slightly one-dimensional in sound.
The album opens strong with "Everything Went Black" and "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse", but settles into more standard quality territory for most of the remainder of the album, with some tracks standing out a little more than others, and a couple being slightly unremarkable (although still of a high quality if listened to independently). "Nocturnal" closes with the slower and heavier "Warborn", and at that point the slower pace and more heavy riff driven track is a cherished variation from the predominantly frantic pace of the rest of the album. The Black Dahlia Murder are incredibly energetic and their skillful high speed playing are impressive, but a bit more songwriting variation could have made "Nocturnal" an even better release than it is.
"Nocturnal" features a clear, powerful, and professional sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. So upon conclusion "Nocturnal" is another high quality release by The Black Dahlia Murder. It features exactly the same strenghts and weaknesses as the band´s first two releases, which means that fans of those releases will probably enjoy this one greatly, while those who didn´t find the first two albums to their tastes, won´t find anything new here to get hooked on. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.