The Black Dahlia Murder Albums Ranked

The Black Dahlia Murder is an American melodic death metal band from Waterford, Michigan, formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. The band currently comprises lead vocalist Trevor Strnad, rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach, bassist Max Lavelle, drummer Alan Cassidy, and lead guitarist Brandon Ellis. Out of the eight studio albums they have released to date, the last seven have charted on the U.S. Billboard 200, with their fifth album Ritual peaking at No. 31 in 2011, marking them as one of the most popular contemporary American extreme metal bands. Their ninth and latest album Verminous was released on April 17, 2020. Here are all of The Black Dahlia Murder albums ranked.

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9. Unhallowed (2003)

“Great album, good debut for TBDM. My only complaints are the guitar, vocals, and drums. The guitar sounds very Metalcore influenced, and it’s rather monotone. While there are some great solos like in Funeral Thirst and Contagion, the guitar tends to fall short sometimes. Trevor Strnad’s vocals are still improving at this time, his range still has yet to fully develop, but by the time Nocturnal is released his vocals will be at full capacity. Sometimes the drums sound off time, i don’t know if it’s just the production or what but it can be annoying. Despite these flaws, this is a good debut and i recommend it to anyone who is trying to get into TBDM”

8. Ritual (2011)

“I love the imagery from this album, everything from the album art, to the cd booklet, to the lyrics, it is full of satanism. The songs themselves are classic Black Dahlia Murder with some new twists like a couple blackened parts and a little bit of tech. This is a great melodeath cd though. Favorite songs – Moonlight Equilibrium, The Window, Den of the Picquerist / Malenchantments of the Necrosphere”

7. Abysmal (2015)

“The high level musicianship is one of the great assets of the album in addition to the professional and well sounding production, and the solid songwriting. The latter is the only slight issue here though, and it´s not because it´s not high class material featured on the 10 track, 37:07 minutes long album. It´s more a matter of little development in sound over the course of now many albums. Of course you should never change a winning team, or change a successful formula too much, but I can´t help feel that “Abysmal” sounds a bit too much like a copy of the last couple of albums. It´sa minor issue if you crave more of the same, but if you´re interested in hearing just a slight development in sound then “Abysmal” isn´t the album for you.”

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6. Nocturnal (2007)

“This is the album that really changed the Black Dahlia Murder’s style to a more melodic death metal approach. It is full of classic songs like Everything Went Black, WAHNTHAC, Nocturnal, and Deathmask Divine. It is pretty dark with some disturbing lyrics (Just look ar Deathmask Divine), which makes it pretty awesome. Favorite Songs – Everything Went Black, Nocturnal, Deathmask Divine”

5. Miasma (2005)

“Miasma is a phenomenal second album by metal masters The Black Dahlia Murder. In just over 30 minutes, the band pummels through 10 songs of ripping riffs and insane throat screeching lyrics. The album opens with “Built For Sin.” It’s only a minute long, but builds up for the chaos that the listener will soon encounter. The lyrics are dark, emotional and are utterly terrifying at some points.”

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4. Verminous (2020)

“I’m not gonna lie, the most appeal I had towards this was the album cover, ’cause damn the Black Dahlia Murder’s album covers look great. Anyway, the product itself, the music, is good. It’s the same melodeath sound you’re gonna expect, but it’s gonna be fun nonetheless. This is the first I’ve heard of the Black Dahlia Murder, and although I wasn’t wowed, it has been a good experience.”

3. Deflorate (2009)

“This album is consistent in two ways: first, every track on it is of the same quality, which is saying a lot. The tracks are solid, groovy, highly melodic but not hyper-technical and definitely not unpredictable. They are heavy, fun to listen to and energetic. The drums are pretty much blasting or on the verge of blasting 95% of the time, the guitars are heavy, trem-picked and the vocals are characteristically The Black Dahlia Murder; a blend of death growls and black metal sounding shrieks. So the album is definitely consistent and worth a listen.”

2. Everblack (2013)

“The music on “Everblack” pretty much continues where “Ritual (2011)” left off. High energy horror themed melodic death metal played with great technical skill and vocals that vary between high pitched screaming and deeper growling. The tracks are well composed and features many compositional details that ensure longivity. Top that off with a professional, clear and powerful sound production and “Everblack” comes off as a high quality release.”

1. Nightbringers (2017)

“Nightbringers is a consistent and respectable chapter in The Black Dahlia Murder’s discography. It’s a massive and aggressive piece of metal, composed and played with the usual mix of fury and precision that’s expected of the band from Detroit.”