On May 11th, 2022, we lost one of the greatest death metal figures that ever lived. That morning the internet was flooded with the news that Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder had passed away. The metal community was shaken to its core, and honestly, as a huge fan of TBDM, I didn’t see how they could carry on without him. Trevor was one of those vocalists that really made a band. Could you imagine Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant? Could you imagine Aerosmith without Steven Tyler? How about Metallica without James Hetfield? It’s pretty difficult to even imagine the possibility of those bands being fronted by someone else, but less than a year later TBDM was back on tour with their new lineup; Guitarist Brian Eschbach took on the role of lead vocals, and to take Brian’s vacant guitfiddle spot would be TBDM’s original guitarist Ryan Knight. This is a headlining tour for them with supporting acts by TERROR, Phobophilic, Fuming Mouth, and Frozen Soul. I was at the Nile Theater in Phoenix, AZ on May 10th, 2023 (almost a year to the day from Trevor’s passing) to capture it all.
The crowd had been waiting outside for quite a while, the line wrapping around the building and down Main St. which is always cool to see. Fuming Mouth was up first and they came out to a packed room at the Nile. This band has some great energy that woke this crowd up and got them moving right away. They played a quick set of six songs, including songs like “Beyond the Tomb”, “Out of the Shadows”, and “Devolve”. Fuming Mouth got the pit nice and warmed up, and ready to go for the next band.
Phobophilic is a death metal band from Fargo, ND that was formed in 2016 and they were up next. This band dove right back in with the relentless blast beats and death/thrash metal feel that’ll have you in the pit faster than a cheetah covered in Crisco. The crowd started to loosen up a little more and they were definitely starting to find their groove. The pit kept spinning during their 5-song set, during which they played “The Bottom of Creation”, “Diminishing to Unbeing”, and “Cathedrals of Blood”. When we reached the end of their set, I noticed the crowd was fully invested at this point. People were making friends with those around them by sharing their love for heavy fucking music.
Our third band-up was a death metal band from Fort Worth, TX by the name of Frozen Soul. Frozen Soul was formed in 2018 and just earlier this year released their second full-length album called Glacial Domination. One of the first things I noticed was that Frozen Soul had a female bassist, which I thought was really awesome. I love watching the scene become more and more diverse as the years go on. Frozen Soul upped the heat in the room and brought out some serious heavy metal energy. The crowd surfers were starting to spill over the barricade and I knew from that moment on we were in the metal god’s hands. There is a point in every show where the crowd loses all sense of self and they become one. One massive organism in which individual parts take care of one another, support one another and encourage one another to free themselves and let go of the worldly woes that burden us daily. This was that moment. Frozen Soul ironically brought some serious heat that night, they played 8 songs including “Beat to Dust”, “Death and Glory”, “Crypt of Ice”, and a song dedicated to vocalist Chad Green’s younger brother who passed away from suicide. Green shared a message with the crowd that night, he told them “Make sure you check on your friends, check on your family. Make sure you cherish the time you get with them and always be there for them because you never know what someone else may be dealing with.” I have always admired the metal (and rock and roll in general) community for their dedication to mental health awareness and community. This theme brings a perfect transition into our next band.
TERROR is one of the OG LA hardcore bands. Formed in 2002 by vocalist Scott Vogel, this band has become one of the most influential bands in the hardcore scene. What I admire the most about hardcore is the sense of family, community, and unyielding support of those within that community. Hardcore is an all-inclusive genre that takes all members as they are with no judgment (as long as you’re not a fascist or a piece of shit that is, which is obviously completely understandable). Vogel kept this sentiment alive that night by continuously stating that he wanted to see “No fighting, No one gets hurt, we are family here!” I heard those words numerous times that night. There was endless support from the crowd and they went absolutely apeshit for TERROR. On this tour most of the venues that were being played at didn’t have barricades between the stage and the crowd, Vogel stated his displeasure at seeing the barricade and said that since there was no way for the crowd to stage dive, they needed to “Reverse Stagedive” aka crowd surf to the front. I can say with utter certainty that I have never seen so many crowd surfers at a show. During a 60-second period, I saw 16 crowd surfers pour over the barricade! It was truly awesome to see how crazy people were going for this band. They took the spark in that room and amplified it by a thousand. Each member of that band exuded electricity that fed this crowd exactly what they needed. After playing a 12-song set jam-packed with endless positive energy, they closed out their night with “Keepers of the Faith”, and left us in the hands of The Black Dahlia Murder.
This set requires some prefacing, and a little lamentation – given the circumstances. Almost exactly a year ago to the day the world lost one of the greatest lyricists and metal vocalists that has ever lived. Here we were, waiting in this darkened venue with anticipation, the band he fronted for 20-years standing in front of us. This was a moment that I had been anxious about for weeks. A hundred questions flooded my mind before the show; “How would they sound?”, “Would it still feel like The Black Dahlia Murder?”, “How would Brian’s vocals measure up to Trevor’s?”, the list went on…but luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. As the ambient music played an intro the band filed in and then with a flash of green lights, we were off and running through the song “Verminous”.
I could tell right away that the spirit of The Black Dahlia Murder had not been diminished. These guys had the drive to show us that Trevor might be gone, but they were going to carry on his legacy to the very end. TBDM went hard as fuck that night. There was everything you’d come to expect from a BDM show; the energy, the brutality, the face-melting guitar riffs, the pulse-quickening drums, and yes, the ape was there too. We showed our muscles, we screamed along with our favorite songs, and we felt Trevor’s energy being passed throughout the room all night. The band did well to mostly avoid the subject or any of its details which is understandable on many levels. They did pause to say that TBDM wasn’t going anywhere, and they were going to continue to do what they do, write and perform brutal fucking death metal for their fans. Of course, they’ll never let Trevor’s memory fade into obscurity, and of course, they’ll continue to play his songs till the end of their days. But this is only a year in…I can’t even imagine the amount of heartache that comes with touring without your brother for the first time in 20 years. I give these guys the maddest props for having the strength to carry on so soon.
They played all of their biggest songs that night from “Miasma”, to “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”, and from “Statutory Ape”, to “I Will Return”. The crowd continued to show their undying support for this band. The pit spun like a dryer on high, the crowd surfers poured over the barricade again and again. The energy continued to build until the very end when they closed out their set with their most popular song by far, “Deathmask Divine”. I always loved hearing that song live and watching people lose their shit when that song plays is just great.
That night we saw that The Black Dahlia Murder was far from over and that these beasts would continue to spread their legacy of brutality throughout the world until the very bitter end. I am happy that the metal scene has continued to support this amazing band on their journey, but I know this community would never let them go down like that. Although it isn’t the same, and it never will be, I think it’s important to understand that this is a new chapter, and you will either choose to support them, or you won’t. Either way, this is the time to find out which side of the fence you’re going to be on. This tour still has a few dates left and I think it is well worth the price of a ticket to experience their brand of sonic badassery. Go, find friends in the community, and experience the legacy of The Black Dahlia Murder…
