The last time I had seen The Black Dahlia Murder live, Trevor was still with us. I truly consider him one of the greats and was excited to see what Brian would do with the role. And holy hell, I loved every minute of it. Not only did he deliver those growls and shrieks with a passion that’d make demons wonder what they’re doing with their life, his banter with the crowd was hella fun. And of course any time they bring out their mascot in the gorilla suit for “Statutory Ape”, that’s hella fun too (and they did at this show)! The rest of the fellas performed at their peak as well. Ryan and Wes playing those absurdly well-crafted melodic death metal riffs. Max and Alan kept the low-end and beat perfectly in time and absolutely crushing. And besides incredible musicianship, Black Dahlia shows are simply a great time. They’re not ultra serious or pretentious, they just want everyone to have the time of their life. I certainly did.
