Considering the circumstances, it is a real shame that The Dogtooth Stage is less than half full for what should be an emotional return from one of the most beloved and consistent bands of the New Millennium. That, though, is out of the control of The Black Dahlia Murder, and as a band that have faced far more adversity than a less-than full tent in the last few years, it clearly doesn’t faze them one iota. Sprinting onstage and immediately bursting into the title track of 2020’s album, it immediately becomes clear that this new line up of TBDM are as tight, scabrous and savage as they have ever been.
It’s also just as clear that, as small in number they may be, everyone in this tent absolutely adores this band, the circle pits, banging heads and roars of approval seeming far more intense than any other band have received this weekend. Settling in as his new role as frontman, former guitarist Brian Eschbach introduces the debut of new song which has the venomous, swerving death metal grooves of The Black Dahlia Murder at their absolute best. The likes of and haven’t lost an inch of the pace or gruesome brutality that made them such important parts of the band's canon, and when a gorilla in a basketball kit invades the stage to bang his head during a spite-filled it’s proof that The Black Dahlia Murder’s, ahem, sense of humour is still present and correct.
But of course, the one thing on many people’s minds in how Brian will manage to fill the boots of the much-m.
