“Grab your tickets now, get ready to chip your teeth in the pit and bring me some pies!“
Encouraging words from Trevor Strnad, frontman of The Black Dahlia Murder who return to Australia this month in support of their latest album “Nightbringers” which was released last year. Even after a year and a half since their last tour down under, Aussie metal fans simply can’t get enough of the 17 year veteran act and now they are set to do it all again, this time with Belgium death metal band Aborted. We catch up with Trevor to discuss the tour and the success of the latest album which has seen the band tour more than ever before.
Andrew: Obviously we are here to talk about the tour and it’s good to see you back in Australia. It didn’t seem that long ago that we last saw you last year.
Trevor: Yeah it’s good to come back definitely and not staying away too long, I like that. Last time was a blast but this time we have Aborted with us and they have a brand new record coming out I think right as the tour launches so it’s going to be pretty exciting I think.
Andrew: Yeah I think it’s the first show when they release their new album and obviously you had your new album come out last year, I know you must have been on the road since that time so how have things been going so far with that? Have fans been responding to the new songs pretty well?
Trevor: Oh yeah it’s been massive man, this has been a really excellent era for us. It’s been bigger than what we saw coming and it’s come with a lot of great tours. We just did this full US tour with Whitechapel co-headlining, it was by far the biggest tour we’ve ever done anywhere so right now we’re just trying to do as much as we can while the excitement is here for this album. We’re definitely touring a little harder than we have in a while and we’ll extend the touring cycle a little bit longer with this record but we gotta strike while the iron’s hot man!
Andrew: Yeah absolutely. What kind of feedback have you been getting on the new songs, like what are people saying about them?
Trevor: It’s been good man, it’s been good enough to where we decided to play the entire album on a few tours and that’s really only half of a setlist for us because we play for about an hour and 20 minutes, the new album is about 30 minutes so that’s plenty of room for the hits in there as well. But it seems like people like so many different songs from the album that it’s kind of hard to get a read so we wanted to please everybody and just the fans response has been so big overall to the new record. It’s just been very exciting to be in this place on our eighth album, it’s unexpected.
Andrew: The fact that you play the entire album of new material like that, because fans can be sometimes anxious or hesitant to hear new material played, means you have a confidence about it or you don’t care what people say about it? I mean what’s the idea behind playing entire new songs like that?
Trevor: It’s a bit from both columns actually if you know what I mean? There is something satisfying about playing new music, it’s kind of a sadomasochistic thing. It’s more difficult to execute because we’ve upped our technical abilities and kind of injected that into the new stuff as we’ve gone on but in that same light, to get on stage and to perform it and have it come across clearly is such a satisfying feeling. There’s just been so much excitement for the new songs that it felt like we were meeting the demand by doing it.
Andrew: Sure and why not! And with this album it’s also the first that Brandon (Ellis, guitar) has appeared on, how did that all go and how has he been fitting in with you guys?
Trevor: It’s like an arranged marriage actually, Ryan Knight was stepping down and he warned us about his leaving at least a year in advance like as a favour to us. He wanted to leave on the most amicable terms possible and he did, helped us and chose Brandon that day that he stepped down and told us, ‘I have a short list of people, at the very top is Brandon Ellis’. We’ve known of him, we just kind of know about the shredders that are out there, it’s a smart thing to stay on top of when you’ve had as many members as we’ve had [laughs]. But it was seamless, Brandon basically had a year to prepare which he didn’t even need half of because he’s a child prodigy. He’s a guitar freak, he’s the most talented guy that’s ever been through the band so he just waltzed right in here dude. The very first show that we played with him was in Europe and he just killed it man, it didn’t seem like we missed a beat at all. He’s injected a lot of creativity, he wrote 4 out of the 9 songs which was a really unexpected, awesome contribution. He had his hands in the mix a lot, he’s a very well versed studio guy so he’s just wise beyond his years and he’s just brought in so much positivity and awesome work ethic, he’s just killer man. So he’s fallen right in line, it’s been a very seamless change for sure.
Andrew: That’s good to hear because obviously you hear horror stories about how it hasn’t worked out or it’s been a difficult process with the transition of new members so I guess you could count yourself lucky that this worked out really well I suppose.
Trevor: It’s Ryan been cool enough to give us that much of a headway on it and then just having done this so many times. We know what we want in a personality, we know what we want in a player, it’s been an evolution.
Andrew: Well we always enjoy it when you come down here, it seems like you guys are here every couple of years. I mean you’ve probably lost count how many times you’ve been to Australia now.
Trevor: Yeah I want to say maybe 8 or 9, I don’t know! It’s been awesome, I really enjoy it. We did a couple of Soundwave runs which were interesting but I’m way more for the club gigs. I just like the vibe out there, you guys have a very relaxed way about you which is cool but at the same time you are some of the most veracious metal heads out there. You guys have a very rich history of awesome extreme music and I just feel the love out there immensely so very cool for us.
Andrew: So over the years that you have been coming down to Australia, what have been some of the highlights that you can recall and maybe some of the things that you enjoy doing here during off days?
Trevor: Getting out there was just a huge honour, it’s a rare thing for bands. Meeting Psycroptic who I was such a huge fan of and becoming friends with them, we’ve done a bunch of different tours with them now. That was something really exciting that I looked forward to. I love the food out there, obviously every band goes to see the kangaroos and to hold the koala and get that koala pic and that’s awesome. I love the food, I love the women, it’s a blast dude, I really look forward to it.
Andrew: I spoke to Sven from Aborted a few weeks ago and he was saying that you guys had done tours together in the past so you guys must be pretty good friends at this point then.
Trevor: Yeah man definitely. We both have had a couple of lineup tweaks over the years but we’ve been good friends with Sven for a long time, I love their band, I really do. I loved the last record, love the new stuff that I’ve heard off the new one and it’s going to drop right when they get over there so that’s pretty exciting to be a part of that. It’s going to be a blast dude!
Andrew: Yeah it’s going to be a killer tour! Now I do want to ask you about your appearance on the new Metal Allegiance record, I just spoke to Dave Ellefson about a week or so ago and he was really praising you on the job you did on the first track on the record.
Trevor: Oh you’re making me blush over here!
Andrew: [laughs] Well it was a killer song! The whole album is brilliant but the song you are on, I think it’s “The Accuser” is a great song.
Trevor: Yeah I did not expect that they were going to like it so much and choose it to be the opening track so I’m beyond flattered. I’m definitely the smallest guy they’ve had come through the band as a guest, I’m just trying to represent the underground with what I’m doing and it was just massively flattering. Tomorrow I get to rehearse with them and then the next day is the show and we’re going to play “The Accuser”, it’s for the album launch and I’m pretty nervous to rub elbows with all these dudes I really look up to but at the same time it’s such an honour so it’s very exciting.
Andrew: Yeah definitely, it’s cool to be a part of that thing. So many great musicians that are a part of it and as I said that song is killer. Maybe one day we’ll get to see Metal Allegiance come down to Australia and we’ll get to see you guys.
Trevor: Yeah that would be sick, definitely be into that.
Andrew: Well this tour is going to be fantastic, looking forward to seeing Black Dahlia Murder again. It’s always a pleasure to see you in Australia so thanks for your time, really appreciated. Take care, have fun on the road and we will see you very soon.
Trevor: Right on dude, thanks for having me bro.
SOUNDWORKS DIRECT presents
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER ABORTED and ZEOLITE
‘NIGHTBRINGERS’ Australian Tour September 21 – 28, 2018
Sept 21st – Perth, The Hell Hole w/ Xenobiotic
Sept 22nd – Adelaide, Fowler’s (The New Dead Metalfest)
Sept 23rd – Melbourne, Max Watt’s w/ Blackhelm
Sept 24th – Hobart, Brisbane Hotel w/ Scoparia
Sept 25th – Newcastle, The Cambridge w/Blade Of Horus
Sept 26th – Canberra, The Basement w/ Wretch
Sept 27th – Sydney, The Factory w/ Anno Domini
Sept 28th – Brisbane, Crowbar w/ Disentomb
PERTH – www.moshtix.com.au
ADELAIDE – www.moshtix.com.au / www.fowlerslive.com.au
MELBOURNE – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.oztix.com.au
HOBART – www.oztix.com.au
NEWCASTLE – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com
CANBERRA – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.oztix.com.au
SYDNEY – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.factorytheatre.com.au
BRISBANE – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.oztix.com.au
