“Before the tragedy, no one ever thought this band was going to exist without Trevor.”

When Trevor Strnad passed away the world of Metal was shaken to the core. That above quote from TBDM co-founder Brian Eschbach is taken from the press release and it’s a heartbreaking statement. Trevor had such a huge presence, both onstage and off. Despite their coming to Albuquerque multiple times, I never got to see them and I regret that.

The band’s resilience and determination to carry on were an understandably difficult decision, but they did, and the result is Servitude. In many ways, it is a tribute to a fallen brother, a triumphant statement that they will carry on and, while doing so, elevate Trevor’s memory.

The path they’ve made since Unhallowed has garnered a legion of dedicated fans, seen them stand on the biggest stages in Metal, and, bolstered by Trevor’s huge personality they quickly made friends worldwide. They released a slew of massive, well-produced albums chock full of glorious Blackened Death Metal, sometimes heavier on Black Metal (Ritual, Nocturnal and Nightbringers to name just three).

With Servitude, Brian Eschbach knew he had some big boots to fill. After making an incredibly hard decision to keep going under The Black Dahlia Murder banner, Eschbach switched from guitars solely to vocals and former guitarist Ryan Knight (ex-Arsis) returned to the fold, after not playing with the band since Abysmal.

The result of this tragedy is Servitude and it brings the heavy. Brian sounds like a vile pit of evil, his bile-filled delivery leads into the opener “Evening Ephemeral” after some light acoustic guitar and there’s the signature blasting that we all know and love. It’s a renewed energy, a powerful track, and relentless throughout. His scream at the beginning is triumphant, indeed.

“Panic Hysteric” doesn’t let up on the brutality, face shredding from start to finish. From the press release: The guitars, bass and vocals for Servitude were recorded at Ellis’ home studio in New Jersey. The drums were recorded by Mark Lewis in Nashville, Tennessee where the album was also mixed. Servitude was mastered by Ted Jensen. It’s this solid production that makes this album so crushing.

“Aftermath” is quite frankly the fastest song on the album, it’s also the single from Servitude.  An apocalyptic tale of a zombie infestation it moves forward like the ravenous hordes in the lyrics: “Feeding off each other when we can. The decisions that we make, beg the question “Are we still human?”

“Cursed Creator” is a mid-paced Death Metal pounder, it has this crazy outro section that is just a brutal barrage of double bass and a massive solo. After the 28-second “An Instrumental” they jump back into the fray with “Asserting Dominance” which is a quick, black as pitch rager, and it gives way to “Servitude”, which will have your head banging, in between the blasts there’s some killer riffing with a Melodic Death Metal center and a firebrand solo that will be stuck in your head for days.

It’s no surprise that Trevor’s spirit is within the album. Brian has the pipes to hit the high screams and low growls and those growls are on point with “Mammoth’s Hand”. It strides with incredible emotion, a powerful track with a gigantic solo, a true lumbering beast that will crush you.

The final two tracks “Transcosmic Blueprint” and “Utopia Black” bristle with brutality. Both are unrelenting blast fests while the latter has some really cool guitar gymnastics around the 2:20 mark, and then it gets nasty, slowing down to an epic finish and thereby ending this triumphant return by a beloved band.

Clocking in at 32:32 minutes, Servitude is a relatively short album. But the band brings the brutality for that half hour. There’s not one song over four minutes, the longest being the rocket ride that is “Utopia Black”. This could be The Black Dahlia Murder’s Reign in Blood.

“Everyone that’s in the band now is someone that Trevor and I searched for,” Eschbach says. “We spent so much time on the road together that everyone understands the mission statement. We don’t really need to talk about it. We just need to make great music and try to make people happy playing it.”

Truer words have never been spoken and with Servitude they have managed to bring the classic sound to a rejuvenated band that is honoring a man who led one of the most popular Metal bands of the 21^st century. When Trevor passed away from an apparent suicide, the Metal community was gutted and deeply saddened, understandably so; he was a genuinely good person who encouraged new bands, guested on numerous albums and exhibited a true Metal spirit. He will be missed, but his legacy will continue in the form of a band hungry to start the next chapter of their existence.

If you or someone you know is dealing with some heavy shit and needs help, I urge you, dear reader to please reach out and help them. You can call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. You could literally save a life. Rest in power, Trevor Strnad.

[Visit the band's website]

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