Ritual (The Black Dahlia Murder album)
Encyclopedia
Ritual is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal
band The Black Dahlia Murder and was released on June 17 in Europe and on June 21 in North America via Metal Blade Records
.
The album sold 12,960 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position #31 on the Billboard 200
.
, who also worked on the band's 2009 album Deflorate
.
Frontman Trevor Strnad considers Ritual "the most focused Black Dahlia Murder strike of all time."
"The whole thread of the songs is more tied together than ever before," explains Strnad. "Part of it was kind of like, 'What can we do that's the most Black Dahlia Murder thing? What's going to be the most quintessential Black Dahlia Murder thing we can do?' That's kind of what we set our foothold in. And 'Ritual', it just lends itself to that — it's mysticism and magic and all of that. Everyone has an association with some kind of ritual, so we just thought it was the next logical step."
Recalling the writing process that led to Rituals eventual twelve songs, Strnad says that "every song that got brought forth was exciting and more three-dimensional, more twists and turns, more surprises. There's more ups and downs and taking people on a journey this time."
Co-founder Brian Eschbach, meanwhile, credits the presence of fellow guitarist Ryan Knight, who joined the band for Deflorate, with helping to move things forward on this particular venture.
"It's been more collaborative than it's been in years," Eschbach notes. "The last two albums (Deflorate and 2007's Nocturnal) I wrote most of the music, and this one it's almost a 50-50 effort between me and (Knight). He lifted what we were doing on the last album so much from what we've done before, his different techniques and stylings that he knows how to wield. It's really exciting for us to have that be part of the band now." Strnad adds that Knight "is an educated musician, and he's brought that kind of aspect into the band, too. We came to him having higher expectations, and he's exceeded all of those [...] And I would say this time, with 'Ritual', we really nailed it even harder than we have before."
. The album was released on June 17 in Europe and on June 21 in North America via Metal Blade Records
.
Production
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band The Black Dahlia Murder and was released on June 17 in Europe and on June 21 in North America via Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
.
The album sold 12,960 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position #31 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Production and recording
The album was once again produced by Mark LewisMark Lewis
Mark Lewis may refer to:*Mark Lewis , infielder in Major League Baseball*Mark Lewis , documentary film and television producer*Mark Lewis , Arena Football League placekicker...
, who also worked on the band's 2009 album Deflorate
Deflorate
-Personnel:The Black Dahlia Murder*Brian Eschbach – guitar*Ryan Knight – guitar*Shannon Lucas – drums*Trevor Strnad – vocals*Ryan Williams – bass guitarProduction*Produced by Jason Suecof, Mark Lewis and The Black Dahlia Murder-Album charts:...
.
Frontman Trevor Strnad considers Ritual "the most focused Black Dahlia Murder strike of all time."
"The whole thread of the songs is more tied together than ever before," explains Strnad. "Part of it was kind of like, 'What can we do that's the most Black Dahlia Murder thing? What's going to be the most quintessential Black Dahlia Murder thing we can do?' That's kind of what we set our foothold in. And 'Ritual', it just lends itself to that — it's mysticism and magic and all of that. Everyone has an association with some kind of ritual, so we just thought it was the next logical step."
Recalling the writing process that led to Rituals eventual twelve songs, Strnad says that "every song that got brought forth was exciting and more three-dimensional, more twists and turns, more surprises. There's more ups and downs and taking people on a journey this time."
Co-founder Brian Eschbach, meanwhile, credits the presence of fellow guitarist Ryan Knight, who joined the band for Deflorate, with helping to move things forward on this particular venture.
"It's been more collaborative than it's been in years," Eschbach notes. "The last two albums (Deflorate and 2007's Nocturnal) I wrote most of the music, and this one it's almost a 50-50 effort between me and (Knight). He lifted what we were doing on the last album so much from what we've done before, his different techniques and stylings that he knows how to wield. It's really exciting for us to have that be part of the band now." Strnad adds that Knight "is an educated musician, and he's brought that kind of aspect into the band, too. We came to him having higher expectations, and he's exceeded all of those [...] And I would say this time, with 'Ritual', we really nailed it even harder than we have before."
Promotion and release
The song "Moonlight Equilibrium" was made available for streaming the 29 April at Metal Blade's web site. The song "Conspiring with the Damned" became available for streaming on May 17, 2011 via lambgoat.com. Audio samples of all the tracks that are set to appear on "Ritual" were available for streaming at Amazon.com the 7th May. The entire album was made available for public streaming on 14th June, 2011 on MSNMSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
. The album was released on June 17 in Europe and on June 21 in North America via Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
.
Track listing
Personnel
The Black Dahlia Murder- Brian Eschbach – guitar
- Ryan Knight – guitar
- Shannon LucasShannon LucasShannon Lucas is an American musician. He is currently drummer for The Black Dahlia Murder and former drummer for metalcore band All That Remains. Lucas started out at the age of 14 covering Slayer songs on guitar but later joined percussion classes in High school due to the ease of getting an "A"...
– drums - Trevor Strnad – vocals
- Ryan Williams – bass guitar
Production
- Produced by Mark Lewis and Jason SuecofJason Suecof-Career:Jason is best known for his production and song-writing with the band Trivium. He produces most of his albums at his own Orlando, Florida based studio, Audio Hammer...