Review by Joe Harvey
The first thing I noticed about Deflorate when I played it was that it immediately sounds like a Black Dahlia record. Now that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but at the same time, it can be. For those who love this sound and can’t get enough of it, you will be thrilled. For those who are content with the music of Black Dahlia but aren’t huge fans, then this will sound right-to-par with Nocturne, which may lead you to find this release somewhat boring. After running through the entire album, there was nothing that screamed out (no pun intended) at me that I wanted to listen to again and again, but at the same time, I enjoyed it as a whole.
Like I said before, the opening of the album comes on full-force. I was immediately impressed with the drums. They are well-timed and ever-changing, never slowing. The guitars & bass are fast and heavy, and the vocals are well executed, in their very familiar Black Dahlia Murder fashion, which is good because they sound quite different from many other bands out there in the scene.
Each song seems to be just as heavy, if not heavier than the last. “Selection Unnatural” is an ass-kicker from the first note to the last. Definitely a great aggressive tune to listen to when you want to unload some stress. As the album progresses, though, the sound of the music begins to blend together, becoming a bit monotonous. Solid guitar solos help break up the tedium a little.
The thought I had after listening to Deflorate a few times was that it is an entertaining metal album, it just doesn’t bring anything new and exciting to the table. Many people are OK with this, but in a scene where there are so many bands doing countless different things to make their releases stand out, Black Dahlia seems content with sticking to a similar blueprint that won them so many fans in the first place.
For more information on The Black Dahlia Murder:
Myspace
Metal Blade Records