For those lucky enough to be in attendance last night, Detroit’s Saint Andrew’s Hall was a place of healing. Friends and fans of the late, irreplaceable Trevor Strnad, who passed away earlier this year at 41 years old, gathered to both pay tribute to the man and usher in a new era for The Black Dahlia Murder. It was a moment to welcome back founding member and guitarist Brian Eschbach back to the fold, only this time as the one leading the charge behind the mic. To fill the vacancy at guitar, ex-guitarist Ryan Knight rejoined the band.
As you can tell from the video below, courtesy of Metal Injection, the music once again served as a conduit for catharsis — except instead of needing to expel the regular, everyday bullshit that people experience, it was the grief that comes with losing someone as genuinely awesome as Strnad. The setlist, for anyone wondering, was as follows:
- “A Shrine to Madness”
- “Verminous”
- “Nightbringers”
- “Miasma”
- “Kings of the Nightworld”
- “Sunless Empire”
- “Statutory Ape”
- “On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood”
- “Child of Night”
- “Everything Went Black”
- “Funeral Thirst”
- “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”
- “I Will Return”
- “Deathmask Divine”
What a killer fucking set.
The Black Dahlia Murder have already stated that they intend to continue with last night’s lineup, having already been confirmed for the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest in Philly come April 2023.
