The Black Dahlia Murder

Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia, one of the most prolific crimes of the 20th century. This seems to match the melodic death metal that the boys create which is inspired by groups such as Judas Priest, At the Gates, Darkane, Metallica, Darkthrone, Morbid Angel, The Haunted and Iron Maiden. The quintet met in 2000 and cemented the line up of TBDM by January 2001. The group released their demo 'What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse' along with a four-track EP, 'A Cold-Blooded Epitaph', the latter of which the group released on Lovelost Records. After playing high profile slots at the likes of Milwaukee Metal Fest, The Black Dahlia Murder signed to Metal Blade Records in 2003.

It took the band a while to gain the commercial recognition to match the cult following they were receiving whilst touring around the States. Their debut album 'Unhallowed' which was engineered by the Walls of Jericho's Mike Hasty failed to chart in the US. However the follow-up 'Miasma' made it into the Billboard top 200 and sat at #5 on the US indie charts which was a huge improvement and was met positively by critics.

The next release 'Nocturnal' broke into the US top 100 which was a huge success for the death metal group, they announced they would be touring the US with Cannibal Corpse to promote their new album Nocturnal and celebrate the 25th anniversary of Metal Blade Records, they invited fellow record mates The Red Chord, Aeon, The Absence, and Goatwhore along too. The next three releases all continued the successes of this release, with the 2011 LP 'Ritual' remaining the bands highest peak at #31 in the US. Despite several line up changes, the band's sound has remained a solid constant and they have toured tirelessly, playing prolific events including Hevy Festival, Vans' Warped Tour and Mayhem Festival.

The offshoot of punk known as deathcore is perhaps considered the most applicable genre tag when it comes to trying to actually categorize The Acacia Strain, but in truth, their sound is a blend of different styles - death metal and doom metal are both prevalent, as are hardcore, punk and noise rock. Their three-guitar lineup is key to the brutality of their sound, and they’ve also often relied on unsettling sampling to create sonic atmosphere. Bennett is now the only original member left in the band; drummer Kevin Boutot only joined in 2005, with bassist Jack Strong joining him in the rhythm section a year later. Dave Shidaker and Richard Gomez have handled guitar duties since 2013.

Bennett is the key figure in the band, with his aggressive onstage attitude something that’s mirrored by his nihilistic - and often misanthropic - lyricism. There’s no question, either, that Bennett has courted controversy by exploring themes of misogyny, violence and sexual deviancy in The Acacia Strain’s music; for some, though, this darkness is key to their appeal. They’ve increasingly made inroads on the American charts, with 2014‘s ‘Coma Witch’ reaching number thirty-one on the Billboard rundown in their homeland, despite the fact that their music is hardly striking as being especially commercial.