The Black Dahlia Murder - Trevor Strnad

TREVOR STRNAD: I think the line up is pretty brutal. It's got a lot of heavy bands. And Gwar for christsake. I get to see Gwar and Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse every day. I’m into it. It should pull in a great crowd too. The kids will know what's up with this bill.

TREVOR: I’m most definitely stoked to see Cannibal play shit from their new record. We’ve toured with them before and had a killer time. I think that a fest that caters to both hardcore and metal crowds and focuses strictly on the heaviness factor is gonna be a fucking riot. Terror is another band we’re excited to play with again and see. They have the most intense live show ever and are some serious partiers. You’d never guess that we’d get along so well, but we do. All in all, we know most of the bands on the bill so it should be a non stop party.

TREVOR: The DVD is in the works, but I don’t expect its release to precede that of the next full album, which is our current project. We’re in the very early stages of development, but the material is coming together nicely. Brian pretty much blows my mind. It sounds like he’s really learned a lot and saved up a lot of great ideas since “Miasma”. Working with him is unbelievable. People don’t realize that this band is his band. His baby. He’s the beginning and the end of this band. We have a pending seven inch release through Relapse records which is a split with Pig Destroyer. We’re hoping this is still in the cards, although we haven’t seen or heard anything about it in a while. The three songs are covers of hardcore songs done up pretty pissed. Covers of Left For Dead, and local bands Gyga and Sedition (that Brian and our former bass player Dave were once a part of). The songs came out really cool and were recorded with the Miasma sessions.

It's quite a departure for us to be grinding out old hardcore songs, but they came out really pissed. Every once in a while I’ll spin the songs, and they make me want to break shit. There’s been a little talk about including these three tracks on the pending re-release of the “A Cold Blooded Epitaph” EP. There’s been some back and forth over whether we’ll include the first demo, “What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse,” because frankly we think it sucks and is a pretty poor representation of the band. I understand that there are kids out there that love the thing, but man, they are just wrong. Haha. I’m not even gonna lie and say I have a clue when this thing is going to come out…. The artwork is all done, and it looks fantastic. We also just had a Black Flag cover released on the “Black On Black” tribute reissue on Reignition Records. It was an honor for us to be included with some of the bands…. A lot of my favorite bands were on it.

TREVOR: The bands at Metal Blade are somewhat like a family. We have all spent a substantial amount of time together, and we really have a good thing going with the label. I’m sure that the other bands on it are just as pleased as we are. It fills my black heart up with big Metal Blade pride.

TREVOR: This is still up in the air. There’s some talk about Australia, which is something I can barely imagine because it seems so cool. But if the band's Myspace is any indication, it looks like things are going pretty well for us over there… I’m really excited about it.

TREVOR: We’re actually from Detroit, MI. Which doesn’t really seem like a metal town either. In my mind it makes sense… Michigan is kind’ve a weird place. I like to play shows in New York and L.A., Philedelphia, and anywhere that’s not too hot. I’ve been touring around for a while now and the only thing I can’t beat is that chafe. I get torn up and have to walk like a fucking goon with chaps on or something.

TREVOR: We were throwing around Mechaghidra and Carpathia. I fought vehemently against Carpathia, I thought it was too cliché, I remember. Our original guitarist Jon Deering hated the name The Black Dahlia Murder for a long time. I remember at our first show we hadn’t completely agreed on what the bands name was, and I announced that we were The Black Dahlia Murder. He gave me one hell of a scowl. I fucking love that kid to this day. He came with us on Ozzfest, and it was fucking awesome to have him.

TREVOR: For sure. This is what we needed to do to become a better band. We got two new guys that fucking rule, and all of the original chemistry is still intact with me on vocals and Brian and John still holding down the axes. The three of us are pretty much inseperable, and its great to have two more people that are as serious enter the fold. Pierre and Bart both are great musicians and have taken us up to the next level. It should be very evident within the first song you hear us play this summer. I’m a proud, proud boy.

rn TREVOR: Bring me some drugs and some women, and come ready to thrash your fucking ass off with some of the heaviest bands around. Stay metal!