Metal Injection

The Black Dahlia Murder will release their new album, officially titled Ritual on June 21 via Metal Blade Records. The album is once again going to be produced by the awesome Mark Lewis, who also worked with the band on their previous release, Deflorate. There will be a special limited edition box set, with only 2,000 units available which include an exclusive digibook, witch board, magic wand, sage, incense sticks and coffin nails. Epic. You can pre-order the album here. Here are some quotes from the band and the tracklisting:

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 "Ritual"'s eventual 12 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."
"Ritual" track listing:

01. A Shrine To Madness
02. Moonlight Equilibrium
03. On Stirring Seas Of Salted Blood
04. Conspiring With The Damned
05. The Window
06. Carbonized In Cruciform
07. Den Of The Picquerist
08. Malenchanments Of The Necrosphere
09. The Grave Robber's Work
10. The Raven
11. Great Burning Nullifier
12. Blood In The Ink

The band will be spending the Summer touring the US on the Summer Slaguhter tour.