UMUR "Unhallowed" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Michigan based death metal act The Black Dahlia Murder. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in June 2003. The Black Dahlia Murder was formed in 2001 and released two demos and the "A Cold-Blooded Epitaph" EP before releasing "Unhallowed". The band are named after the infamous 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short (who was nicknamed "The Black Dahlia" by the press).

Stylistically the material on the 10 track, 36:30 minutes long album is melodic death metal with both high pitched screaming vocals and deeper growling vocals. Both vocal styles courtesy of lead vocalist Trevor Strnad. The music is highly energetic and predominantly very fast-paced and there is a good balance between the melodic and the brutal elements of the band´s sound. While there are clear nods toward Swedish melodic death metal, and especially an act like At the Gates comes to mind, The Black Dahlia Murder incorporate other musical elements, which ultimately mean they have their own relatively unique sound. The atmosphere of the album is dark and the horror tinged lyrics further enhance the gloomy yet also somewhat uplifting melodic tinged mood of the release. It´s an interesting combination of melody and energetic death metal brutality.

The musicianship is generally very impressive. High level performances on all posts and a convincing and passionate delivery of the music earn them plus points in my book. "Unhallowed" is also well produced, featuring a raw, powerful, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly. The high quality of the product is actually a bit baffling considering that "Unhallowed" is a debut album, but there is a very little here to mention as issues. Maybe the songwriting could have been slightly more varied and as a result the tracks could have been a bit easier to tell apart, but it´s not a major issue, and "Unhallowed" is a high quality release through and through. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

siLLy puPPy Hailing from Michigan and adopting their name from the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short in 1947, BLACK DAHLIA MURDER released their first full length release UNHALLOWED in 2003 incorporating a few different metal styles in the process. This is a brutal beast which begins and ends with a narration which comes from the field guide “Butchering the Human Carcass for Human Consumption.” Although Trevor Strnad is listed as the sole vocalist, it sounds like a call and response between two different guys alternating between Cradle Of Filth style black metal vocals with a deep guttural death metal style.

The music is brutal in a grindcore type of way but just barely keeps itself within a death metal type of style with black metal feel sprinklings at times. The riffs are actually pretty melodic for the most part but most of the tracks on here differentiate themselves from one another very little as the formula pretty much repeats throughout the entirety of the album. The only thing that makes certain tracks stand out for me is my preference for certain melodies over the others. I think the album starts out a tad weak but the brutality and melodies keep me interested and get stronger as the album progresses. Although this could have been fine tuned a bit I still find this to be a satisfying listen.

aiylyn America jumps on the wagon,

Black metal, death metal mixed in with a hint of melody in various places results in the debut full-length from these young Michiganders who definitely have the right idea in their heads. This volatile mixture twists and jerks around in a chaotic manner similar to that of the unpredictable weather in this state, yet there are more than a few places where you can scream along from almost the first listen. The production couldn't be better. There have been a few American bands who have adapted the popular Swedish style metal, but as far as I'm concerned none have taken it as far as BDM. This is brutal stuff at its heart - it outshines all but the very best of American death metal.