59. The Black Dahlia Murder - 'Verminous'

As AC/DC once sang ‘It’s a long way to top if you wanna rock n’ roll’. Next year marks Black Dahlia Murder’s 20th anniversary as a band, yet it only now feels that they beginning to exert themselves as a force to be reckoned with. They have slogged, toured and released nine albums (counting this one), slowly but surely building both a fanbase and a name for themselves. What they do, they do remarkably well. This is a very American take on Melodic Death. It’s got the smooth guitar breaks you get in the European variation, but it’s harsher and more guttural in its approach. “Verminous” does not seem to deviate much from their chosen path, but when you are making music as good as this, does that really matter?