The Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad on New Suicide Silence: “I would’ve expected this backlash. It’s very drastic.”

Trevor Strand is a true student of metal. Whereas most band dudes get burnt out on metal quickly after it becomes their profession, Strand always has his ear towards what’s going on in the scene around him. His Metal Injection column “The Obituarist” is a consistently solid source for learning about up-and-coming bands, particularly in death metal.

So it’s no surprise that Strand has already heard the controversial new Suicide Silence album and has formed an opinion on it, as we learned from an interview with Metal Wani’s Theo Goslett:

So I understand you guys are quite close with the guys over at Suicide Silence. Have you had a chance to hear their latest album, and if so, how do you feel about their drastic change in direction?

Yeah, I have heard it, I’ve heard a good bit of it. I think it was pretty ballsy, pretty drastic. I wish them the best, I love them, I love the guys. I think it’s a cool record for what it is but it’s definitely different. I would’ve expected this backlash. It’s very drastic. I wish them the best and I hope it plays out in the way that they want, but who knows at this point.

Absolutely. When you’re breaking from a mold so outrageously you’re not gonna have everyone happy. There’s people who just want bands to release the same album over and over again.

Yeah, and he [Eddie? –Ed.] cited us as an example of one of those bands who just sticks to their guns. But I don’t think he was trying to take the piss out of us in any way. And I think that he could’ve used any band in there, because 99% of the bands don’t change, just stay the course. So it’s definitely a ballsy move. It’s a gamble, a huge gamble. I wish them the best, and that’s pretty much all I’ve got to say.

Reading back this quote, all I can think is this: it must so tough to be a professional musician and be constantly asked your opinions on your peers’ music. It’s politically dangerous to share those opinions if they’re anything other than glowing. The Black Dahlia Murder have toured with Suicide Silence before, and they surely will again. Beyond that, as Trevor says, they’re all buds!

That said, I think Strand’s take is dead-on: it’s a cool record for what it is, which is basically what we said in the official MetalSucks review. The backlash is expected. I hope it pans out for the band they way they wanted.

Whether Strand actually likes it? Difficult to tell. But what’s most important is that he respects the band’s decision to follow their own muse and try something new in a genre that, by his own admission, is very, very averse to change. That’s the narrative here that too often gets lost: more bands need to branch out and try new things, and they should be applauded when they do.

Check out the full interview below.