The Black Dahlia Murder

American death metal masters Black Dahlia Murder can do no wrong. Since Miasma, their musical style and sound have been honed, progressed and perfected. Nocturnal was the point where they realized and focused their unrelenting musical energy, and Deflorate delivers similar to its predecessor but with more vehemence; their grimy, ghoulish vocals are matched idealistically to their decimating brutal thrash, while lethargic moments are paired with bottomless baritone vocals. Instantly "Black Valor" shreds with a bludgeoning sound that would make Dethklok jealous, while the rest of the album follows Nocturnal's sound closely, with machinegun snare work and double bassing at near-Agoraphobic Nosebleed speed. Furthermore, their guitar work is a hurricane of chugging riffing and soloing; it's almost too hard to focus on one musical aspect of the band without being distracted by the brilliance of another. Deflorate has the attributes to take BDM all the way to the top of the American death metal scene, and if this album doesn't cement their status worldwide it's likely nothing will. Deflorate is a behemoth from the new generation of death metal and one of the best releases of '09.