The Black Dahlia Murder frontman, Trevor Strnad, kindly answered some questions for both Lambgoat and a few of our message board readers. Catch them on this summer's Sounds Of The Underground tour.

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We are home for another month yet before we leave for Europe. We've been working on shit for the new record, and things are looking pretty awesome so far. Working with our new drummer Pierre has changed the way we do things a bit (he lives 13 hours away from us in Montreal), but things are still full speed ahead in our camp. We are leaving for Europe again in June for some festival dates. We are pretty excited about that. Then we'll be back here for Sounds Of The Underground.

Around the time of Ozzfest, we were becoming increasingly displeased with our rythmless rhythm section. We had two guys in the band that were along for the "fame" (if that's what you want to call it) and not necessarily pulling their weight. When we fired them, things would have proceeded as normal, but we were met with a statement that had been pulled from (ex-drummer) Zach's personal Myspace that somewhat tarnished the reputation ofthe band. For a minute there, people were giving us a lot of shit, fueled by Zach's slanderous anti BDM statement (We have sites like yours to thank for perpetuating this kind of bullshit). We still have people that write us and tell us that Zach is right for the band and that we suck and are idiots and should get him back, which makes me laugh out loud. How some grabass kid in Arizona can know what's right for me and the band is fucking hilarious to me. They don't realize how much harder things get when you are out on the road and playing shows at this kind of level. Any kid that's got a band that plays local shows thinks they can fucking relate... sorry homies. As far as the new line-up goes, we were looking for two people that were completely dedicated to their craft, and put their playing above all other priorities. Bart, the new bassist has been a long-time friend of the band, and also engineered quite a bit of the "Unhallowed" album. We basically stole him from Today I Wait, a band from our area. They were good sports about it, and we ended up doing a few dates with them. He has also toured with Walls of Jericho on bass a few times. Bart is a tremendously tight player, and a breath of fresh air. He plays with his fingers and really gets into the pocket. It has a more classic metal feel to it, a bit more Maidenesque you could say. Pierre is amazing as well. He's a very educated drummer. He has a degree, and is well versed in all kinds of music. He played on a cruise ship for a couple of years. He can literally do anything you can imagine on the drum kit, and he looks like he's about to fall asleep while doing it. The idea that that satanic motherfucker was sitting behind a drum kit with roto toms, playing fucking "Hot, Hot, Hot" all day is a crime. I think that Pierre is really gonna turn some heads with the new record. Having him as the backbone for the band is quite reassuring. As far as longevity goes, this is the brightest things have ever looked for the band. It's great to have people that are excited to be here, and aren't just along for the ride.

We found Pierre on Derek Roddy's webforum. We saw a video of him tearing it up and pursued him immediately. He lives in Montreal and speaks French as his primary language. He hadn't spoken English in three years before we got a hold of him... for him to be out here with us is fucking amazing, and a real testament of how much he loves music. Not only was he joining a band full of weirdos, he joined a band full of weirdos that speak another language.

Yep, some fans have grown right along with us, and see "Miasma" in the same light that we do. Then there's the haters. From what I can gather, a lot of fans that deny "Miasma" are doing so on grounds that they heard it once, and it didn't completely jump right out at them. Some of the stuff I've seen written about it would have me think that people who have a complete lack of musical education or background may not see the major steps forward we had taken since "Unhallowed"... they wanted the exact same record, and all they notice is that it didn't jump right out at them and immediately satisfy them.

On the other side of the coin, there are people that think "Miasma" IS the exact same record as "Unhallowed" and I don't really get that either. To fully understand what we have offered with "Miasma," it will take some listening. I can understand how it might seem as though we had changed because the songs aren't as straightforward as the shit on the first album, but so much more went in to the creation of these songs... the rewards for the listener will come with time. We aren't out to make a record full of singles here, we wanted to apply what we had learned from all of the touring... what we had learned from stepping up and applying ourselves 100% to our instruments, and make a metal record with some depth. Ultimately, I'd like to be able to create songs as potent and memorable as stuff from Death's "Symbolic" album. This is the pinnacle of metal artistry to me... The songs on that record are fucking phenomenal. We are a very young band, and have a long way to go as songwriters. "Miasma" was a baby step in this direction. We actually still like the songs from the "Unhallowed" era, but the actual recording is pretty disappointing to the band in hindsight. It is a very sloppy record. It was recorded before we had ever toured... we were completely green at the time. When we play the songs now with Pierre and Bart, I feel like the potential of the songs has been fully realized. If we could record "Unhallowed" again now, it'd be three times a better album. The way we look at all of this madness is this: We play fucking death metal, and it's a musician's music. We're always going to be moving forward with the bands technicality and musicianship.

As far as the kind of songs we are able to write now, I look at this as just the beginning of the band. We are still growing. The more we experience we have, the more we can offer in return. There are some people that think we have sold out by changing the lyrics or imagery between the two records. In our minds, doing the same thing over and over again is too fucking safe, and is a sell out to our potential. The bands that attempt to blaze a trail will hopefully be remembered for it. Look at a band like Carcass. They did what they wanted to do without apology and I respect that immensely. People have told me that "Miasma" is less metal than "Unhallowed." The playing speaks for itself... Miasma is far more death metal than we had been in the past. We poured our hearts and souls into "Miasma" and I won't believe that that's not good enough for our true fans.

Some of the people that diss the band now are just douche bags whose taste in underground music is subject to change with the climate of what's "cool" in the scene. We fully realize that the popularity of hardcore and heavy music is at an all time high right now, and with that comes a lot of fair-weather douchebaggery... it's not just nerds that got made fun of all their school years that found hardcore or metal because they were dejected anymore, its now the same popularity driven horseshit that I ran from in school. Having heart and being passionate is not a requisite. That said, it doesn't take much to make this kind of person turn on you. It could be as much as Lambgoat saying you aren't good anymore, or too many people getting into the band. I can't understand people that won't look solely at our music verses how we look or who is into the band... it's sickening. As far as becoming 'too popular' for some people, all I can say is that anything we've achieved at this point we've done so without compromise. Ozzfest and MTV and those kinds of opportunities have been a result of our diligence, and not a result of any change or sellout. The real test of who loves heavy music is going to be when MTV and AP and all of those mediums decide that hardcore and metal are not 'cool' anymore. Eventually, this kind of stuff will be the music of the pariah, and everyone who is along for the ride is going to flee (think of what happened when ska lost the push of MTV... you wouldn't be caught dead with that Less Than Jake CD now, would you?). I personally can't wait for the shit to hit the fan.

As far as "A Cold Blooded Epitaph" goes, I like the recording better than "Unhallowed." It has a more raw an energetic feel, and actually has some bass guitar in the mix. I also feel that this is the first testament of the band that is relevant to this day. It would have been better with John in the fold... that was one of the huge improvements, musically, that we underwent between the two releases. John raised the bar for us and the inclusion of his solos was a huge step in the right direction.

Ozzfest was a good time but not without its strife. We were dealing with a lot of tension in the band, particularly with Zach's negative attitude and lack of willingness to touch a drumstick outside of actual band practice. It was amazing to have the opportunity to play at that level, but it's bittersweet to know that we could have done it so much better. Our second Japanese romp was equally bittersweet. It was fun to be there with Tony Laureano at the drum kit, but at the same time, the fate of the band was still up in the air... it wasn't until Pierre stepped in that we could fully relax. The recent tour with Throwdown was another up and down situation... our new drummer missed half the tour due to a lack of proper papering. He was stuck at the Canadian border. Lucky enough for us Kevin Talley was able to get the gist of the songs quick enough for us to go out and scab it. Once we got Pierre's papers rushed through the system, all things were made right in the force.

As far as politics go, I'm way more into playing Sounds than I was Ozzfest. I feel like this is actually put together with the notion that its for people who like music, instead of trying to squeeze every dollar possible out of the counterculture. I'm excited to be amongst the ranks of Cannibal Corpse and Behemoth again, we've made great friends of the two bands, as well as our label mates As I Lay Dying.

It was in our best interest to join up with the monstrous tour rather than try to tour against it AND Ozzfest at the same time. I feel sorry for any band of heavy ilk that's out there during the summer attempting to do that. Also, like I mentioned earlier, this festival is a bit more aligned with the preservation of punk ideals, making it a much easier decision than Ozzfest was.

We've got Cannibal Corpses new record as point A. It's fucking fantastic, and they are tearing shit up right now. Also, it's a bit more affordable and there's no nu-metal tripe being shoved down your throat.

It should be quite a while yet... we have plenty of touring left to do on "Miasma." The new album is in the very, very early stages of development, and is gonna take a while yet to flesh out. We still have a pending split with Pig Destroyer, but I'm beginning to think that it's fallen by the wayside as a priority for Relapse, which I can understand... it's just a fucking seven inch. The songs we did there are all hardcore songs... a Left For Dead cover, and covers of old Michigan bands Sedition and Gyga. I think those songs came out pretty cool, and if they don't make it out on the seven inch, they'll see the light of day some other way. The reissue of the "A Cold Blooded Epitaph" ep is still on the backburner... we have no idea when this thing is going to come out. Its all packaged and everything, courtesy of the very talented Mark Riddick. You can actually check out the new packaging on his site. I would love for it to be available to the kiddies, but I'm not really ready for how many more requests we are gonna get to do the "Paint It Black" cover. Ugh.

The first thing I wanted to do was make a full-length album, and now I have two under my belt. I just want to make a great metal record. That's what I want to do. At the end of all of this I want to know that we made the best records we could make, and that's gonna be it.

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Questions from Lambgoat message board users

I'm all for it. Some of the lyrics on "Miasma" are a testament to that.

On Ozzfest I must've gone like 8 times in one single day. That's the beauty of the bus life, ladies and gentlemen. You pay $300 that you don't have a day to have a little curtain cover your little coffin sized bed, so you'd better fucking jack off. Now we're back to the van where I jack off when the people on either side of me are sleeping. I cum into an old sock and throw it in my backpack.

No one from End This Day has ever been in the band. I have no idea what they are up to, I do remember them as being cool guys, but I last saw them three years ago.

We fought for good distribution. We want our CD to be available to anyone that should want it... that makes sense, doesn't it?

There's nothing wrong with this type of kid. In a lot of cases, Nu Metal kids are Nu Metal because they don't know any better. They are often more excited about music than half the people in the hardcore scene, and are open to new things. We hope that we can be a gateway band for a lot of people to get into more extreme music. I guarantee half of the people reading Lambgoat were into some form of nu metal at one time. We weren't all born with swoopy hair and keyboards glued to our fingers.

I can't even really imagine having the backing of something other than the record label to get things done. The government's priorities are so fucked as it is, I doubt that this desire to champion the rock would ever cause even the most minute stir. We'll have to just move to Sweden after all.