Nocturnal (The Black Dahlia Murder album)

Nocturnal is the third studio album by American melodic death metal band the Black Dahlia Murder. It was released through Metal Blade Records on September 18, 2007, and is the band's first album to feature bassist Bart Williams, who replaced Dave Lock, and drummer Shannon Lucas. It is also the last album to feature longtime guitarist John Kempainen.

Background
The name of the second track "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse", is taken from the name of the band's debut demo release of the same name, which in turn is a quote from the 1988 video game Castlevania II: Simon's Quest; the song is featured on the soundtrack for the video game Saints Row 2 and as downloadable content for Rock Band. Kristian Wåhlin did the cover art for the album. The end of the song "Nocturnal" features an audio clip from the 1987 film The Monster Squad. The song "Deathmask Divine" appears to be inspired by both the story of Carl von Cosel and the 1979 Italian horror film Beyond the Darkness.

Personnel

 * The Black Dahlia Murder
 * Trevor Strnad – lead vocals
 * Brian Eschbach – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 * John Kempainen – lead guitar
 * Ryan "Bart" Williams – bass
 * Shannon Lucas – drums


 * Production
 * Executive producer: Brian Slagel
 * Produced by Jason Suecof and the Black Dahlia Murder
 * Engineered by Mark Lewis and Eric Rachel, with assistance by Eric Kvortek
 * Mixed by Jason Suecof
 * Vocals engineered by Kyle Neeley (also assistant engineer)