THE BEAST

Order at: https://www.tbdmofficial.com The Black Dahlia Murder "Removal of the Oaken Stake" from the "Verminous" album. When it came to title the record, Strnad looked around at the scene he has helped nourish for two decades and found his inspiration. "We, members of our beloved and hidden world of the heavy metal underground teeming just below the surface, are the verminous. The rats and roaches looming in the cracks and crevices of this fallen world. We are the pariahs that the world of normality finds loathsome and obscene. We are the carriers of a plague of knowledge so vile that it could bring the unsuspecting mankind to its knees. Always the underdogs. Our love for this music and what it means to our lives is foolishly underestimated." This ties into the lyrical themes that permeate the record, though not exclusively, Strnad not struggling to find subject matter that engaged him. "The outside world of religion-warped 'normalcy' is the opposing viewpoint. We are the ultimate antagonist to their archaic ways of thought, the dreamers of the nightmares that shake them to their very core. Although we are but lowly vermin to them, the unseen and underestimated, our numbers are millions strong. We cast aside their ways and prefer to take solace in the hidden realm of the underground where the dark fruits of free thought can be enjoyed. We are our own Gods. The responsibility of our actions is ours alone." In his position, he is also able to both provide listeners with opportunities to exorcise compulsions toward exploring dark themes and find some personal release. "Not unlike the appeal of a horror movie, there is a curiously dark side in all of us that can enjoy the occasional gaze through the eyes of the all-powerful masked killer. I enjoy taking the listener on such a ride. There is a certain catharsis in putting myself into the heart of each character I create. Where I lack power in my life, I channel it in my creations."