Trevor Strnad, frontman for The Black Dahlia Murder, has died at age 41. While a cause of death was not given, the band shared the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in announcing his passing on its social sites.
Strnad founded the melodic death metal group in 2001 in Michigan, and remained its frontman until his passing. Over the course of 20 years, the band gained a large following and earned acclaim in metal circles with nine studio albums. Their most recent full-length release was 2020’s Verminous.
On Instagram, the band announced Strnad’s passing with the following statement:
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Trevor Scott Strnad. Beloved son, brother, and Shepard of good times, he was loved by all that met him. A walking encyclopedia of all things music. He was a hugger, a writer, and truly one of the world’s greatest entertainers. His lyrics provided the world with stories and spells and horror and whimsy. It was his life to be your show”
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255″
The Black Dahlia Murder were supposed to support Parkway Drive on a Spring US tour that was set to kick off just a few days ago, but Parkway Drive recently canceled the outing due to “internal conflicts within the band.” In addition, TBDM had a summer tour of Europe scheduled for August.
Metal Blade Records, which released all of The Black Dahlia Murder’s albums, shared the band’s statement on its social pages.
After inking their deal with Metal Blade, The Black Dahlia Murder released their debut album, Unhallowed, in 2003. Their next album, 2005’s Miasma, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseakers chart. And each of their albums after that landed inside the Top 100 of the Billboard 200 chart — with 2011’s Ritual scoring the group its highest position at No. 31.
Once asked by the site Pyro Music to describe the band’s sound, Strnad responded, “I’ve always said that we’re melodic death metal. We are mostly influenced by Swedish bands and Carcass. The heavy end of our sound is the American style creeping in, with some Floridian influences like Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation and that kind of stuff.”
In the comments section of the band’s Instagram post, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe, and others shared broken heart emojis and other expressions of sadness. Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta tweeted, “RIP Trevor Strnad, you’ll be missed dearly, my deepest condolences to TDBM, his family, friends & fans. Thanks for all the laughs, the stories, the music, & so much more.”
Our condolences go out to Trevor Strnad’s family, friends, and bandmates during this difficult time.
This is a developing story …