The Black Dahlia Murder will release their new album, Everblack, June 11. In anticipation, the band has partnered with Revolver to stream new song “Raped in Hatred by Vines of Thorn,” an ode to one of frontman Trevor Strnad’s favorite horror movies, Evil Dead.

In an article previously published on Bloody-Disgusting.com, Strnad recalled the impact of the movie: “I remember the first time I saw Evil Dead… It was at my friend’s birthday party in 7th grade. It was recommended by the same older sister that had gotten us all into punk and heavy metal music…so we knew we were in for the real deal. The movie scared the unholy 13-year-old shit out of us… We were terrified. I remember the possessions really affecting me…the way the people would contort and writhe was disturbing. The possessed had that awful way that they sounded when they spoke and howled…pretty insane as well. The vine rape scene was intense… I love the idea of the forest coming alive…so much so that I wrote a song about it many years later.”

Follow along with the lyrics while listening to the song below.

“Raped in Hatred by Vines of Thorn”:
Dense dark forest dismal fog a spectral force perverts these woods flight prevails frantic escape the unearthly horrors at each turn they wait wandering roots they creak and move slithering toward what mortal life intrudes terrified eyes opened wide ensnare her flailing limbs to the earth they are tightly tied raped in hatred by vines of thorn by the evil dead to ribbons ripped and torn raped in hatred by vines of thorn pierced from within her child is skewered unborn raped in hatred by vines of thorn twisted in halves in this gruesome tug-of-war raped in hatred by vines of thorn flora possessed suckling the gore untamed kudzu green cocoon inside her flesh their food death prevails gnarled roots entwine syphon the marrows from her splintered spine animate trees shuffle their roots gathering around this late night rendezvous murderous orgy in full bloom her screams they cut the fog this night on sheer terror the seedlings thrive raped in hatred by vines of thorn behold the wrath of the necromicon raped in hatred by vines of thorn lancing her womb the child inside is gorged raped in hatred by vines of thorn broken in two entwined within the growth raped in hatred by vines of thorn necrotized demonic spores you brought this all unto yourselves should not have tampered with this hell opening the book your last mistake these haunted woods shall be thine grave raped in hatred by vines of thorn by the evil dead to ribbons ripped and torn raped in hatred by vines of thorn pierced from within her child is skewered unborn raped in hatred by vines of thorn twisted in halves in this gruesome tug-of-war raped in hatred by vines of thorn flora possessed suckling the gore

After much Internet-based speculation about a new album from the Black Dahlia Murder, the band confirmed the rumors last night with an image (see above) posted to their Facebook page.

The sixth studio album from the Michigan-based death metal band is set for a June release through Metal Blade, and bears the title Everblack.

The follow up to 2011′s Ritual will be the first proper recording to feature new bassist Max Lavelle. Following last year’s departure of drummer Shannon Lucas, there’s no word yet on a permanent replacement. Former Abigail Williams drummer Alan Cassidy has been manning the skins during recent live shows.

Check out this photo gallery from a rocking November 27 Hollywood Palladium show featuring Dethklok, Machine Head, All That Remains and The Black Dahlia Murder.

All the photos — and there a lot of them — are courtesy of Revolver photographer Stephanie Cabral, who was on hand to capture the mayhem as it went down.

Over the past few days, fans noticed that Shannon Lucas wasn’t drumming with Black Dahila Murder on their current tour with Dethklok. Today, Lucas gave an official statement, which you can read below.

Lucas has left the band to pursue other things such as a project with Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and Cannibal Corpse vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. He’s also opening a tattoo shop with his wife.

As for Black Dahlia Murder, Lucas helped pick his replacement, Alan Cassidy, who was in Abigail Williams. Although Cassidy is filling in, no permanent replacement has been announced.

Lucas says, “I want to thank all the fans who have ever come out to a BDM show, bought a ticket, bought a shirt and supported me…I’ve always loved BDM and I will always continue to be in the background and help them out.”

10/30 Norfolk, VA – Norva
10/31 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
11/02 Silver Spring, MD – Fillmore
11/03 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom
11/04 Worcester, MA – Palladium
11/05 Montreal, QC – Metropolis
11/07 Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
11/08 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
11/09 Columbus, OH – LC Pavilion
11/10 Detroit, MI – Fillmore
11/11 Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room
11/13 Fargo, ND – The Venue
11/14 Minneapolis, MN – Myth
11/15 Milwaukee, WI – Rave / Eagles Club
11/16 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
11/17 Kansas City, MO – Midland
11/18 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
11/20 Denver, Co – Fillmore
11/21 Salt Lake City, UT – Great Salt Air
11/23 Seattle, WA – Showbox SODO
11/24 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
11/26 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11/27 Hollywood, CA – Palladium
11/28 Phoenix, AZ – Marquee
11/30 Dallas, TX – House Of Blues
12/01 Austin, TX – Stubbs
12/02 Houston, TX House of Blues
12/04 Orlando, FL – House Of Blues
12/06 Chattanooga, TN – Track 29
12/07 Charlotte, NC – Fillmore
12/08 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle

Chris “Howard’s End” Krovatin is the author of two young adult novels,

An idea exists that metalheads don’t like to read, that we’re too busy pounding brewskis and sacrificing housecats to Satan to enjoy a good book, or that our stimuli-raped brains can’t take in media more intelligent than Robocop. Which, of course, is bullshit. Any hesher who has spent a night hunched over some Lovecraft knows that literature is metal as fuck, it’s just that a lot of “highbrow” literature is not terribly exciting, and a lot of it was forced on us in school. (I, for example, will never like E.M. Forster thanks to having to read Howard’s End in high school.) But headbangers shouldn’t despair—there are plenty of options out there. So for the discerning literary metalhead, I present these, my picks for the Most Metal Books of 2011, each one matched up with a song from 2011 that suits its atmosphere.

1. The Last Werewolf  by Glen Duncan The Berliner is dead—Jake Marlowe is now the last werewolf on earth. And even if he’s not being attacked by government-funded monster hunters and vampire illuminati, he still has his ever-present hard-on and nonstop diet of good scotch and smokes to deal with. In this smart, sexy, and darkly grandiose novel, Duncan (who looks like he just survived the goth apocalypse) brings us a charming definitive take on one of horror’s most underappreciated monsters. (Recommended Listening: The Black Dahlia Murder, “Moonlight Equilibrium”).

2. Black Metal Vol. 2 by Rick Spears and Chuck BB In the follow-up to last year’s graphic novel sensation, Spears and BB continue the story of the Brothers Stronghand, twin corpse-painted Hell barons who wield an ancient sword they discovered by playing a black metal record backwards. But now, in their attempts to reclaim the throne of Hell, they are faced with an unexpected foe: Satan himself. This slim volume of cartoon violence and mayhem is a fitting tribute to black metal’s ravishing grimness. (Recommended Listening: Midnight, “You Can’t Stop Steel”).

3. Crimes In Southern Indiana by Frank Bill America is not all cheesesteak and NASCAR. In the bubbling ancient cauldron of Heartland USA, terrible things go down—lovers murder each other brutally, meth is sold and consumed by the pound daily, guns go off randomly, human life is weighed cheaply. In this collection of short stories, Bill (gotta love an author with two first names) paints a picture of the dark means of survival that run through the gritty cut-throat underbelly of our own backyard. (Recommended Listening: The Atlas Moth, “Perpetual Generations”).

4. Murder In The Front Row: Shots From The Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter by Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew In this photographic diary, Oimoen and Lew chronicle their upbringing at Ground Zero of the thrash-metal movement in California, giving readers an insightful glimpse of a gritty, too-real world of speed and rebellion that created the entire concept of extreme metal. Includes words by Gary Holt and Machine Head’s Rob Flynn, as well as rad pictures of everyone’s favorite headbangers—Holt’s band, Exodus, Slayer, Testament, Anthrax, Vio-Lence, Possessed, Megadeth, and, of course, Metallica. (Recommended Listening: Toxic Holocaust, “Nowhere To Run”).

5. Zone One by Colson Whitehead Spend three days in the life of Mark Spitz, a lone disillusioned marine attempting the clean up of Chinatown in New York—now known as “Zone One”—after the zombie apocalypse. But sometimes it’s not even the walking dead that are the problem, but the infrastructure, the sponsor corporation’s new rules, the gossip between your fellow sweepers (though, in the end, it’s really the walking dead that are the problem). In a bold attempt to make a lowbrow genre literary, Whitehead presents a new kind of horror story, one drowned in great drifts of mediocrity, depression, and inevitable doom. (Recommended Listening: Machine Head, “Locust”).

6. Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries by Jon Kristiansen In late-’80s and early-’90s Scandinavia, one zine ruled the scene: Slayer, a thorny DIY mag dedicated to only the darkest of underground metal. Showcasing bands like Mayhem, Emperor, and Napalm Death long before they were big names, Metalion made Slayer a huge sensation among extreme metal’s forerunners; now, these awesome relics of extreme metal’s history can be yours in one fat, badass volume. (Recommended Listening: Ash Borer, “Rest, You Are The Lightning”)

7. Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead by Joel McIver McIver, author of books about Slayer, Cliff Burton, Randy Rhoads, and a number of other metallic subjects, here takes on the tale of the original speed-metal band, chronicling their rise to stardom in the ’70s and ’80s and the high-octane life and habits of its frontman, one Lemmy Kilmister. Full of humor and insight, Overkill is an intelligent and well-worded telling of a band’s life outside of the spotlight, accentuating the seamless merge of hilarity and personal drama that too often epitomizes the life of a band. (Recommended Listening: Skeletonwitch, “Of Ash and Torment”)

8. Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead by Neil Strauss The author of Hammer of the Gods and The Dirt takes you on a whirlwind tour of the rock climate, pulling unpublished excerpts from interviews with everyone from Lady Gaga to Slayer’s Tom Araya. Ride dirty with Snoop Dogg, rants mindlessly with Clown from Slipknot, take a white power walkabout through Skullbone, Tennessee, or just kick back and listen to Julian Casablancas from the Strokes give The Worst Interview Ever. It’s all right here, in this hyperactive ransom note of rock’s favorite reporter. (Recommended Listening: Necrocomicon, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”)

9. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver In this exciting and saddening family drama, we follow the unfolding story of Eva, a woman trying to get a glimpse into the mind of her son Kevin, who has just committed a brutal school massacre. The book looks into the horror and insecurity of being near, but unable to reach, a sick and terrifying mind, and let’s the reader get a bit more tangible grasp on the inner workings of both a poisoned family and a sociopathic killer. (Recommended Listening: Tombs, “To Cross The Land”)

10. Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell With Black Sabbath by Tony Iommi and T.J. Lammers In this tell-all volume, the guitarist who invented heavy metal tells the story of how it all began. Though a little light on the journalistic facts and sometimes maybe too forgiving (Iommi’s cocaine use in the ’80s is often written off as a little bit of fun), Iron Man is a familiar and engaging story about the all-too-human life of one of metal’s gods. (Recommended Listening: Hammers of Misfortune, “The Grain”).

Killswitch vocalist Howard Jones spoke of the band’s anticipation to return to their roots at the festival. “Yup, trouble’s brewing. It’s been great to have time off, but now it¹s back to business. All the guys in Killswitch Engage are truly excited to be playing NEMHF again. It’s like old times: hanging out with your friends, but they have mustaches now. Come on out, bring a friend and let’s make some sweat!”

The Black Dahlia Murder frontman Trevor Strnad was similarly enthused. It has always been a huge pleasure to play New England Metal and Hardcore Fest… I can’t thank them enough for involving us again. Some of my fondest drunken memories are from NEMHF… I’m looking to rack up a few more!!!  Come out and bang your heads til they fall off. I’ll meet you by the sausage man!”

Other bands appearing at the event, which occurs on the weekend of April 20-22, include Every Time I Die, iwrestledabearonce, the Acacia Strain, Protest the Hero, and All Shall Perish. Tickets go on sale on December 16. For more information, click here.

Evil Dead 2
“One of my absolute favorites. Campy as fuck but totally awesome. Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi are both from here in Michigan. One time a couple of friends of mine ran into Bruce down in Royal Oak, whilst looking for ice cream with his wife. We said, ‘You’re Bruce Campbell!’ to which he sharply responded, ‘Somebody’s gotta be.’ Amazing.”

Halloween II
“I haven’t seen this one in a while, but I really loved it as a kid, even more so than the first one, which has more of a stalker vibe that, in a few parts, is recreated here. That whole creeping around the neighborhood thing. Definitely more violent than the first one, it takes on a bit of a slasher feel that was similar to Friday The 13th, which I also loved as a youngster. I was obsessed with this kind of shit. The hospital by nightfall is a scary setting for a horror movie. I don’t want to spoil the whole thing for you guys who haven‘t seen it, but Michael Myers comes to the hospital where Jamie Lee Curtis is at–immediately following the first movie–and things get brutal. Michael Myers seems like he’s got some kind of alliance with some kind of evil power. Fucking scary and fucking metal.”

Chris Krovatin is the author of two young adult novels,

On Tuesday, October 11, I saw the Black Dahlia Murder, with All Shall Perish and Cannabis Corpse at The Knitting Factory, in Brooklyn, NY. Here’s what I witnessed:

Age requirement of the Knitting Factory according to posted signs: 21+.
Percentage of the Black Dahlia Murder’s fans who can’t legally drink: Approx. 43%.
General crowd temperament upon arrival: Aimless, stoned.
Price of a Red Stripe at the Knitting Factory: $6.
Personal ban on drinking: In effect. Went a little overboard at the Rwake/Hull show last night.
Best backpatch of the night: The kvlt-ish Turbonegro patch on the dude with the ponytail.
Questionable costume choice of the night: The dude in the green spiky foam suit crawling with what look like rubber worms.
What the fuck’s he supposed to be: A bleeding pineapple?
To begin: Cannabis Corpse from Richmond, VA.
Sounds like: Churning old-school brutal death metal, all of which is weed-themed.
Crowd favorite: “Blunted At Birth.”
Favorite stage banter: “Who here’s high? All right! And if you’ve never tried weed, try it for the first time tonight!”
Oh, I get it: The dude in the costume is a giant moshing weed bud! Those are red hairs! Man, that’s awesome. That is tits on a beer.
Shame of the night: There’s no band-themed pot paraphernalia! I would’ve totally bought a Cannabis Corpse bong or grinder!
Number of minutes after the first set that I buy a beer: .0034
Number of times a minute the guy next to me at the bar bounces: 37.
Information I receive from said guy: “Man, I want to get in the pit, but I broke my jaw a couple of years ago, and I got metal plates in there, and if I get hit…”
Then what: “See, I DON’T KNOW, man. Either it hurts their fucking hand or my whole jaw crumbles, but I really DON’T KNOW!”
Prayer of the night: Oh Metal Gods, powerful and magical, do not let this man’s jaw crumble if hit in the mosh pit, but let instead his attacker’s hands shatter against his metal-plated face.
Next up: All Shall Perish from Oakland, CA.
Sounds like: Chugging hardcore with a huge dose of death metal brutality.
Isn’t that ‘deathcore’: I’m too old to be using words like that.
Crowd response: Karate kicks.
Person I hate more than anyone now: This tall Ichabod Crane-looking emo fucker who keeps elbowing me and leaping in the air like a ballet dancer.
All Shall Perish’s general opinion of a Brooklyn crowd: Poor.
Number of times lead singer Hernan Hermida asks the crowd to wake the fuck up: Five.
Number of busty scene chicks I ogle from the bar: Three.
Number of them that shoot me an approving eye back: One.
Oh wait: I think she just had gas.
Number of members of the opening bands present in the crowd after their set: All of them.
General crowd atmosphere as the Black Dahlia Murder prepare to take the stage: Rambunctious, diabolical, stoned.
Finally: The Black Dahlia Murder from Detroit, MI.
Sounds like: Ultra-moshable melodic horror death metal.
Awesome opener: “A Shrine To Madness,” my favorite new song about Halloween.
Awesome fact: Even in cynical-ass Williamsburg in a small indie venue, the Black Dahlia Murder can make a crowd go absolutely batshit crazy.
Crazy appearance change among the band: Guitarist Brain Eschbach with his close-cropped hair.
But really: Who the fuck notices shit like that other than you?
Crowd favorites: “Necropolis,” “I Will Return.”
Best new track: The ultra-short “Den Of The Picquarist.”
Favorite stage banter: “RUN AROUND IN A CIRCLE!”
Songs I wish they’d played: “Deathmask Divine,” “The Grave Robber’s Work.”
Number of beers consumed: Five.
Number of dugout hits taken on the way home: Six.
Nights like these: You’re proud to be a metalhead.