Trevor Strnad, Black Dahlia Murder Vocalist, Dead at 41

It's a sad day for metal. Trevor Strnad, beloved vocalist of death-metal leaders the Black Dahlia Murder, has died. He was 41. The band announced his passing on Instagram along with a somber message.  

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Trevor Scott Strnad," the statement reads. "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."

The statement didn't specifically name a cause of death, but the surviving band members included the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) at the bottom of the post. See their message below along with tributes from friends and fans from throughout the metal scene. 

Strnad co-founded the Black Dahlia Murder in 2001 along with guitarist Brian Eschbach. Throughout the 2000s, Strnad's diabolical vocals — a fiendish shrill and a monstrous low range — and vivid, colorful lyrics propelled the band to the upper ranks of the U.S. death-metal scene, where they remain today. From 2003's Unhallowed to 2020's Verminous, he performed on nine full-length LPs.

Strnad was an extreme-metal fanatic with a deep reverence for all things heavy. For many years, he wrote a column about underground death-metal bands and contributed other writing to the music blog Metal Injection and was known for his impressive breadth of knowledge about the genre's history. At the same time, he was a outspoken champion of younger bands in the scene and keeping the genre fresh and open to all. He was never afraid to break out of death metal's purist genre boundaries, doing guest vocal appearances for deathcore bands and touring with metalcore acts — all while continuing to create exceptional melodic death metal with Black Dahlia.

As a person, Strnad is remembered as a generous, fun-loving spirit who made everyone feel welcomed. Metalcore veterans Darkest Hour, whose ties to BDM run deep, described him as "always a complete joy to be around." As Lamb of God's Mark Morton wrote on Twitter, pretty much anyone who ever met him loved him.

Revolver sends our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and fans.