To paraphrase the poet T. S. Eliot in a Metal context: immature bands imitate; mature bands steal. There are many imitators these days (aren't there always?) so it is always a pleasure to come across a set of true thieves bent on creation. However, this is not a subtle makeover. BLACK DAHLIA MURDER have brought along a rather large kitchen chest from whence they pull out everything from AT THE GATES to early METALLICA to, well, where the heck did they steal those guitar solos anyway? It doesn't really matter, because these ingredients are so well baked into this disc it's hard to discern them in this swirling, bubbling mass of blast beats, Hardcore screams, Death grunts, and mind boggling chord changes, all of which are topped off with those short tasteful solos, like fresh whipped cream on a cinnamon bun from hell.

Mmmm...warm gooey Metal...it sticks to your brain and never lets go. Here are some of the key ingredients in the "Nocturnal" recipe: 1. Know your genre backwards, sideways, up and down, so you can take risks and push old flavors farther than anyone else, go really extreme, but never lose sight of the fact you're making a bun; 2. Point, counterpoint-monotony (boredom) is the great enemy in extreme music; therefore always produce something that adds another dimension to the music, i.e. for every blast beat crusher add continuous riff changes, compare and contrast different vocal styles, and don't fall into the old trap of "how much can I show off"; 3. Humour, gotta have it (adds spice); 4. And finally, keep it short-this disc is under forty minutes, with nearly every song a winner, so it makes you want to come back for more even though it's sometimes hard to tell which song is which when you first start listening. However, it's never boring and always tasty.

Terms like "melodic" are misused when it comes to bands like BLACK DAHLIA MURDER because, well, there isn't much space for melody here. "Nocturnal" is really about bellows from the abyss and a drummer that sounds like a click track gone insane on steroid and crack cocktails rimmed with speed. It's an exploration of what's possible in the metal kitchen late, late at night when all the sane people are asleep, or dead. Dare to get your hands sticky.