The Black Dahlia Murder have enjoyed a storied history en route to becoming one of the most well respected death metal bands going, but what was the most rewarding period in their history?Guitarist-turned-vocalist Brian Eschbach answered that question while reflecting on the group’s history with Full Metal Jackie on her weekend radio show. While admitting the group was “super proud of everything we’ve put out,” he didn’t hesitate to single out the band’s 2007 effort Nocturnal as being a “super special” time for the band.”The way that album was embraced by the metal community. It’s still mind blowing,” Eschbach commented, adding, “I think I was 25 when that album came out. Your mid-20s are already kind of like a special time. You’re saying goodbye to your youth, pretty much. We were friends out there, just doing it, living a dream.”Keeping the dream going, The Black Dahlia Murder are currently supporting their 2024 effort Servitude and Eschbach, who moved over to vocals after the death of Trevor Strnad, commented on what it’s meant to see fans and the metal community embrace the album and the change.He also spoke about the transition to taking over vocals and fronting the band, offered insight on the song “Panic Hysteric” and commented on how they might celebrate two big anniversaries happening in 2025. Check out more of the chat below.It’s Full Metal Jackie and this week we welcome to the show the one and only Brian Eschbach of the Black Dahlia Murder. The Black Dahlia Murder are back and supporting their 2024 album, Servitude.  Brian, this was a big record for the future of this band after the death of Trevor Stirnat and you moving over into the vocalist spot. You had a few months now to take it in, see the response. What has been your reaction to how The Black Dahlia Murder fan base and seemingly a lot of metal fans and media have accepted this record and this transition?We’re just thankful, We were gonna keep on doing what we do no matter what. But it’s. It’s been awesome to have people embrace the album the way they have, and really cool.The Black Dahlia Murder, “Mammoth’s Hand”Brian, it’s not every day that you hear Frank Sinatra, vodkas and Shirley Temples invoked in the creation of a metal song. But your description on the creation of “Panic Hysteric” is pretty outstanding. What led you down that path to use Sinatra as an inspiration? And are you a fan of his movies and music?I’ve kind of always been the basic white bitch when it comes to Frank Sinatra. I dig the dude’s voice and music, but I was just sitting and kind of reading excerpts from an interview and the stuff he had to say about rock and roll when it was kind of the newer thing.It just made me think of his disdain for it. It made me think of the religious reaction to rock and roll throughout the years, whether it be rock and roll or the satanic panic of the 80s. This is kind of funny to me, so it seemed like something to pursue.The Black Dahlia Murder, “Panic Hysteric”Brian, though you’ve sung backing vocals for the group, this had to provide its own set of challenges taking on lead for the band. Have you already seen or do you foresee a change in how you write now that you’re writing to your voice and not Trevor’s?Trevor and I had rapped about song ideas before in the past a lot of times, but I’d never actually written a collection of full songs before. Lyric wise, I don’t know that I’ll do anything differently. As time goes on, I’ll just kind of run with my perspective on topics, but I’m excited to see what pans out in the future.A lot of times I’ll just hear a collection of music or riffs or a song and almost immediately have a feeling of something like this would be cool if this is about this, or this sounds like a row in a boat song, stuff like that. So I don’t know where it’ll go, but I’m looking forward to all of it.Brian, one of the main things of fronting a band is now having a bit more engagement with the audience. Anything you gathered from watching Trevor all those years or any other people you have maybe learned or picked things up from on how to present yourself now fronting the band.As someone who’s always enjoyed going to live shows sometimes more than listening to certain records, I’d say there’s tons of vocalists that I love and especially Trevor, that formulate this idea in my mind of what a frontperson should be as far as bantering with the crowd and stuff.That’s kind of always been mostly my job. Even when I was playing guitar, while Trevor was catching his breath, I was yapping at people. So yeah, there’s aspects of it that are new and even now, after having done over 100 shows, there’s things I like to tighten up as far as addressing the crowd and interacting with them, but I feel confident and positive about it so far.Brian, one of the things you’ve mentioned is that if Ryan Knight had not come back, the Black Dahlia Murder might not have continued. With an album and some touring now under your belt, how has it been with Ryan’s return and how do you feel about the future of the band moving forward?I feel good about the future. If Ryan wasn’t going to come back, there’s no way I could play guitar and sing. I don’t have that in me. It’s just a little too much multitasking. But when we were talking about it, we all knew right then and there we didn’t want anyone coming into the band that hadn’t been a part of the band we before.We were just really thankful when we approached Ryan that he was down to do it. And it’s been great having him back. I can play some riffs and stuff, but I’ve never been a lead player. And to have two lead players now that are of the caliber that Brandon [Ellis] and Ryan are, it’s made for some really amazing musical moments. [Editor’s Note: This interview took place prior to Brandon Ellis’ recent resignation from the band.]READ MORE: The Black Dahlia Murder Guitarist Leaves Band, Tour PostponedBrian, Servitude feels like a special record, not only because of how good the album is musically, but also because of what’s surrounding it. I wanted to ask, in your history with the band, if you have a most rewarding album experience. Doesn’t have to be this one if you don’t feel that way, but the one album you look back on and feel like it was the best time for you personally in creating and supporting a Black Dahlia Murder album.We’re super proud of everything that we’ve ever put out. But I have to say, a moment or a period in time that’s was just super special was putting out our third album, Nocturnal, and the way that album was embraced by the metal community. It’s still mind blowing.We were young kids that just wanted to write songs and be able to play them for people that are interested. That was kind of a turning point for the band when Nocturnal came out because of its huge success. It just put us out there in the world in a way that we had never really imagined we could be.I think I was 25 when that album came out. Your mid-20s are already kind of like a special time. You’re saying goodbye to your youth, pretty much. We were friends out there, just doing it, living a dream.The Black Dahlia Murder, “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”This year, 2025 also brings two anniversaries for The Black Dahlia Murder. Would we possibly see any celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Miasma or the 10 year anniversary of Abysmal?We’re definitely thinking about breaking out a couple more lesser played Miasma tunes. I wouldn’t say that we’re going to throw it a birthday party or anything, but it’s crazy to think that that was 20 years ago.Thanks to The Black Dahlia Murder’s Brian Eschbach for the interview. The Servitude album is out now and you can stay up to date with all their activities through their website, Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify platforms. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show here.The 25 Best Metal Songs of the Last 25 YearsSo much metal, so many subgenres, but these songs stood out above the crowd in furthering heavy music over the last 25 years.Contributions by Jordan Blum (JB), Chad Childers (CC), Joe DiVita (JD), John Hill (JH) and Lauryn Schaffner (LS).Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff