The Black Dahlia Murder are back, and they’re out for blood. The returned American black metal favorites have just unveiled the second single from their forthcoming Servitude album, and it’s a cannibalistic death-pounder called “Mammoth’s Hand.”
Following the furiously-paced melodeath of “Aftermath,” the new single leans into a darker, drawn-out heaviness. A press release explains that when guitarist Ryan Knight first showed the slow-stomp arrangement to vocalist Brian Eschbach, the latter started having feverish flashbacks to 1982 fantasy film The Beastmaster, and began to imagine a violent clan taking over a rival village by force.
“‘Mammoth’s Hand’ is a romp through a fictitious frozen tundra in which a clan of nomadic mammoth riding cannibals conquer villages in a time devoid of technology,” he confirmed. “The slow groove of this song is a vibe not often implemented by the group but immediately inspired a vision in my mind of a slow moving yet gigantic and powerful beast of antagonistic nature.”
As such, the animated music video is full of warriors riding their wooly beasts on the way to their next meal. Battle scenes and tusk-driven decapitations follow, with the Lords of the Tundra then making a feast of their fellow man. You can see the gory display up above.
As previously reported, the Black Dahlia Murder’s Servitude is out September 27th via Metal Blade. It’s the first full-length with former bassist Eschbach on vocals, who took over on the mic following the passing of founding vocalist Trevor Strnad in 2022.
The band likewise have their “Beg to Serve” tour with Dying Fetus and Vomit Forth starting up October 3rd at Cleveland, Ohio’s Agora Ballroom. You’ll find the rest of the tour info here.