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Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Trevor Strnad, the lead vocalist and co-founder of the black metal band The Black Dahlia Murder, has died. He was 41.
The singer’s bandmates took to their official Instagram account on Wednesday to confirm his passing. While no cause of death was given, contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was shared with the announcement.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Trevor Scott Strnad,” they wrote. “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.”
Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder at the Heavy Montreal festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau on July 28, 2018, in Canada. (Mark Horton/Getty Images)
Brandon Ellis, the group’s lead guitarist, also took to social media to mourn “one of the funniest and most entertaining people to walk the earth.”
“I can not even begin to process this,” Ellis began his post. “In total shock and disbelief. It has been my greatest honor to spend the last six and a half years in a band with this absolute icon and legend. A brother. A best friend. One of the funniest and most entertaining people to walk the earth. The life of the party that is The Black Dahlia Murder, as well as any given room he happens to occupy. A lyrical mastermind. A champion of the entire culture of heavy music. Also my biggest supporter.”
“This man changed my life and believed in me more than I do myself,” he shared. “I can not believe there will be no more laughs had, songs written together, or stages decimated with Trevor at the helm. I hope he knew how much he was loved the world over. Rest in peace Trevor.”
The Black Dahlia Murder, a Michigan-based band named after the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, was formed in 2000. They have cited legendary rock acts, such as Metallica, Pantera and Judas Priest, as influences. Strnad released their first breakthrough tracks in 2001.
The group was named after the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short (1924-1947), who was nicknamed “The Black Dahlia” by the press. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
After releasing several EPs independently, The Black Dahlia Murder signed to Metal Blade Records in 2003. Their highest-charting album was 2011’s “Ritual,” which reached No. 31 on the U.S. Billboard chart. Their most recent release, a ninth album titled “Verminous,” became a hit when it dropped in 2020.
The rockers were gearing up to go on tour this year with a show lined up for May 20 as part of Daytona Beach’s Welcome to Rockville Festival. They also had planned to perform at Dynamo Metalfest in the Netherlands in August.
In 2021, Strnad told Metal Injection that opening up about his mental health publicly has helped him, noting he wanted his “40s to be awesome.”
Trevor Strnad recently shared how opening up about his mental health has helped him. (Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images)
“And I figure it might be helping somebody else to know that I’m a human being and that someone that maybe they look up to for inspiration goes through it too,” he shared at the time.
Strnad appeared in a photo alongside his girlfriend Violet Knox three days before his death.
