Base-Breaking Character: Ryan Knight. He either made the band grow tremendously and brought a whole new dimension to their sound with his far more developed and distinctive leadwork, or he was an annoying noodler who sounded like he was playing to a different song entirely half the time and brought absolutely nothing of value to the table from a songwriting standpoint.
Broken Base: Everblack. It was either a lesson in how to gracefully pull off a Darker and Edgier turn and was the biggest sign of growth since Nocturnal, or it was a boring slog with two or three good songs and a bunch of filler that fundamentally missed the point of why people liked them.
Fandom Rivalry: There is something of a friendly one between fans of Shannon Lucas and fans of Alan Cassidy; Shannon fans prefer him for his extremely hard-hitting and aggressive playing style and usually see Alan as a great drummer who plays it a little too safe and is often a bit too flashy for his own good, while Alan fans prefer him for his extremely fast and precise footwork, creative cymbal work, and snappy, taut feel, and see Shannon as a great drummer who was necessary for the band to get to the level they are at, but was a bit too predictable and formulaic and got wobbly at higher tempos live.
Funny Moments: Seriously, ALL of their music videos have at least one.
On a band level, Brian Eschbach's response on Facebook to a "who's coming out to see us?" post from The Faceless after they bailed on an Australian tour with TBDM (that TBDM apparently pulled a decent amount of strings to get them on as a favor to them, only to have Michael Keene reward them by going on a drug binge and missing his flight):
Brian: No one.
The time that Alan Cassidy managed to successfully light his chest hair on fire and filmed it.
Harsher in Hindsight: In the wake of Trevor Strnad's suicide, the lyrics to "To a Breathless Oblivion", "Receipt", and "Abysmal" look a lot more like expressions of suicidal ideation well before he actually took his life.
Nausea Fuel: "Virally Yours" is a better example, which is fitting given that the protagonist actually seems to get off on this.
Quite a given, since they mostly talk about horror tales. Their unhinged sound really doesn't help matters, either.
Regarding the actual music, go ahead and listen to the main riff of "Into the Everblack" and/or "Miasma" in a dark room. Go ahead.
Seriously, most of Everblack can be this even by TBDM standards. "Raped in Hatred by Vines of Thorn" and "Map of Scars", anyone?
The cover art for Abysmal is particularly horrifying, even for their standards.
Seasonal Rot: Abysmal. While it does have several fan-favorites (namely "Threat Level No. 3" and "Asylum"), general consensus is that it's a boring Miasma retread with a lot of songs that go nowhere. Subverted with Everblack; yes, there are plenty of fans who would call it this, but it's such a polarizing album that it doesn't qualify. Trevor himself has said as much about Abysmal, and the band has not played anything from it since 2017 (though he has clarified that it has some deeper cuts that he wouldn't mind dusting off at some point).
Signature Song: "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse" and/or "I Will Return".
Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Brandon Ellis has steadily become this in the late 2010s due to his revered status in modern guitar circles and active social media presence; it is telling when a band with a frontman who is legendary for his Wolverine Publicity and a drummer who is himself something of a celebrity in metal drumming circles is now more likely to have their lead guitarist namedropped before anyone else in the band.
Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Miasma is generally regarded as this from the fans, as it ditched most of the metalcore influences that Unhallowed had and had tighter songwriting and performances.
Tear Jerker: "That Which Erodes the Most Tender of Things" can certainly qualify for this in their discography considering that yes, stillbirths are a real thing.
Vindicated by History: At the time of its release, Deflorate was divisive and turned many fans off due to its more technical songwriting, and after its touring cycle had concluded, virtually nothing off the album save for "I Will Return" (which was the one song that the fanbase universally loved) ever saw the light of day again. As the 2010s went on, fan reception grew much kinder towards it, and many fans now at least consider it underrated, if not one of their better albums. Subverted with the band's own feelings towards it, as Trevor has cited it as one of his least favorite releases and criticized it for its lack of songwriting diversity and overabundance of extremely fast and technical songs with little breathing room, though he shares the fanbase's love for "I Will Return" and seems to be pleased by the recent rediscovery of the album.
Win Back the Crowd: Everything since Nocturnal was at least somewhat divisive; Deflorate split the fanbase down the middle due to Ryan Knight's presence and their move towards a more technical sound (though it did spawn "I Will Return"), Ritual won back some of the fans that were turned off by Deflorate but was still inconsistently received, Everblack was straight-up polarizing and is either one of their best or their absolute worst depending on who you ask (thanks to its heavier and darker sound), and Abysmal tried to address the complaints from the fans who disliked Everblack and its Darker and Edgier turn, but instead went too far in the opposite direction and was generally viewed as a warmed-over, repetitive, and boring redux of Miasma. Nightbringers, on the other hand, has universally received rave reviews and is already being viewed as their best since Nocturnal, if not their best album period.
