Nachtmystium
is an American psychedelic and extreme metal band formed by Blake Judd, formerly known as Azentrius, and Pat McCormick. The band's name is derived from the German word Nacht
meaning "night", and the made-up term mystium
which resembles the Latin adjective mysticum
. Judd and McCormick combined the words to create the band's name, which they state means "Encompassing Darkness." [1]
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NACHTMYSTIUM TICKETS
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History
Nachtmystium was originally founded by
Blake Judd and
Pat McCormick as a side project.
[2] [3] The band was heavily influenced by second-wave
black metal bands, such as
Darkthrone and
Burzum, evidenced in their low-fi first release
Reign of the Malicious
in 2002.
[4] The band’s next release,
Demise
(2004), was described by Judd as Nachtmystium’s “last straight forward ‘raw black metal’ record.
[5]” The band’s following two releases,
Eulogy IV
(2004) and
Instinct: Decay
(2006), incorporated psychedelic and experimental musical elements that were pioneered by bands like
Black Sabbath and
Pink Floyd.
[6] Instinct: Decay
received general positive feedback from critics.
DEAF SPARROW Zine
, praised the album for its innovation,
[7] while
Decibel Magazine
went even further to name
Instinct: Decay
as the fourth best album of 2006.
[8] Their band's latest release,
Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1
was released on
June 10,
2008 in America.
[9] The album received a generally positive critical reception, especially from
Pitchfork Media
and MTV's
Headbanger's Ball
, who both stated that it was one of the year's best releases.
[10] [11]
The band played their first
Scandinavian show in
Bergen, Norway at the 2008
Hole in the Sky Festival with
At the Gates,
Municipal Waste, and
Meshuggah.
[12] Nachtmystium toured with
Opeth,
Baroness, and
High on Fire for the first half of their American tour.
[13] In September 2008, the band confirmed plans to release a remastered version of
Demise
, with two extra tracks.
[14] Nachtmystium has also announced plans to release a new EP, entitled
Doomsday Derelicts
, early in 2009.
[15] The band experienced two major setbacks in February and March 2009. Nachtmystium was forced to withdraw from the
Scion Rock Fest in
Atlanta, Georgia due to alleged connections to
National Socialist Black Metal (see
Connection to NSBM section
).
Later that month, Judd injured his leg, forcing the band to cancel their tour with
The Haunted.
[16]
Nachtmystium’s line-up has frequently changed since its formation. Furthermore, while the band originally started as a black metal band, and even toured with black metal acts such as
Angelcorpse,
Goatwhore, and
Watain, Judd has frequently stated that the band should not be considered black metal per se.
In an interview with DEAF SPARROW Zine, Judd stated, “What separates us from your average black metal band is that we're NOT a black metal band, we're a 'do-whatever-the-fuck-we-want' metal band and black metal happens to be what we build our foundation off of (in the case of
Instinct: Decay
and its predecessors), if you must categorize the rhythm sections of our music (rhythm guitars, bass and drums - the core of any album).
[17]“ J. Bennet of Decibel Magazine described the band's sound as “Blackadelia”.
[18] Jason Bracelin, of the
Las Vegas Review-Journal
, compared the band's latter work to
Pink Floyd, claiming, "[
Assassins
] is what happens when Pink goes black."
[19] since the release of
Assassins
, the band has received additional press-coverage and attention from media outlets, including
Metal Maniacs
,
Terrorizer
,
CMJ New Music Monthly
, and
Metalkult.com
.
[20] Despite their departure from the black metal genre,
Carlos Ramirez of
IGN.com listed
Assassins
as one of the ten greatest black metal albums.
[21]
Connection to NSBM
Nachtmystium's second demo, entitled "Unholy Terrorist Cult", was un-officially re-released in 2001 by American N.S. black metal record label Vinland Winds, after the band had officially released it themselves on CD-R format on their 'Majestic Twilight Creations' imprint. Vinland Winds simply continued to make CD-r's without the bands knowledge and apparently made their own layout for the CD-R's that were distributed, featuring very different artwork than the original. This was later brought to the bands attention, and considering that it was merely an item on Vinland Winds' distro (which carried titles from many major metal labels at the time, completely unassociated with any N.S. scenes or politics), the band told the label they didn't care if they continued to sell their demo. Their first full length album,
Reign of the Malicious
, was released on Regimental Records and distributed (although not pressed) by Unholy Records, who were an imprint of the White Power and Nazi Skinhead label Resistance Records, and dealt mostly with
National Socialist black metal.
[22]
In 2006, Judd said that, “In the past, we’ve had some indirect ties to labels and bands that are part of the
NS scene. At one point not too many years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for NS labels or bands to trade and work with non-politically motivated bands and labels because at the end of the day, we’re all trying to promote, release, and be involved with music—all politics aside. Today it seems like there’s less of a connection, at least for me and my label. We don’t oppose people’s right to be ‘NS’ or whatever—that’s a personal choice, and if you live in the USA, you have the right to that opinion. Even though I personally, my band(s) and my label have absolutely no interest in being a part of that scene, I will ALWAYS take their side when it comes to their freedom of speech being imposed upon.”
[
]
Just before the Atlanta, Georgia Scion Rock Fest on Saturday February 28, 2009, Nachtmystium was forced to cancel at the request of the festival's promoters, and sponsors, Toyota, on Tuesday February 23, 2008 due to an unnamed source, who believed the group was a "Nazi" band. [23] [24] Judd promptly released a statement after the incident, stating, "We will be taking legal action against the people who slandered us in this situation, and in the future will file defamation / slander charges against any person or organization who attempts to prevent us from performing anywhere, especially in the United States. So - let it be known loud and clear for the LAST TIME, we ARE NOT a Nazi band, ARE NOT political, are certainly NOT racists and DO NOT support that world or any band, person or business affiliated with it." He also apologized to Nachtmystium fans who traveled to the concert to support the band.
Current line-up
- Blake Judd (aka Azentrius) – Guitar, vocals
- Jeff Wilson – Guitar
- John Necromancer - Bass
- Zack Simmons - Drums
Former members
- Aamonael – Guitar
- Chris Black – Bass
- Matt Block (aka Xaphar) – Drums
- Jean Graffio – Drums
- Neill Jameson (aka Imperial) – Bass
- Marcus Kolar – Bass
- Markus Launsburry - Guitar, Bass
- Tony Laureano – Drums (session)
- Kriglord – Vocals, guitar, keyboard
- Zion Meagher – Bass
- Noctis – Drums
- David Swanson (aka Grave, aka G. Reymond) – Drums
- Zmij – Vocals
Discography
Full-length albums
- Reign of the Malicious
(2002)
- Demise
(2004)
- Instinct: Decay
(2006)
- ''Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 (2008)
EP releases
- Nachtmystium
(2003); re-released together with Reign of the Malicious
(2004)
- Eulogy IV
(2004)
- Worldfall
(2008)
- Doomsday Derelicts
(2009)
Demos
- Holocaust of Eternity
(2000)
- Unholy Terrorist Cult
(2001)
Split albums
- Nachtmystium/Zalnik
(with Zalnik) (2001)
- Nachtmystium/Xasthur
(with Xasthur) (2004)
- Daze West
(with Krieg) (2005)
- Nachtmystium/Leviathan
(with Leviathan), (postponed)
Live releases
- Live Onslaught
(2002)
- Live Blitzkrieg
(2003)
- Live Onslaught 2
(2005)
- Visual Propaganda: Live from the Pits of Damnation
(DVD, 2005)
Compilation albums
- The First Attacks, 2000-2001
(2004)
References
- Nachtmystium Interview
- "Nachtmystium, Official MySpace Homepage". Retrieved on 2008-06-02
- Genghis Tron & Nachtmystium Part II
- Interview with Azentrius
- Nachtmystium 07/2005
- Blake Judd Interview
- NACHTMYSTIUM - Instinct: Decay review
- #4 Album of the Year
- Nachtmystium's new album
- Exclusive Podcast: Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd Discusses Black Metal, Psychedelic Art and Heavy Metal Hamburgers
- Nachtmystium: Assassins: Black Meddle, Pt. 1 [Century Media/Candlelight; 2008]
- NACHTMYSTIUM Announce US Tour With Wolves In The Throne Room
- Opiate For The Masses' Manifesto Features New Bassist, Snoring Bulldogs; Plus Opeth, Slipknot & More News That Rules, In Metal File
- NACHTMYSTIUM: 'Demise' To Be Reissued With Bonus Tracks - Sep. 30, 2008
- News du 21 décembre 2008
- Nachtmystium Drops Off Tour With The Haunted
- Nachtmystium Interview
- Nachtmystium take underground black metal into hyperspace
- This Year Proving Good for Your Ears
- Nachtmystium join Opeth, High on Fire tour
- 10 Great Black Metal Albums
- J. Bennett, Decibel, May 2006. "NSBM Special Report" Access date: September 18, 2008.
- Nachtmystium, February 2009. Myspace. Access date: February 27, 2008
- Nachtmystium deny racism charge. Regardless, Toyota kicked them off this weekend's Scion Rock Fest
- Genghis Tron & Nachtmystium Part II