Nachtmystium
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Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium performing at the 2008 Dudefest in Indianapolis
Background information
Origin	Wheaton, Illinois, United States
Genre(s)	Extreme metal Psychedelic rock Black metal Black ambient
Years active	2000 - Present
Label(s)	Century Media Candlelight Records Battle Kommand Records Southern Lord Records
Website	Nachtmystium Website
Members
Blake Judd Jeff Wilson John Necromancer Zack Simmons

Nachtmystium is an American psychedelic and extreme metal band formed by Blake Judd (formerly known as Azentrius) and Pat McCormick.¹ The band's name is derived from the German word, "nacht", meaning night, and the Latin term, "mystium." Judd and McCormick combined the terms to create the band's name, which they state means "Encompassing Darkness."²

History

Nachtmystium was originally founded by Blake Judd and Pat McCormick as a side project.¹³ 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.⁶⁷⁸ Instinct: Decay received general positive feedback from critics. DEAF SPARROW Zine, praised the album for its innovation,⁹ while Decibel Magazine went even further to name Instinct: Decay as the fourth best album of 2006.¹⁰ Their band's latest release, Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 was released on June 10, 2008 in America.⁸ 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.¹¹¹² 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.¹³ Nachtmystium is currently touring with Opeth, Baroness, and High on Fire for the first half of a their American tour.¹⁴

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 well-known black metal acts such as Angelcorpse, Goatwhore, and Watain, Judd has frequently stated that the band should not be considered black metal per se.¹ 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).¹⁵“ J. Bennet of Decibel Magazine described the band's sound as “Blackadelia”.⁶ 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."¹⁶ 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.¹⁷

In September 2008, the band confirmed plans to release a remastered version of Demise, with two extra tracks.¹⁸

Connection to NSBM

Nachtmystium's first album, Reign of the Malicious, was released on Unholy Records, a National Socialist black metal label.¹⁹ 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.”¹⁹

Current line-up

Kuma's Corner, a heavy metal-themed restaurant in Chicago, named their May 2008 special after Nachtmystium.³

• Blake Judd (aka Azentrius) –Guitar, throat
• 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
• 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)

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

External links

• Nachtmystium Website
• Nachmystium MySpace Homepage
• Nachtmystium Century Media Bandpage
• Nachtmystium on Encyclopaedia Metallum
• Nachtmystium at discogs.com
• Nachtmystium at exclaim