Let's get this out of the way right up top – Nachtmystium mastermind Blake Judd does not have a great track record.
From selling merchandise he never intended to ship in 2016, to selling fake rare records under the Ascension Monuments Media in 2018, it got a little dicey (and that's only a few of 'em). Judd was also in the throes of addiction at the time from which he has gotten sober, so there was at the very least an explanation for the behavior.
Nachtmystium originally existed between 2000 and 2014, and then again between 2017 and 2020. That second reunion yielded an EP named Resilient in 2018 followed by plans for a third Black Meddle album that never surfaced. Nachtmystium disbanded in 2020 with Judd simply saying he wanted to move on to other endeavors.
Now Nachtmystium is back yet again and Prophecy Records is really leaning into the hate for Judd in the first teaser. The whole thing kicks off with a comment from a fan called Blake "a jew," because hey – when you're kicking off a marketing campaign, why not get an antisemitic comment right up top?
The trailer then weaves through more hateful comments, headlines, and t-shirts, which seems odd considering this wasn't all baseless hate – loads of people got ripped off. They were pissed. Are you really sure you wanna lean into that aspect, guys? I know it's popular to be the guy that "everyone hates and the media is unfair to, etc." these days, but this whole trailer is simply "yeah, Judd was an asshole." Woof.
The lyric video doesn't help either. Juxtaposed with headlines about Judd ripping people off and being called out for Nazi ties are lyrics like "NO REMORSE!" I mean seriously, this is… kind of pathetic, honestly. This is trying so hard to be badass and it's just edgy, corny, and wrong.
"The pandemic, along with the many insane riots during 2020 opened my eyes", said Judd of the new material. "I thought, as a canceled person with nothing to lose, I'll point out things with fearlessness and total conviction. It was that which this track became the point of origin.
Nachtmystium will release Blight Privilege on November 1. On the album itself, Judd continued: "There are large sections of this country where impoverished whites are just as poor as impoverished black or brown or whatever color of skin you care to name. Poverty affects all people and all places in the same way. For many of these poor, the notion of 'white privilege' causes people to hate one another, instead of the billionaire pigs that are orchestrating the multitude of crisis' at hand.
"The first half of the album is a somewhat unexpected reaction to the current affairs of the last five years. It's a warning to get prepared to live a different life in a different world and the coming fight to determine what that world will look like. What it is not, is taking any side on the partisan spectrum. The other half of the album is unrelated to this and describes Judd's life of the last decade, which includes his coming off the streets."
All of this isn't to say that Nachtmystium shouldn't come back – do whatever you want. It's just the way this is all being positioned is really not great.
