Judd and Nachtmystium hits the Stick September 10th.
The Chicago based psychedelic rock band Nachtmystium has under a bit of a metamorphosis during the band’s existence. The band, lead by vocalist/guitarist Blake Judd, started out as a straight on American version of black metal. But over the years as Judd’s musical interests have changed, the band has interjected more industrial and hard rock sounds into the band’s music.
The results have been staggering- the band’s last two albums (“Assassins- Black Meddle Pt. 1” in 2008, and “Addicts- Black Meddle Pt. 2” earlier this year) have been huge critical success and beloved by the fans of the band.
The band is gearing up for a tour, and I had a chance to catch up with Blake while at home in Chicago prior to the tour. We discussed his early obsession with black metal, as well as the different vibes of the “Black Meddle” albums. Here’s my interview with Blake:
AM: With the major critical success of the “Black Meddle” albums, how much of a surprise has that been to you?
BJ: I’ve been surprised that the more mainstream rock and music magazines have been as receptive to the album as they have. I think our music is so far removed from the rest of the metal scene these days, so far away from the metalcore scene and so on- that the respect for the album has been amazing. We’ve been able to receive this acclaim and not lose our credibility, so that’s important as well.
AM: Did you try to write both of the albums at the same time, or did you write the albums separately?
BJ: No, they were totally separate. I think with “Addicts” versus “Assassins”, we went with more of a rock vibe with this album and were far more interested in that than putting out something pure metal. Lyrically, I don’t think it’s much different as well. I try to write about real life situations and portray this view of an outsiders’ look of the world that we live in.
AM: The band played a lot of black metal early on, at what point did the band consciously try and steer away from that scene?
BJ: I think it was definitely after the “Demise” album (2004) that we decided to switch things up and add more of the psychedelic side of the band. With our album “Instinct: Decay”, that was the first time that the band decided to try and see if we could move away from that black metal sound. The fans loved it, so we decided to keep trying new things and not being pigeonholed in the black metal scene.
AM: What was your first exposure to the black metal scene, and what sort of things are you listening to now?
BJ: When I was younger, I really got into Emperor, early Immortal, Mayhem and Burzum. This was back in ’95 or ’96, when the stories were all over the place about the church burnings in Norway and stuff. I seemed to gravitate towards a lot of negative situations back then, and black metal was my big sign of defiance, my way of saying “f— you to the world”. My parents used to be worried about the negativity, but listening to that sort of music got me to start my own band, and in actuality, it was the best thing to ever happen to me. These days, my musical tastes are all over the place. I’ll listen to Lady Gaga, then I’ll listen to classic rock. I am really into bands like Joy Division, Interpol, and Editors. But recently, I have been more interested catching up on my current music collection than going out and seeking out new bands.
AM: Has the band been working on new material since the release of “Black Meddle, Pt. 2”?
BJ: Actually, yesterday, my drummer and I went to go work in our studio space. We did a whole full song in the span of that day. I think the new material is gonna be more aggressive and perhaps even revisiting some of the band’s past. It will still have a lot of that outsider theme to it as well.
Nachtmystium plays at the Magic Stick on Friday, September 10th. Tickets are $12 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional dates and band info can be found at www.myspace.com/nachtmystium.
