The World We Left Behind
Nachtmystium
CD|MP3|Vinyl
Century Media
Release date: August 5, 2014

I find it very suspect anytime that a band says “This is our last (album, tour, whatever).” Especially when said band is essentially a one-man project. It’s much easier for one person to change their mind after a little while (looking at you, Corgan).

That’s exactly the case with Nachtmystium, who are preparing to release what was being billed as their “final” record The World We Left Behind. Sure, there has been a revolving door of personnel throughout the band’s thirteen-year history, but Nachtmystium is, for all intents and purposes, Blake Judd.

Nachtmystium has released “Tear You Down,” the first single from what was being billed as their final record The World We Left Behind. Listen to “Tear You Down” here below.

Well, it turns out that the whole “final record” thing may have been a bit premature. On November 13, 2013, shortly after being arrested on charges of misdemeanor theft by unauthorized control of property, singer/guitarist Blake Judd issued a statement that he would be disbanding Nachtmystium after completion of the band’s seventh studio album, The World We Left Behind, which will be released on August 5, 2014. The singer/guitarist, who had always had a penchant for drug use, injured his leg back in 2009 and was prescribed Oxycodone for the pain. As a result, he developed a violent dependency to the drug and moved on up to a full-blown heroin addiction. It is alleged that the theft charges were a direct result of his habit. His stated reason for dissolving the band was to get away from the music business and work on getting his life back on track.

Chicago psychedelic black metal legends Nachtmystium broke up in 2013 after a 13-year career filled with controversy, numerous line-up changes, and some of the greatest black metal that America has ever produced.

Watch Nachtmystium perform live in the video below.

Blake Judd and Pat McCormick formed Nachtmystium in 2000 and started out producing fairly standard formula black metal based on the works of second-wave Scandinavian black metal bands such as Darkthrone and Mayhem. This lasted through their first two studio albums before the band began to experiment with incorporating some of classic rock’s psychedelic elements into their sound. The next three Nachtmystium releases would follow this path until the band came full circle, returning to a more straight ahead black metal assault for their sixth album Silencing Machine.