Join
now to receive all the new
music
Prophecy Productions releases,
including
46 back-catalog items,
delivered instantly to you via the Bandcamp app for iOS and Android.
Learn more.
Reformed American black metallers Nachtmystium have returned from the shadows on new EP, “Resilient,” their first for Prophecy Productions. Spearheaded by enigma Blake Judd, the reconfigured Nachtmystium picks up where acclaimed full-lengths “The World We Left Behind” and “Silencing Machine” left off but sheds unprecedented darkness on Judd’s artistic turmoil. The violent introspection spread across “Resilient”’s tracks takes Nachtmystium through new nightmarish landscapes as the group pivot into slower tempi with washes of melancholy as the main sonic driver.
Joining Nachtmystium leader Blake Judd are keyboardist Job ‘Phenex’ Bos, a Dutchman living in Bergen, Norway, where he moonlights with German black metallers Dark Fortress and performs live with black metal icons Satyricon and black-doom luminaries The Ruins of Beverast; bassist Martin van Valkenstijn, a Germany-based musician, who’s played live with legends Empyrium, Sun of the Sleepless, and The Vision Bleak, forms half the rhythm section; and drummer Jean Graffio, an American musician, is the other half. Graffio also drums for California-based black metallers Sumeria.
“Resilient” is the start of a new chapter for Judd and Nachtmystium. The EP kicks off with the title track, a full-bodied churn of sadness, desperation, and determination. The main melody is powered by a dreamy keyboard line with Judd employing a despairing riff as counterpoint. “Silver Lanterns” is more traditional Nachtmystium but with a shimmering centerpiece. Between the half-blasts and tremeloed riffs, the keyboards act as a foil, providing lift to the overall song. “Desert Illumination” is almost uplifting in its doom-like tempo and sing-song melody line. That, however, is crushed when Nachtmystium invert the motif for a more malicious coda.
PSA: if there was an album you heard a couple years ago and thought it was ok, listen to it again and you might love it.
That's what happened to me with this album. I cannot fathom why it didn't stick with me back then. Same thing happened with Decoherence's Unitarity for that matter. Matten
It's haunting. It's chaos. It's energy. It's fatigue. It's happiness. It's sadness. It's love. It's hate. This is close to the perfect black metal album for me. Marcello Velasco
A breath of fresh air compared to some of the stuff I usually listen to because they know how to make simple song structures emotional. Great stuff for sure. 9RnK7