Black metal outfit Nachtmystium is back from hiatus! Blight Privilege, out now as of the first of November, is their ninth studio album — the first since they disbanded in 2020. But the band is back with a fresh new perspective. They have matured after a lot of negative events, rising up from the ashes of misfortune from incidents such as Blake Judd’s addiction that led him to a life on the streets.
Nachtmystium lives on another day and now, has another masterpiece in the collection.
The album’s title Blight Privilege is derived from their perspective on the concept of “white privilege”. Mastermind Blake Judd explains: “There are large sections of this country where impoverished whites are just as poor as impoverished blacks or browns 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 crises 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.”
My two favorite tracks are “Predator Phoenix” and “Survivors Remorse”, both saturated with brilliant guitar riffs and diabolical metal-crushing. Judd’s torrential life has brought him back full-circle to create an interesting album. There’s not a dull moment to the whole recording — go check it out!
Nachtmystium – “Survivor’s Remorse” official visualizer
Links: Bandcamp
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Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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