Nachtmystium Blight Privilege

Nachtmystium are back! And after all that was said and done, mastermind Blake Judd is still standing. Not only that, but Judd has also clawed himself back from the abyss of a most extreme life imaginable to a much more quiet, observant, and matured artist and person. His return will not be met with universal applause - even from the black metal scene. For anybody following the tumultuous career of Blake Judd and his pioneering band that has pushed the borders of their genre into new territories, this comes hardly as a surprise. With their ninth studio album "Blight Privilege", Nachtmystium are once again presenting a masterpiece that can even compete with the trilogy of albums that many view as the peak of the earlier career of the American black metal (USBM) trailblazers: "Instinct: Decay" (2006), "Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. I" (2008), and "Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II" (2010). Like an infernal sniper, every song on "Blight Privilege" hits straight on target. All the darkest elements, required and longed for, are there: harsh, rasping vocals, the fierce hum and whirr of guitars burning with an ice cold fire, moments of ecstatic and exalted beauty in hellish soundscapes. Yet there are also those fine details that the musically well-versed Judd has always cunningly hidden in the general sonic onslaught such as post-punk and wave elements, and now even a knife-tip of outlaw country. "Blight Privilege" connects Nachtmystium to it's glory-days - not as a nostalgic reminiscence but as a forward-looking continuation and next evolutionary step. If anything, this ninth album is marked by a maturity derived from experience and learning. Judd's often diabolically catchy tunes are sharper than ever and have lost none of their bite. This might be due to the fact that it is the first album of the USBM spearheads which Judd composed in a fully sober state. With "Blight Privilege", Nachtmystium demand the throne of USBM back. This album clearly has the musical force and lyrical daring to do give credit to this claim. Love it or hate it, Nachtmystium have set a tall milestone with "Blight Privilege"!