Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1
Encyclopedia
Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 is the fourth full-length album by Chicago
band Nachtmystium
. It was released via Century Media Records
in the United States
on June 10, 2008, and by Candlelight Records
in Europe
on June 23, 2008. The record was recorded in December 2007 at Sanford Parker
's Volume Studios. The album contains such experimental musical flirtations as saxophone
s and other non-black metal
musical "meddling".
The album's subtitle itself incorporates the title of Pink Floyd
's 1971 breakthrough album Meddle
, while the album's opening track, "One of These Nights", is a homage
to the Meddles "One of These Days".
According to the Chicago Tribune, Blake Judd
, the band's founder, claims the idea for the album's name came from his desire to reestablish Nachtmystium's image in the music community. He states, "The idea of 'Assassins' is that an assassin kills, gets rid of or destroys something. It's not directly about us. We want to assassinate all these preconceived notions about where the metal community feels we belong in music and want to do our own thing. And what we do is black meddle."
The band uploaded "Your True Enemy", a song from Assassins, onto their MySpace
page in February 2008, and the title track "Assassins" in April 2008.
Daymare Recordings released a Japanese
version of Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 with bonus tracks on June 20, 2008.
gave Assassins a 9/10 rating, as well as an editors choice award. Ramirez later named Assassins on his list of "10 Great Black Metal Albums."
Andy O'Connor, a writer for The Daily Texan
acknowledged the band's innovative approach, but claimed the album was compromised "by lack of direction and ill-fitting production."
Brent Burton of the Washington City Paper
believed Assassins featured a more mature sound compared to Nachtmystium's other releases. He also praised the band for incorporating jazz and psychedelic elements into their black metal sound.
Pitchfork Media
claimed Assassins was one 2008's top releases, and gave it an 8.9 out of 10. Reviewer Brandon Stosuy claimed their sound to be "unique, powerful blend of 70s-drenched black'n'roll." He went on to further claim, "Assassins contains big, almost stadium-sized anthems, monumental drinking songs, gorgeous instrumental excursions, prog-metal, and solos that make you catch your breath".
KNAC
gave the album an 'A'-rating. They described the album, stating, "Atop a raw, furious black metal foundation, Nachtmystium - whose earlier work was way more 'true Norwegian black metal'-inspired, a la Darkthrone
- add a liberal helping of [progressive], psychedelia and classic rock, and bring it all together with organic, retro production to craft something utterly unique and pretty damn cool."
Jon Caramanica of the New York Times considered Assassins to be "more pedestrian" in contrast to Nachtmystium's previous release, Instinct: Decay
. He commented, "Most of the songs from the new album, especially “Ghosts of Grace,” were corrosive, dense and technically flamboyant. And Mr. Judd’s growl was heavy, foregoing the lucidity he gave it on record."
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
band Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium is an American psychedelic black metal band formed by Blake Judd, formerly known as Azentrius, and Pat McCormick. The band's name is derived from the German word Nacht meaning "night", and the made-up term mystium which resembles the Latin adjective mysticum...
. It was released via Century Media Records
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on June 10, 2008, and by Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records is an independent record label based in Europe founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal and death metal, having bands such as Emperor,...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
on June 23, 2008. The record was recorded in December 2007 at Sanford Parker
Minsk (band)
Minsk is a doom metal/post-metal band from Peoria, Illinois founded in 2002. They are signed to Relapse Records. Self described as "psychedelic metal", their songs tend to start out as slow and simple, and become heavy and complex towards the end...
's Volume Studios. The album contains such experimental musical flirtations as saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s and other non-black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
musical "meddling".
The album's subtitle itself incorporates the title of Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's 1971 breakthrough album Meddle
Meddle
Meddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, while the album's opening track, "One of These Nights", is a homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the Meddles "One of These Days".
According to the Chicago Tribune, Blake Judd
Blake Judd
Blake Judd is an American musician and co-founder of Battle Kommand Records. He previously performed under the stage name "Azentrius".-Biography:...
, the band's founder, claims the idea for the album's name came from his desire to reestablish Nachtmystium's image in the music community. He states, "The idea of 'Assassins' is that an assassin kills, gets rid of or destroys something. It's not directly about us. We want to assassinate all these preconceived notions about where the metal community feels we belong in music and want to do our own thing. And what we do is black meddle."
The band uploaded "Your True Enemy", a song from Assassins, onto their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page in February 2008, and the title track "Assassins" in April 2008.
Daymare Recordings released a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
version of Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1 with bonus tracks on June 20, 2008.
Track listing
Production
- Produced by Sanford Parker & Nachtmystium
- Engineered & Mixed by Sanford Parker
- Mastered by Collin Jordan
Nachtmystium
- Blake Judd - lead guitars, vocals
- Jeff Wilson - rhythm guitars
- Zion Meagher - bass, backing vocals
- Tony Laureano - drums, percussion
Additional Musicians
- Chris Black - keyboards, programming
- Bruce Lamont - saxophone
- Sanford Parker - moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, keyboards, effects - Matt Johnsen - guest lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
on tracks 2, 8, 9, 10 - Jeff Sealy - guest lead guitar on tracks 5, 6
Reception
Carlos Ramirez of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave Assassins a 9/10 rating, as well as an editors choice award. Ramirez later named Assassins on his list of "10 Great Black Metal Albums."
Andy O'Connor, a writer for The Daily Texan
The Daily Texan
The Daily Texan is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is entirely student-run and independent from the university. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States with a daily circulation of roughly 30,000 during the fall and spring semesters and bills...
acknowledged the band's innovative approach, but claimed the album was compromised "by lack of direction and ill-fitting production."
Brent Burton of the Washington City Paper
Washington City Paper
The Washington City Paper is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Founded in 1981, and published for its first year under the masthead 1981, taking the City Paper name in volume 2, by Russ Smith, it shared ownership with the Chicago Reader from 1982...
believed Assassins featured a more mature sound compared to Nachtmystium's other releases. He also praised the band for incorporating jazz and psychedelic elements into their black metal sound.
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
claimed Assassins was one 2008's top releases, and gave it an 8.9 out of 10. Reviewer Brandon Stosuy claimed their sound to be "unique, powerful blend of 70s-drenched black'n'roll." He went on to further claim, "Assassins contains big, almost stadium-sized anthems, monumental drinking songs, gorgeous instrumental excursions, prog-metal, and solos that make you catch your breath".
KNAC
KNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...
gave the album an 'A'-rating. They described the album, stating, "Atop a raw, furious black metal foundation, Nachtmystium - whose earlier work was way more 'true Norwegian black metal'-inspired, a la Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...
- add a liberal helping of [progressive], psychedelia and classic rock, and bring it all together with organic, retro production to craft something utterly unique and pretty damn cool."
Jon Caramanica of the New York Times considered Assassins to be "more pedestrian" in contrast to Nachtmystium's previous release, Instinct: Decay
Instinct: Decay
-Production:*Produced By Azentrius & Chris Black*Recorded, Engineered & Mixed By Chris Black*Mastered By Scott Hull-Personnel:*Azentrius - lead & rhythm guitar, vocals*Sinic - rhythm guitar*Lord Imperial - bass*Wargoat Obscurum - drums...
. He commented, "Most of the songs from the new album, especially “Ghosts of Grace,” were corrosive, dense and technically flamboyant. And Mr. Judd’s growl was heavy, foregoing the lucidity he gave it on record."