Blake Judd

Blake Judd
Blake Judd performing with Nachtmystium at Hole In The Sky - Bergen Metal Fest 2008
Background information
Birth name	Blakely Judd
Also known as	Azentrius
Born	(1982-11-13) November 13, 1982 (age 35)
Origin	Wheaton, Illinois, United States
Genres	Black metal, psychedelic rock, experimental rock
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass
Years active	1995–2015, 2017-present
Labels	Battle Kommand Records
Associated acts	Nachtmystium, Twilight, Krieg, Hate Meditation
Website	Battle Kommand Homepage

Blake Judd (born November 13, 1982) is an American musician and co-founder of now-defunct Battle Kommand Records. Currently the lead vocalist and frontman of the black metal band Nachtmystium, Judd has also contributed to musical acts and projects such as Twilight, Krieg, and Hate Meditation. He previously performed under the stage name "Azentrius." Judd's heroin addiction was publicly exposed in 2013 after he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor theft. His reputation was further damaged when fans, band mates, and business partners openly accused Judd of conducting fraudulent business practices. Judd later admitted to deceiving fans and left the music industry in 2014. He later reunited Nachtmystium in 2017 to perform two live shows and record a new studio album.

Judd was raised in Wheaton, Illinois, and took an early interest in music due to his parents' taste in classic rock. He saw The Allman Brothers Band perform live when he was in the second grade, and cites it as a major influence on his musical career. Judd took up the guitar when he was twelve years old, and began to listen to heavy metal shortly later.

He began playing in bands in his late teens. He served as the vocalist and guitarist for Ezurate and in the now-defunct thrash and black metal band Helms Deep. In his spare time, he worked at Metal Haven, a heavy metal record store in Chicago. Judd eventually founded Nachtmystium with a friend as a side-project, which he originally operated out of his parents' basement. He started to become more involved in Nachtmystium, then a raw black metal band, after receiving positive feedback from his audience. Judd incorporated psychedelic elements into the band's material, influenced by his love for progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd and The Allman Brothers, while also using various black metal elements. Nachtmystium became Judd's primary focus and his most successful music project.

Outside of Nachtmystium, Judd founded an independent record label, Battle Kommand Records, with Rebecca Clegg in St. Charles, Illinois. In 2005, he was commissioned by the Swedish underground label Total Holocaust Records to create the black metal "supergroup" Twilight. Twilight featured Wrest from Leviathan, producer Sanford Parker, Stavros Giannopoulos of The Atlas Moth, Imperial of Krieg, Malefic of Xasthur, and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Additionally, Judd was a session musician on Krieg's final album Blue Miasma (2006). Judd for many years performed under the pseudonym "Azentrius". Also, Judd played guitar on Obscurus Advocam's 2007 album Verbia Daemonicus.