God damn, people really hate that dude. If Internet was a thing back in 1942, I don't think even Hitler would've gotten as many "just OD and die already" messages from pretty much EVERYWHERE his name is mentioned. :/

I can understand people being pissed about the stuff he did (I'd probably be quite pissed too), but I never thought someone screwing you over for probably about 100-200 bucks would incite such rage that you feel you need to post death wishes pretty much all over the webz.

Not that I'm excusing him entirely, but based on my own understanding of drug addiction, that makes you do dumb shit. You learn to manipulate and con because that's what it takes sometimes to get your next fix. Most addicts aren't doing what they do out of malice - their motives are entirely self-serving. And sometimes that hurts others, or screws them over, but it's the nature of the business. The guy would be better off getting the help he needs (and hopefully wants). At that point I'm sure the regret of his past actions would eat him alive and he'd apologize and hope people could learn to forgive him. That's like... the process.

Not that I know the details and I don't even know either side of the story in-depth, that's just my take on the addiction thing.

I thought his addiction was in past. And didn't he already apologize like a hundred times already? I don't know if they did anything to compensate the people that never got their merch though.

I'm not excusing him at all. Addiction, unlike what people who are afraid of the phrase "personal responsibility" would have you believe, is not an illness but a choice. You don't "catch" a heroin addiction like you catch a flu and you don't have it just pop inside you like a malign tumor. You get it because you choose to shove an extremely powerful opiate into your veins (although most people start by snorting it first). And yes, it can and most likely will turn you into a piece of shit in order to feed your addiction, and most people, myself included, won't give a single flying fuck that your actions which have wronged them are not, strictly speaking, taken out of malice. That's his fault and his entirely, unless someone shoved that first dose of the big H into him by force.

But all that said, wishing death upon a petty thief? What is this, 600 A.D?

Written by Ilham on 03.08.2014 at 23:56
I thought his addiction was in past. And didn't he already apologize like a hundred times already? I don't know if they did anything to compensate the people that never got their merch though.

No clue to be honest. I never did any research about this project aside from listening to the two Black Meddle albums. Had no idea until today there was this dramatic backstory and whatnot.

Written by Ilham on 03.08.2014 at 23:56

I thought his addiction was in past. And didn't he already apologize like a hundred times already? I don't know if they did anything to compensate the people that never got their merch though.

He kept on apologizing yet kept on ripping off people at the same time. Not only when it came to merch but also concerning stuff he 'sold' from his own collection.
I know quite a few people who were ripped off by him.

Bored out of my tree looking through MA NSBM bands, lots of connections here.

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Trist_Vintry_Vandre/32256

Written by Slayer666 on 04.08.2014 at 00:02

I'm not excusing him at all. Addiction, unlike what people who are afraid of the phrase "personal responsibility" would have you believe, is not an illness but a choice.

Yes, because the decision to classify it as an illness was made by a bunch of people with no knowledge of addiction. Addiction isn't a choice because it can stem from a number of places - depression - either through circumstance or chemical imbalance in the brain, pre-disposition (either genetic or surroundings), just to name a few broad areas of origin. I'm not saying all addicts are completely unaccountable, but addiction is usually the symptom of a larger issue. It's not just a matter of "Johnny decided he wanted to try heroin - woops! He's addicted!"

Just went to that youtube page - Jesus Christ people are fucking harsh. Regardless of whether the rip-off business happened years ago or yesterday, isn't it a little over the line telling someone to go OD because they ripped you off for a few bucks? How about cut your losses, and stop exaggerating your petty disputes to use as ammo against someone who isn't in a stable frame of mind (whether still addicted or recovering). By all means, boycott the band if you feel that's necessary, but stop acting like he killed your family or something. I think people really need to reassess their morals if they wish death upon someone over $200.

Written by Doc G. on 29.08.2014 at 10:15
Just went to that youtube page - Jesus Christ people are fucking harsh. Regardless of whether the rip-off business happened years ago or yesterday, isn't it a little over the line telling someone to go OD because they ripped you off for a few bucks? How about cut your losses, and stop exaggerating your petty disputes to use as ammo against someone who isn't in a stable frame of mind (whether still addicted or recovering). By all means, boycott the band if you feel that's necessary, but stop acting like he killed your family or something. I think people really need to reassess their morals if they wish death upon someone over $200.

To be fair, Youtube comments are in no way a reflection of society, plus you get all kinds of trolls and keyboard warriors who say things they never would in person - things they might not even think, but due to the mob mentality on a page like that, some people just like adding fuel to the fire. It's like a game and they don't realize how serious some people might take what they say to heart.

Murder someone and burn down churches, achieve eternal fame in the black metal scene. Take money from someone, receive death threats and get told to kill yourself.

#justblackmetalthings

Written by Doc G. on 29.08.2014 at 10:15

Yes, because the decision to classify it as an illness was made by a bunch of people with no knowledge of addiction. Addiction isn't a choice because it can stem from a number of places - depression - either through circumstance or chemical imbalance in the brain, pre-disposition (either genetic or surroundings), just to name a few broad areas of origin. I'm not saying all addicts are completely unaccountable, but addiction is usually the symptom of a larger issue. It's not just a matter of "Johnny decided he wanted to try heroin - woops! He's addicted!"

As someone who was actually diagnosed with depression by an actual psychiatrist (no, not a psychologist) and someone who's had a very on-and-off relationship with cocaine for the past two and a half years, I think I have slightly more authority to talk about these things than someone who gathers their information on the subject from the Internet/wherever (presumably you).

Instead of taking my prescribed medicine and attending therapy like I was told, I opted for the quicker and (being younger and very stupid) "cooler" way out, and the rest is history. So I made a choice. I had two paths, I chose the worse one and I suffer the consequences. The decision to shove coke up my nose was in no way, shape or form an "illness". Depression is an illness, addiction is not.

Also, I love this sentence: "Yes, because the decision to classify it as an illness was made by a bunch of people with no knowledge of addiction."

Yeah, like obesity is also officially recognized an illness in the US. "Sorry, can't come to work/school today, I seem to have caught a bad case of being fat".

Before someone starts bitching at me at how "there are people who have glandular problems that cause them to not be able to lose weight, you insensitive prick", well I don't think that the AMA differentiates between people who have those problems and those who just eat too much and sit all day. Correct me if I'm wrong. And even if I am, then obesity is just a side-effect of their disease, not a disease in itself. Same thing with addiction and depression.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 29.08.2014 at 17:18

Written by Doc G. on 29.08.2014 at 10:15
Just went to that youtube page - Jesus Christ people are fucking harsh. Regardless of whether the rip-off business happened years ago or yesterday, isn't it a little over the line telling someone to go OD because they ripped you off for a few bucks? How about cut your losses, and stop exaggerating your petty disputes to use as ammo against someone who isn't in a stable frame of mind (whether still addicted or recovering). By all means, boycott the band if you feel that's necessary, but stop acting like he killed your family or something. I think people really need to reassess their morals if they wish death upon someone over $200.

To be fair, Youtube comments are in no way a reflection of society, plus you get all kinds of trolls and keyboard warriors who say things they never would in person - things they might not even think, but due to the mob mentality on a page like that, some people just like adding fuel to the fire. It's like a game and they don't realize how serious some people might take what they say to heart.

Murder someone and burn down churches, achieve eternal fame in the black metal scene. Take money from someone, receive death threats and get told to kill yourself.

#justblackmetalthings

Other than youtube, people seem to be taking this pretty far:

https://www.facebook.com/blakecrush

Written by Slayer666 on 29.08.2014 at 18:12
As someone who was actually diagnosed with depression by an actual psychiatrist (no, not a psychologist) and someone who's had a very on-and-off relationship with cocaine for the past two and a half years, I think I have slightly more authority to talk about these things than someone who gathers their information on the subject from the Internet/wherever (presumably you).

Instead of taking my prescribed medicine and attending therapy like I was told, I opted for the quicker and (being younger and very stupid) "cooler" way out, and the rest is history. So I made a choice. I had two paths, I chose the worse one and I suffer the consequences. The decision to shove coke up my nose was in no way, shape or form an "illness". Depression is an illness, addiction is not.

Also, I love this sentence: "Yes, because the decision to classify it as an illness was made by a bunch of people with no knowledge of addiction."

Yeah, like obesity is also officially recognized an illness in the US. "Sorry, can't come to work/school today, I seem to have caught a bad case of being fat".

Before someone starts bitching at me at how "there are people who have glandular problems that cause them to not be able to lose weight, you insensitive prick", well I don't think that the AMA differentiates between people who have those problems and those who just eat too much and sit all day. Correct me if I'm wrong. And even if I am, then obesity is just a side-effect of their disease, not a disease in itself. Same thing with addiction and depression.

As someone who studies addictions and works closely with the people who experience them, I can say that Doc here has a much more accurate perception of what addiction entails. Feel free to blame the man putting the needle in his arm, call him weak, say it's a decision based on his desire to be cool or whatever else, but I can tell you right now only a very small percentage of people who have an addiction take that path.

It's not as black and white as you make it out to be. We're getting pretty off-topic here analyzing the cause of addictions but to say it's simply a matter of making a choice comes across as ignorant. I've heard stories similar to yours and I've heard plenty of others that make you realize it's not just about a person sitting down and saying okay, I'm going to shoot up or start drinking this because that's how I want to escape my mental health issues. Addiction in itself is an illness that often stems from something else, but something like depression and addiction aren't mutually exclusive.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 29.08.2014 at 17:18

To be fair, Youtube comments are in no way a reflection of society, plus you get all kinds of trolls and keyboard warriors who say things they never would in person - things they might not even think, but due to the mob mentality on a page like that, some people just like adding fuel to the fire. It's like a game and they don't realize how serious some people might take what they say to heart.

Murder someone and burn down churches, achieve eternal fame in the black metal scene. Take money from someone, receive death threats and get told to kill yourself.

#justblackmetalthings

Yeah, the way I see it is there is a little more...reality with Blake's situation. It's one thing to utter death threats - I think even the dumbest youtube commenter does it with even subconscious irony. I think they know they're not going to fly halfway across the globe to follow through with their threats. However, egging someone on who is probably in a pretty dark place seems...unnecessary, and a little cruel. Even if you don't have any pity for the guy, isn't it enough to know that either A) He's struggling to sober up but will still have to face his crappy decisions every day for the rest of his life, or B) He's still addicted, meaning he's probably in a crappy place emotionally and will die soon anyways. Besides, if his addiction problems are as bad as they've been made out to be in the media, I somehow doubt ripping off a few fans is the most regrettable thing he's done.

It's almost like these people want to take credit for his death.

This blog from Krieg's frontman is probably the most revealing of just how bad it's been for those involved with Judd: http://m.noisey.vice.com/blog/neill-krieg-blake-judd

Written by Guest on 11.09.2014 at 09:37

This blog from Krieg's frontman is probably the most revealing of just how bad it's been for those involved with Judd: http://m.noisey.vice.com/blog/neill-krieg-blake-judd

Yeah, part of me wishes this wasn't true, but I haven't seen/heard anything to contradict this. It seems pretty heartfelt and meticulously documented. I love Nachtmystium's music to death, but damn was that ever hard to read. The saddest part is that the drugs don't seem entirely to blame. Not to defend Blake's actions, but I really wanted to think his shitty behavior was linked to the drug use. It seems he acted like a dick before, and his asshole behavior was exacerbated by the drugs.

I've enjoyed the last 4 Nachtmystium albums immensely, I'd definitely be interested in hearing more, but with the amount of bridges that guy has burned, I can't see another Nachtmystium record happening. The only way I can see it happening is if it's funded entirely by him (unlikely, considering his obviously shit money-handling skills) and self-releases it (and I'd be surprised if anyone would still want to order anything directly from him again - I definitely won't.)

I think it's only a matter of time before we hear about his suicide/overdose. What a waste of talent.

At this point fuck him.

Yeah yeah, Blake's a twat and everything, but I think with regard to how many people got screwed over a small portion of the blame should probably fall on Neill Jameson, and possibly even Century Media here. To say once bitten, twice shy with Jameson would be an egregious understatement. He let Blake walk all over him for years and years. Friend or no friend he should have blew the whistle on him ages ago then maybe more people would have been aware of Blake's tendencies. Though it's speculation I have to wonder if there was an amount of blind-eye-turning with regard to Century Media too. Maybe they should have looked into things a bit closer instead of taking Blake's word on everything, who somehow seemed to own the rights to half the black metal records ever made. Makes their recent goodwill act seem a little less sweet somehow.

Quote:

His idolatry of Kurt Cobain was very well known among his friends.

And now everything makes sense. This should have been a red flag for everyone who knew him way before he started doing all the shit he did.

A famous musician who is also a scammer...
You may find bad kinds of people on any environment

I read the Neill Jameson testimony a couple days ago, I was surprised not to go TL;DR. I actually got really curious when I made a connection between Battle Kommand Records, Blake Judd, and a CD of Obscurus Advocam I ordered in 2008 and never received. Up to reading that interview, I never made 2 and 2 together. I sent a message saying I didn't get it, some guy (Judd?) said another CD had been shipped, which I never saw either. Sent three or four other messages and gave up on my 11 euros after three months. A couple of months later the BKR website was closed.

I do agree with Joe. You get scammed and robbed of thousands of dollars for years, are aware that he's doing the same to others, and you wait until 2014 to tell people. I have ditched people for a hundred times less than what he wrote about.

Written by deadone on 13.09.2014 at 02:51

A lot of people don't have that confidence. The dude seemed to display same traits as an abused wife or bullied employee - lack of confidence, naivety, blind loyalty, misplaced hope etc.


That he is in a Black Metal band and that even $50 matters a lot to him actually says a lot in support of that (no confidence to get decent job/training, misfit in society etc etc).

I wouldn't push the analysis to that point because I don't want to extrapolate from what I read and call him all that. I just think it's unfair to just put all the blame on Judd, as if no one knew what he was doing at the time it happened. Apparently people knew. That's all I'm saying.

Written by deadone on 13.09.2014 at 03:06

I've probably been hanging around psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers for too a long time.

Also have you thought that maybe Judd is charismatic? From everything I've read abut this guy, a lot of people seemed in awe with him.

A stated I've known quite a few people who have degenerated into drug addicts. Some where quite charismatic and people gladly lent them money (and in one instance cars) and never got a dollar back. I never did it but I've always been jaded and cynical bastard with trust issues.

We can sit here with 20-20 hindsight and no personal experience all we want, but the true situation is unknown. What is known is that Judd is a drug addicted criminal who used his position in one of the leading USBM bands to rip people off.

It's not about whether I can venture into an analysis or not, but rather because I don't want to imagine stuff about the guy from the 1000 words I read from him.

No, I don't think Judd is charismatic. I actually rarely even read about musicians because I taught myself not to care about them and just listen to the music. I'm not defending him, I'm trying to be fair. He ripped off people, me included - even if the total sum is minimal. But some of the people mentioned, author included, could have blown the whistle on him earlier.

I'm repeating myself but I don't know what you wanted me to say.

Written by Ilham on 13.09.2014 at 03:20

Written by deadone on 13.09.2014 at 03:06

I've probably been hanging around psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers for too a long time.

Also have you thought that maybe Judd is charismatic? From everything I've read abut this guy, a lot of people seemed in awe with him.

A stated I've known quite a few people who have degenerated into drug addicts. Some where quite charismatic and people gladly lent them money (and in one instance cars) and never got a dollar back. I never did it but I've always been jaded and cynical bastard with trust issues.

We can sit here with 20-20 hindsight and no personal experience all we want, but the true situation is unknown. What is known is that Judd is a drug addicted criminal who used his position in one of the leading USBM bands to rip people off.

It's not about whether I can venture into an analysis or not, but rather because I don't want to imagine stuff about the guy from the 1000 words I read from him.

No, I don't think Judd is charismatic. I actually rarely even read about musicians because I taught myself not to care about them and just listen to the music. I'm not defending him, I'm trying to be fair. He ripped off people, me included - even if the total sum is minimal. But some of the people mentioned, him included, could have blown the whistle on him earlier.

I'm repeating myself but I don't know what you wanted me to say.

I think he may be on to something when he said this:

Quote:

a lot of people seemed in awe with him.

Maybe not necessarily in awe of him, but his music. Take the Black Meddle albums for example - he was being celebrated as genius at the time those came out (and hell, I was on that boat, and am only hesitant now due to rumors that he didn't write a lot the material but took credit for it.) The issues of him ripping people off weren't as widely publicized then. So if Neil started calling him out at that point, he wouldn't have been taken as seriously, or at least from his perspective. By doing that he would have run the risk of simply coming across as some disgruntled ex-band mate of a rising star, which could have been damaging to his own career.

So while I agree that this blog is a little late, I can understand the logic behind the timing of it.

Written by Doc G. on 13.09.2014 at 09:22


Maybe not necessarily in awe of him, but his music. Take the Black Meddle albums for example - he was being celebrated as genius at the time those came out (and hell, I was on that boat, and am only hesitant now due to rumors that he didn't write a lot the material but took credit for it.) The issues of him ripping people off weren't as widely publicized then. So if Neil started calling him out at that point, he wouldn't have been taken as seriously, or at least from his perspective. By doing that he would have run the risk of simply coming across as some disgruntled ex-band mate of a rising star, which could have been damaging to his own career.

So while I agree that this blog is a little late, I can understand the logic behind the timing of it.

Yeah okay, now I can completely picture how that could deter Neill/others from calling him out on his bullshit. I honestly never thought there was such a cult behind him/Nachtmystium. I've known the band and their music for years, and all I am reading about these past few weeks seems almost unreal. But when they were at the peak of their careers I lived in France where there was cult around another scene, and USBM was regarded as less interesting.

I can see the points about career risk, valid points indeed. I still think more could have been done though, be it contacting a few labels and setting things straight. Even a few neutral and diplomatic messages to the public might have helped expedite things in giving people a solid foundation to come forward with their claims. This is black metal after all, I think bands can easily survive a public disagreement with another band / member. It might even boost sales perhaps. As for people being in awe, I would imagine that's true to an extent, but probably only with fans. I'd find it hard to think that anyone that really knew him and his obsessive habits would be unaware of what he was like. This isn't a Hollywood film; the kind of charisma - the kind to make people bend to your every need - is not as all encompassing as that surely. I'm sure he did lead a few people up the garden path and was an expert lier, but these junkie accusations have been flying around for years now (and it sounds like Blake was even proud of it and admitted it readily). I find it hard to believe no one put two-and-two together. I think it's probably more a case of turning a blind eye or just not wanting the hassle of getting involved than people being bewitched by his charisma.

As for Jameson lacking the confidence needed to do what was right? I don't buy that at all. It's lazy psychology, and a false dichotomy, to jump to that conclusion just because he's mildly overweight. The guy has headed a successful and respected black metal band. I'd say that takes a reasonable amount of confidence to do. Reading other interviews of his he's clearly an opinionated guy and doesn't seem to have an issue calling people out on what they are. He even talks shit about customers in his record shop. His excuse for the Blake fiasco would likely be more of a combination of misplaced loyalty and the career / reputation risk as mentioned I'd wager. Perhaps there was even some fear, or intimidation of Blake's, perceived, power and influence. Something to consider.

Ultimately this is 95%+ Blake's fault of course, but I still think this is something that probably could have been avoided, or prevented earlier, if a person or two had piped up. Blake funded everything through fucking over fans and friends after all.

Regardless of his charisma that could or could not have led his friends and fans to trust him blindly, there are professionals that could have put a stop to this. The most gullible in the story, assuming it did happen the way Jameson depicts it, are the people over at the labels. Judd was the only guy in the scene to talk to? Nobody else was in charge of all those records and rights? Nobody ever asked anyone else if it was okay to buy those rights off him? That's what I really find hard to believe.

I find it funny that being overweight is being equated to lacking confidence by deadone.
Loads of overweight people are as confident as can be.

Of course there are also overwieght people who lack confidence to being overweight, but that's the same case with skinny people and people who are spot on weight wise.

Written by Ilham on 13.09.2014 at 13:48

Regardless of his charisma that could or could not have led his friends and fans to trust him blindly, there are professionals that could have put a stop to this. The most gullible in the story, assuming it did happen the way Jameson depicts it, are the people over at the labels. Judd was the only guy in the scene to talk to? Nobody else was in charge of all those records and rights? Nobody ever asked anyone else if it was okay to buy those rights off him? That's what I really find hard to believe.

Probably selfishness and dollar signs. A label gets wind of some cult, out of print merch possibilities, from a famous black metal musician? Ka-ching! Let's not ask questions, I mean after all, it's from the mouth of a well known black metal personality. What could be wrong with that. That's why I think there's a broad circle of responsibility here, from obsessive compulsive, junkie-driven antics, through to less deplorable acts of ignorance, apathy and selfishness.

Written by Guest on 13.09.2014 at 13:54

Probably selfishness and dollar signs. A label gets wind of some cult, out of print merch possibilities, from a famous black metal musician? Ka-ching! Let's not ask questions, I mean after all, it's from the mouth of a well known black metal personality. What could be wrong with that. That's why I think there's a broad circle of responsibility here, from obsessive compulsive, junkie-driven antics, through to less deplorable acts of ignorance, apathy and selfishness.

Yeah. After all the "professionals" I'm talking about, if they're the same guys I saw in the bands and labels in Paris, it's possible. Still not defending Judd at all, but any kind of group of people that revolves around itself or a few personalities becomes toxic after a while, I don't see why it couldn't be the same across the Atlantic.

I very much agree about the weight thing. Didn't want to get into details for fear of losing the point of the discussion.

Yeah...the overweight thing - I can see it being maybe a slight issue, maybe. But I really can't see it being to the point where he'd put up with that shit for that long. As Joe pointed out, the guy has lead his own respected band for some time - that does take confidence.

I think the most logical explanation is the simplest one; they were friends. I think he mentioned at the start of the blog - they've known each other for like 15 years. It's like any other shitty, abusive relationship; simply walking away is easier said than done. You want to believe that the person is going to get their shit together, so you put up with some really awful behavior out of misplaced optimism and loyalty.