The Bad Penny (beta)

Could there be a band better-suited to participate in The Bad Penny‘s ongoing On Tyranny series than one that prominently states on their Bandcamp page that they “detest fascism, white supremacy and nationalist ideology. NO GODS, NO MASTERS, NO BOOTLICKERS”?

The answer is no.

Meet Nixil, a melodic black-metal band that hails from Baltimore and is still pretty young at approximately five years old. When The Bad Penny learned that they. Nixil also distinguish themselves from just about every other extreme-metal band by incorporating atmospheric elements, French avant-garde flourishes, occult psychedelia and crust punk into their sound.

To the extent that Nixil have a peer group, it’s Portland, Oregon’s Drouth. That quartet stirs a stew of atmospheric death metal, black metal and blackened death metal in their proverbial cauldron. Nixil and Drouth are such a good match that the bands teamed for a split album, recorded and mixed by the revered J. Robbins, that came out roughly two weeks ago. The two bands are also heading out on tour together starting tomorrow.

The Bad Penny caught up with Nixil vocalist Ash Nix – who says he became an anarchist and anti-fascist in high school – and bassist/backing vocalist Aurora less than a month ago. During our candid conversation, they made a strong case that black metal currently occupies the fiercest role of any music genre in battling the Trump administration’s and oligarchs’ fascist takeover of the U.S.

If you dug The Bad Penny‘s conversation with Nixil, take a gander and read On Tyranny editions with grindcore group Nequient and other extreme-metal acts including Chairmaker, Voidhämmer and Rotten Sound.

The full catalog of The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series is here.

Here’s a rundown of Nixil’s upcoming tour dates,
all
with
Drouth:

May 7
-
Seattle
@
Neumos
(Northwest
Terror
Fest)
May 8
-
Eugene
@
John Henry’s
May 9
-
Redding
@
The
Dip
May 10
-
Sacramento
@
Cafe Colonial

May 12
-
Los Angeles
@
Moroccan Lounge
May 13
-
San Diego
@
The Tower Bar

May 14
-
Palmdale
@
Transplants Brewing Company

May 15
-
Santa Rosa
@
The Arlene Francis Center

May 16
-
Eureka
@
Savage Henry Comedy Club

May 17
-
Portland
@
High Water Mark Lounge


For
more
on
Nixil,
go
here:

https://nixilnothing.com/
https://nixil.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@nixilnothing
https://www.instagram.com/nixilnothing
https://www.facebook.com/nixilnothing

This entry was posted on 05/06/2026 at 7:01 pm and is filed under Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags anarchist, anti-fascism, authoritarianism, black
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