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.