Blending prominent synthesizers, heavy guitars and originally drum machines, Nightshade adventurous eclecticism has been standing out in the metal scene for 25 years.
Chief songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Wacinski, vocalist Dave Genillard and bass player Al, three outsider 90’s teenagers with an affinity for heavy music and a rebellious need to craft something different, founded Nightshade in 1998.
Influenced by the burgeoning 90’s black metal scene, such as swiss fellow band Samael, the group forged their own electronic-industrial dark metal style in the early 2000’s adding cosmic synths extravaganza, imagery and lyrics. While vocals appealed to extreme metal fans, the songs also had an undeniable sense of rhythm and melody that stood apart from most metal acts of the time and infused a combination of curiosity, talent and musical freedom.
Nightshade was named after Summonig’s 1997 EP “Nightshade Forests”. Their 1999 debut EP“Andromeda’s Heart”, a super-symphonic and avant-gardist material, set the band’s distinctive, uncanny and progressive style.
In 2001, their first LP “Nebula Trance”, offered their touch of cosmic metal with gothic and industrial influences, more bombastic beats and new wave inspired synths.
In 2003, the self-produced EP “Wired” went into harder-hitting territory yet remained more accessible than “Nebula Trance”. Following this release, gigs came quickly in the burgeoning swiss metal scene and the band started performing more frequently at shows and festivals in Switzerland, being on stage nearly every week around the spring of 2004, and abroad for the years to come, establishing its own outsider’s anthems among the swiss underground metal scene. They also appeared in a live performance in the studios at the Swiss National television (“TSR”, now “RTS”), gradually forging their name out of the dynamic underground swiss metal scene of the mid- 2000’s.
Several years years of regular live performances raised questions about the ongoing creative direction of the band, based on drum machines and a style being too often, and at times unnecessarily, compared with Samael.
Nightshade 2006, as XICONIn 2006, with the rapid evolution of the metal genres, guitar assaults started to reign supreme and the band felt it was time to integrate real drums and put heavier guitars and rhythms on the front stage of their music. With Thomas being multi-intrumentalist and originally a drummer, the move back to drums became quite natural
They went on pursuing a heavier style with “Theogony” (2006), though in large part written in the Nightshade era, and “Monument” (2009) with melodic death influences and an industrialized approach to production. In 2011, Thomas called it quits. Xicon hired Ludwar on drums, played several shows but disbanded two years later. Its members remained active in the Swiss musical scene in bands including 3 Days of Silence, Duthaig or drone act Diablerets, among others.
After a few gaps years of recuperation, on Halloween of 2019, Nightshade was reimagined as a duo by its founding members David, vocals and lyrics, and Thomas taking the duties on guitar, synth and drums. Heavier material emerged out of the spirit of their 1999 debut EP, offering a darker, more sophisticated atmosphere impregnated by the band’s distinctive sonic aesthetics. The LP “Sounds Of Dark Matter” (released November 2021 via My Kingdom Music), set a new milestone for the band: exit the drum machine, enter modern production standards to capture the raw creativity akin to the band’s early days. With enthusiastic media reception, eight songs create a unique and perceptive universe of melodic and impressionist soundscapes that ingeniously contort new wave-inspired synths and beats with black metal inspired riffs and harsh vocals.
In the fall of 2023, the band announced it was working on new material.