Judas Iscariot "Distant In Solitary Night"

Judas Iscariot was an American black metal band. It began in 1992 as the solo-project of Andrew Harris, who performed under the pseudonym Akhenaten (after the Egyptian Pharaoh of the same name).

As the band's name implied, Akhenaten considered the story of the band Judas Iscariot as documentation of one individual's struggle against the moral boundaries set by Christianity. Furthermore, he expressed contempt towards capitalism, which he dismissed as inextricably linked to materialism. Akhenaten stated that his music was intended to give others strength to live in a world compromised by materialism and irrational religious ideology.

Some of the lyrics on early Judas Iscariot albums are borrowed from the works of English poet and Christian mystic William Blake,[as well as from English poet Percy Bysshe Shelly, fundamental for understanding the connection between Dark Romanticism, the esoteric and their connection to heavy metal lyrics.


Akhenaten repeatedly denied holding any extreme right-wing or racist views. In an interview he stated "Judas Iscariot is no Nazi band. I myself am no Nazi either [...] If other bands think they have to include politics into their music, it's their business, but this has nothing to do with my band."

The full name of this album is: Distant In Solitary Night (Seven Hymns to the Triumph of Evil).

The album was recorded as the third Judas Iscariot album in 1996 and partly released on "Arise, My Lord" 7"EP in the same year. Moribund Records had delayed the CD release due to the fast sequence of the first two albums' publishing.

The lyrics to "Portions of Eternity Too Great for the Eye of Man" are taken from excerpts of William Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell".


Fun fact: on the bottom of the promo sleeve it states "For promotion. Not for sale, only a poseur would."