Label: Independent
Release date: August 8, 2025
Words by Greg Walker
Blackbraid brings me SO much joy. Amidst the tales of a downtrodden and brutalised but staunchly proud people, there is a beauty in Sgah’gahsowáh‘s poetry that so deftly connects us to the intrinsic spirits and nature central to Indigenous American culture. At times, you can feel the crisp Adirondack mountain air in your nostrils, smell the pine’s embrace, hear the crackle of the sacred fire, and marvel at the embers dancing up into the darkening night sky on their way to the happy hunting grounds of the next world.
With his Blackbraid project, Sgah’gahsowáh (the Witch Hawk) demonstrates his natural ability to inject a phenomenal emotive depth into the characteristically brutal Black Metal genre. Blackbraid III abounds with Indigenous American flute, acoustic guitar, and melodic overlays pulling at the heartstrings. But at the same time, Blackbraid III is ethereal and something not of this world in terms of how incredibly spiritual it feels; the connection to his culture and mythology Sgah’gahsowáh writes of struck me immediately when I first heard the debut, Blackbraid I. I’ve seldom felt such depth of connection with an artist’s work, a connection that was only strengthened by follow-up Blackbraid II. Despite a burgeoning global popularity, Blackbraid remains something so unique and special.
After a brief calm but forlorn intro track, Wardrums At Dawn On The Day Of My Death blows open at full pace, a relentless blast beat over a tastefully melodic riff that is instantly recognisable as Blackbraid‘s trademark sound. When the halftime beat kicks in, I have a big smile in the predawn dark: this is what I’ve been eagerly awaiting! A deft hand at interweaving melody and ferocity, Wardrums At Dawn On The Day Of My Death is Blackbraid‘s declaration. Beyond the massive wall of tight sonic perfection, there is a clever breaking up of the fury with slowed melodic sections, insertion of really cool cymbal play, a wild haphazard solo that is as untamed as the warrior described in the lyrics. Sgah’gahsowáh is the real deal, an ancient aura exudes an authenticity so often lacking in today’s music.
Second advance single Dying Breath Of A Sacred Stag borrows vibe from his recent cover of I/Immortal’s Warriors, but the Indigenous American Black Metal flag bearer ultimately builds a new epic that concludes as such a stirring piece. A poetic lyric characteristic of Sgah’gahsowáh conjures the very spirit of the Sacred Stag, “keeper of shadow and twilight, a beacon of chaos and majesty”, echoing Blackbraid‘s growing regard in today’s heavy music scene. It’s a bold move opening the album with both advance singles back-to-back, however, I can now move on to absorbing the new offerings.
Other than the initial one-two volley, the track sequence has an instrumental reprieve between each song. This is not a negative, it’s an allayment allowing us to absorb the enormity of the aftertaste of each track. If the songs proper are stories of traditions and connections to our physical existence and communions with nature and the netherworld, then the instrumentals are brief sojourns into the core of Sgah’gahsowáh’s soul. The Earth Is Weeping is wonderfully introspective over the crackling warmth of the fire, the comforting sound of primal sentinels calling as Nature draws us to her nurturing bosom.
God of Black Blood is the closest I’ve felt Blackbraid has come to traditional Norwegian black metal, while maintaining his own sound, the pace sustained from start to finish. Something about the haunting Native American flute works so well with the harsh buzz of black metal guitars, an ethereal flute solo coming from out of nowhere but fitting so perfectly.
Traversing The Forest Of Eternal Dusk is a beautiful otherworldly little interlude, a gorgeous sway backed by nature samples, an elegant, clean acoustic guitar coupled with delicate native flute overlaid with an atmospheric electric guitar solo: I would absolutely lap up an entire album of just this. Tears Of The Dawn proves yet again why Blackbraid is hands down my favourite modern metal project, vaulting between full-paced pummelling, to driving groove, to melancholic strains, all the while whisking us away on ancient winds with tales of loss and longing. Even Blackbraid’s song titles arouse vivid images, Like Wind Through The Reeds Making Waves Like Water a perfect example.
It’s a colossal task to knock Blackbraid II’s The Wolf That Guides The Hunter’s Hand from top billing as my favourite Blackbraid song, however, the epic And He Became The Burning Stars that closes out the 9 originals on Blackbraid III goes as close as any. The title jumped out at me as something I’d like to have etched as my epitaph when I leave this world behind, the lyric celebrating proud warrior spirits ascending to the world beyond via a bond stronger than this plane can contain. Musically, And He Became The Burning Stars is itself a marathon journey starting with a magnificent canter, changing tempos and changing tempers, celebratory and triumphant in the knowledge that the celestial stratum awaits. The album didn’t need the closing cover of Lord Belial’s Fleshbound, it would’ve been just as perfect without, but it’s a faithful insight into another of Blackbraid’s cornerstones.
Blackbraid III sounds immense, producer Neil Schneider again capturing the feral attitude of black metal with a crisp, vast modern sound, a tighter, more in-your-face production further distancing Blackbraid from the primitive recordings of the old Norse pioneers. His vision apparent, Sgah’gahsowáh, honours his ancestors through his work; the solo acoustic guitar and haunting native flute become vessels to release a peoples’ hurt, to celebrate their victories, to impart an incorruptible connection to the earth and the ways of ancestors, this album exudes exquisite detail.
The compositions are deliberate, not one chaotic note is out of place, a stunning display of captivating authenticity throughout the thunderous havoc. Possessing not one skippable track, each song is a journey to a realm past, present, or future, to a free people before they were oppressed to the brink of extinction. Blackbraid keeps their memory and culture at the forefront of a collective consciousness, and what a powerful vehicle to ferry their stories and lessons, an absolutely perfect recording and without a doubt my album of 2025.
I’m aware I’m drooling, but this album has been my most anticipated of 2025. In a world flooded with generic rehashing of old sounds and styles, Sgah’gahsowáh has not let me down.
