Origin: Adirondack Mountains, USA 🇺🇸
Genre: Black Metal
In 2022, Blackbraid – the solo indigenous black metal venture of one Sgah’gahsowáh (Jon Krieger) – released its debut LP, “Blackbraid I”, to the enthrallment of critics and listeners. It’s in the spirit of the tribe and under the gaze of the hawk that Blackbraid’s music is created. Jon is a Native (Mohawk) hailing from the Adirondack Mountains of the American Northeast, and this particular musical excursion is one that was a long time coming.
National pride in pre-Christian tribal/Pagan heritage is certainly nothing new within the realm of black metal. The Scandinavians have been creating music under the Black Mark that honors their Heathen backgrounds since the beginning, and the same can be said about countless other hordes out there, whether they hail from Central to South America, Asia or parts of Europe. But for the North American Native, their voice has been but a whisper. Over the years, various USBM’ers have explored concepts relating to Native Shamanism through their music, but the real magick, the spirituality and the history behind it all has – for the most part – remained covered.
Now, like high-mountain thunder as it booms through the blackened azure in the wake of lightning’s flash, the voices of great spirits – all-wise and powerful – can once again be heard. But it’s from within the flow of time’s steady current and through the vessel of true black metal this time. The convergence of the blackened arts with these Native tones: the tribal instruments, the acoustics, the nature-inspired atmosphere and the earthiness of the music like nothing you’ve ever heard before but somehow feel at home with. Your soul will recognize this one even if your mind doesn’t, thus making “Blackbraid I” a spiritual experience for the taker in. The album’s two instrumental pieces: “As the Creek Flows Softly By” and “Warm Wind Whispering Softly Through Hemlock at Dusk” soothe the savage beast and offer precious contemplative minutes as the Native flute and the acoustic guitar lull you into a trancelike state; stirring up images of the river, the sky and the hawk.
The black metal spine of this recording is made up of “The River of Time Flows Through Me”, “Sacandaga” and “Barefoot Ghost Dance On Blood Soaked Soil”. Each cut alive and pulsating with the blackest energy – brilliantly composed works of fundamentally sound black metal that stylistically herald the Suomi and Sverige schools. Deep rolling tremolo riffs, steady-flowing double-bass currents and blast-beats overlayed by daemonic gutturals. Bands like Behexen and Sacramentum come to mind as I venture deeper into each chapter. There’s that same level of malevolence, the same compositional brilliance and the same gleaming level of melodicism; all streaming along at a rich mid-tempo for you to savor. But at the foot of it all, where skin meets earth, you’ll find “Prying Open the Jaws of Eternity”. In these final minutes, the recording’s true USBM identity is finally uncovered. What feels like a little UADA worship unfurls as you revel in the soulful warmth of akin riffing and rhythmic patterns. Looser and longer-stretching progressions set to martial beats at times and even more melodic than before. Epic closer to a brief but monumental black metal album.
You can feel it all at once now: the austerity of the ancients, the flow of time and the peace of nature. Tranquility and reflection come at the end of this album, but also the bitter realization of time’s mercilessness – an unassumingly silent yet all powerful force of the universe that holds birth, life and death within its current.
“Blackbraid I” was released just last year and already we have a new BB record coming down the pike. “Blackbraid II” is scheduled to be released on July 7, and the record’s lead cuts have already been dropped. If their exquisiteness is any indication of what’s to unfold, then nothing short of brilliance awaits. Now, off through the rough and into the clearing by the river we go. Whispers upon the wind are gently calling as the faded cries of a new breed of BM warrior echo off in the distance. The age of the Blackbraid is here! And “BBI” is about as good as it gets.
9.5/10
Experience “Blackbraid I” by Blackbraid right here:
And check out Blackbraid’s latest singles, “Moss Covered Bones On the Altar of the Moon” and “The Spirit Returns” right here. All visuals presented by Black Metal Promotion:
~Jeger
