Artist: Blackbraid
Title: III
Type: Album
Label: Digital / Self Released
In a relatively short space of time Blackbraid have earned themselves a position as one of the brightest stars in modern black metal. Hailing from the remote Adirondack Mountains region of America, Blackbraid are a leading proponent of the so called “indigenous black metal” scene, with the use of traditional instruments alongside more modern tools of black metal trade, and lyrics exploring history and nature. Both the debut and sophomore releases earned well deserved rave reviews and these have been backed up by incendiary live shows. Although I’ve only caught them twice, I can attest that their reputation for ferocity and power is well deserved. Before I get on to the album, it’s worth mentioning that Blackbraid is actually a solo project with Sgah’gahsowáh contributing vocals, guitars, bass and all songwriting and lyrics, with a guest drummer completing the line up for the album, which makes what follows all the more impressive.
Blackbraid III (in keeping with the eponymous theme of previous albums) opens with a melancholic, minute long intro/eulogy before blasting into ‘Wardrums at Dawn on the Day of my Death’. The band’s distinctive sound is immediately recognisable – a powerful, raw sound with a yearning, almost melancholic, melody pulsing throughout. ‘The Dying Breath of a Sacred Stag’ opens with a soothing passage before building into a masterful piece of melodic black metal art, perhaps reminiscent of Dissection. There is then brief respite in the form of ‘The Earth is Weeping’, an almost four minute acoustic instrumental augmented by sounds of nature and animals. A lot of interludes cause a loss of intensity, but this piece has the opposite effect. The simple passage builds and becomes claustrophobic, wrapping itself around you and building until ‘God of Black Blood’ bursts into life, almost releasing the pressure that built up previously with its more familiar melodic black metal. ‘Traversing the Forest of Eternal Dusk’ is another simple instrumental, and although similar to ‘The Earth is Weeping’, this feels less intense and somehow relaxing, more positive and full of hope.
We return to more familiar territory with the epic ‘Tears of the Dawn’ that builds and cavorts over the course of nine minutes, taking its time to build an atmosphere to tell its tale. This is followed by another (and final) instrumental ‘Like Wind Through the Reeds Making Waves like Water’, which feels soothing as it embraces you. Keeping with the alternating pattern, we are now greeted by more full force melodic black metal in the form of the swirling ‘And He Became the Burning Stars…’. Over the course of almost ten minutes this swirling maelstrom takes on many shapes and it ebbs and flows through its powerful journey. Things are brought to a close with a grandiose cover of Lord Belial track ‘Fleshbound’, a fitting close to the album.
On Blackbraid III, the band have further added to their impressive legacy with an album packed with uncompromising brutality, haunting melody and a vein of visceral beauty and melody.
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Andy Pountney @shot_in_the_dark_photography2
Walking The Liminal Space 