Blackbraid – I
Release Date: 26th August 2022
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal
FFO: Mgla, Nechochwen.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Being from the United States, I have found that an extremely-difficult conversation with an already-divided public is the one regarding the past atrocities of the United States government, as well as the people who lived in the country before the American Revolutionary War and writing of its Constitution. The history is littered with the oppression and slaughter of indigenous peoples, dating all the way back to the late 1500s and continuing all the way well into the 20th century. Further, there are still grievous inequities in the United States as a result of policies and actions taken by Americans who are long-since dead.
Without getting on my own soapbox, it is absolutely necessary to talk about how there is a remaining uncomfortable relationship between the “American” identity and the cultural identity of the people who existed in this land long before Christianity had made its way here from Europe. Much like the Nordic, Arabic/Moorish, Punjab, and south Asian cultures, Abrahamic religions worked their way into the roots of societies with ancient beliefs, subsequently upending them for all time. Dozens of ancient and modern borders have been drawn simply based on the nature of whose God ought to rule someone’s land. Unfortunately, the one with the greater technological capacity has always been the one who decides whose God reigns supreme.
In the United States, there has been a continual battle between revisionists and remnants of the hundreds of America’s ancient cultures to resurrect the memories of indigenous tribes and nations so that their memory and traditions are kept relevant. One of the issues with arises is the attempt to silence those from native origins from recounting the genocide of tens of millions of people in the United States between 1600 and 1900. Not to put too-fine-a-point on it, it’s a rather ugly talk to have. No one particularly wants to hear that their country was the home of a holocaust, but it’s a national conversation that cannot be avoided in today’s increasingly-polarized America.
In the far north of Europe, the struggle arose between the modern (post reconstruction) Christian church and the people who sought to keep ancient Nordic traditions alive. This movement led to violence and, ultimately, the burning of several churches in the 1990s in Norway, all tied to black metal artists and fans, giving the entire genre a top spot on every conservative mother’s satanic-panic shitlist. Much like the original black metal pioneers, Blackbraid seeks to use black metal as a media to air out his grievances against the systemic slaughter and subjugation of his ancestors.
Sgah’gahsowáh, Blackbraid’s single member, is a Native American whose ancestry can be traced to the United States’ northeastern Adirondack region, where dozens of ancient cultures were some of the first to encounter the European colonists. Sgah’gahsowáh resides with his wife in the Adirondack wilderness, where he enjoys the trades as a primary use of his time. In a recent interview with UK music blog Astralnoize, Sgah’gahsowáh shared that he began writing for I as a single-member project, before collaborating with a drummer to polish and finalize the ultimate sound he wanted to convey, largely inspired by Norwegian and Swedish black metal royalty such a Mayhem and Bathory.
I is an album which is largely based around 4 tracks which evoke elements of spirituality, union with nature, the tragedies of the American colonial expansion, and the remaining issues that exist for natives in North America today. Sgah’gahsowáh’s lyrics and vocal delivery is crushing, balancing between the low guttural technique and mid-range fry, something which deviates slightly from Blackbraid’s traditional black metal influences, but absolutely crushes the listener in dramatic, death-metal-esque atmosphere. It’s a blend that works extremely-well on the album, helping Blackbraid achieve a signature sound.
Blackbraid’s Sgah’gahsowáh is primarily a guitarist and vocalist, so the guitar tracking would ultimately be the corpus of the tracks, with drums following after, something that is evident in listening. I features a blend of the intensity featured in the two pre-released singles (The River of Time Flows Through Me, and Barefoot Ghost Dance of Bloodsoaked Soil), but the four additional tracks are a blend of melodic, traditionally-folksy music in instrumental format, the main example being final track, Prying Oven the Jaws of Eternity, a ten minute melody-laden sojourn through various movements which break the song up into two or three distinct parts.
Mixing and mastering is generally good, as the entire recording, sans drums, was completed by Sgah’gahsowáh, himself. There is a clear mix between instruments and vocals, something which listeners will appreciate, as the vocals are the marquee feature of the whole album. I’d absolutely love to hear him work on other projects and perform collabs with other bands in the same scene. I wish that the drums were more polished, as they seem to be programmed on a majority of the album, something that could have raised the performance level a little higher. I is really an EP that has a couple of instrumental interludes between its heavy metal tracks.
Overall, I’m excited to see what Blackbraid has in the future. Given that Sgah’gahsowáh’s first couple of released tracks were received with such fanfare, I think that it was evident that he wanted to get a strong release out fairly quickly, probably resulting in some of the album feeling a little hollow at times. Having intense themes in American history and the esoteric/spiritual, Blackbraid’s I is a vocally-juicy black metal release featuring a strong back-and-forth between melodic and heavy, evoking the nature of seasonal changes, while also calling on the intensity of centuries of anger to a rolling boil. I’m excited for more releases from this project, and hope that his work continues on after I. 
(3 / 5)
