Flowing down from the Adirondack Mountains in New York, just as the rivers do, Blackbraid returns with the second chapter, Blackbraid II (self-released). Created by Sgah’gahsowáh, Blackbraid quickly took the black metal world by storm with his stunning self-titled just last year that mixed atmospheric black metal with indigenous American mythology and history.
To say I was excited to see a quick turnaround on a sophomore release, let alone in my hands to review for Ghost Cult, is an understatement. Ten tracks, at a bit over an hour long, is all you will need for this audible journey through nature.
‘The Wolf That Guides The Hunters Hand’, which opens up with a wolf crying of course, is one of my favorites on the record. The beginning is just an absolute burner with tremolo riffs galore and then closes out with epic guitar leads as the song slowly dies down. ‘Moss Covered Bones On The Altar Of The Moon’ was the first track I heard, not knowing new Blackbraid was coming at all, and was immediately floored. Every moment of this entire near-fourteen-minute chapter in Blackbraid II will keep you clinging for more, even at the ultimate conclusion as you chant the song title with Sgah’gahsowáh.
Another stand-out track, ‘Twilight Hymn Of Ancient Blood’, starts with a slow, grimy guitar riff with some leads that pick up more and more as if something is getting closer. About halfway through, all goes quiet for a few seconds before a thrash riff takes over with two-step drumming and is sure to get the pits moving in a live setting. Still, the breakdown at the end just closes with as much of that heavy aggression as the track started with.
The Blackbraid debut album set such a high bar (my fourth favorite album of 2022) that for sure it would take time to determine what came next. Not even a year later and Blackbraid II is here and easily meets these expectations and potentially exceeded them. There are so many familiar influences within Sgah’gahsowáh’s creations, yet it still feels so new and fresh for the genre as a whole, and this is after two releases now! I think this is only the beginning of Blackbraid and I am happily onboard this ride and you should be too.
Buy the album here:
https://blackbraid.bandcamp.com/album/blackbraid-ii
9 / 10
TIM LEDIN