Given all the mainstream media attention (usually negative) that’s been given to Metal regarding its lyrical content and imagery over the years, it’s easy to forget that Metal is, first and foremost, about making music. About once every decade or so, a band comes along with fresh ideas, a wealth of musical talent, a gift for composition, and the sheer determination to push an entire genre in new and exciting directions. For this new generation of musical extremity, that band is the fast rising, one-man Black Metal project, Blackbraid.

The brainchild of Sgah’gasowáh — who not only composes the music and lyrics, but also performs every instrument during the recording sessions — Blackbraid infuses the frenzied guitar work and blast-beat driven insanity of Black Metal with Native American cultural instrumentation and arrangements. The resulting concoction is a brilliant and powerful stew; sometimes beautiful, sometimes frightening, but always captivating and impossible to ignore.

Overall, this new release has a somewhat different feel than its two predecessors, although the trademark elements of Black Metal remain. The sense of wonder and mystery that permeated the previous two albums has been replaced by a feeling of deep melancholy that creeps almost subconsciously throughout the entirety of Blackbraid III. It’s almost as if the very Earth beneath our feet was possessed of an ancient soul, heavy with the weight of an eternity of sorrow and pain.

Following the moody and aptly named instrumental, ‘Dusk (Eulogy)’, Sgah’gasowáh kicks things into high gear with the blazing track, and Blackbraid III’s first single, ‘Wardrums at Dawn on the Day of my Death’. This track is quintessential Blackbraid, featuring all savage riffing and relentless drum work that is his calling card. One could very easily see this track being his set opener as well, for it sets the tone for the band’s intense and uncompromising live set perfectly. As openers go, ‘Wardrums…’ is the pulse-pounding, no-nonsense face-ripper that concert goers pay to see.

The following track (and second single) ‘The Dying Breath of a Sacred Stag’ showcases all of the elements that make Blackbraid such a force to be reckoned within the Black Metal ranks. Flowing seamlessly from its breathtaking acoustic intro into its bone-crushing opening riff, ‘The Dying Breath of a Sacred Stag’ is a multi-faceted and pummeling track that is somewhat reminiscent of ‘A Fine Day to Die’ (the closing track from Blackbraid II) in terms of its progression and riffing. But that’s not a criticism, so much as an observation. I see absolutely nothing wrong with a band developing and refining their “signature sound”, as the case may be. Especially when the end result is this damn good.

The first instrumental interlude of Blackbraid III is ‘The Earth is Weeping’, a dark piece featuring ominous-sounding acoustic guitar work overlapping the disturbing calls of woodland loons. Never in my 35+ years of listening to Metal in all its various genres have I heard anything quite like this. While it’s a short track, and may only ever end up as a footnote in the band’s discography, this is actually a prime example of the creativity and genius of Sgah’gasowáh. His ability to blend such unique elements into a cohesive aural masterpiece demonstrates a songwriting maturity that extends beyond that of many of his peers.

‘God of Black Blood’ is a bulldozer of a track that stands out from the rest of the album for its uncharacteristic straightforwardness and single-minded ferocity. The savage guitar riff and mid-paced drum work propel the song forward in a steadfast and inescapable way, like the unrelenting march of an undead horde descending upon some hapless backwater town. There are none of the twists, turns and wandering melodies that Blackbraid is known for here. No flowery acoustic guitar work. No nature-inspired sound bites. Just a hard-driving, barbaric juggernaut hell-bent on destruction. This is a brilliant track that proves Sgah’gasowáh is unafraid to branch out stylistically from his usual approach, and that diversity works incredibly well here. A veritable sledgehammer among scalpels. This is a GREAT song that’s augmented by some stellar lead guitar courtesy of guest musician Randy Moore (Ghost).

The instrumental follow-up, ‘Traversing the Forest of Eternal Dusk’ provides the listener with a much-needed breather after the intense sonic bludgeoning from ‘God of Black Blood’. Sometimes the placing of a given song in an album’s arrangement can be just as important as the mood and tone of the song itself. Such is the case here. ‘Traversing the Forest of Eternal Dusk’ is a haunting and beautiful piece that displays a subtle, melodic dance between guitar and flute that leaves the listener with a sense of tranquility and wistful longing. Although this is a shorter track, it stands as one of Blackbraid III’s many highlights.

No stranger to longer tracks, Blackbraid fills out the back half of the album with a pair of nine-minute epics, ‘Tears of the Dawn’ and the massive ‘And He Became the Burning Stars…’, the latter being one of the best songs on the album. While not quite reaching the stratospheric heights of Blackbraid II’s colossus, ‘A Song of Death on the Winds of Dawn’ — indeed, Blackbraid may have set the bar unrealistically high with that titanic masterpiece — ‘And He Became the Burning Stars…’ is a varied and multi-layered gem that encompasses both instrumental melody and Black Metal intensity.

Closing out the album with the Lord Belial cover, ‘Fleshbound’, is interesting to say the least. The idea of Blackbraid recording a cover song seems rather out of character for someone so rich with ideas and songwriting ability. Indeed, ‘Fleshbound’ feels more like a bonus track on an EP than an actual part of the album proper. That being said, Sgah’gasowáh did an excellent job with it and made it his own, even though Blackbraid III would probably have been better served by closing with ‘And He Became the Burning Stars…’. But really, that’s just splitting hairs at this point.

In spite of the somewhat uneven ending, Blackbraid III is an outstanding album, one that should please Blackbraid fans and set the standard for Black Metal for years to come. Indeed, Blackbraid III deserves serious AOTY consideration for ’25 in my opinion.

Blackbraid III is an independent release that was put out on 8/8/25.