It almost feels like a fever dream to talk about the newest album from Blackbraid as the record was announced last year with a fairly firm release window so it has been in the collective consciousness for some time. But now it’s time to wake up and bask in the glow in what we can only call a truly beautiful new full-length… it’s okay to describe Black Metal as beautiful, right? Because that’s what we’re doing and upon hearing Blackbraid III we’re sure you’ll agree.
“Dusk (Eulogy)” is the calm before the Black Metal storm and in the span of barely a minute manages to encapsulate all that’s to come simultaneously representing these moments of zen, serenity, and nirvana that will eventually be turned into the stuff of nightmares. Which would be the case for lead single “Wardrums at Dawn on the Day of my Death” if it wasn’t so gotDamn glorious. If you, like us, were taken aback for the first time by 2023’s Blackbraid II then “Wardrums…” is the perfect segue between records with a persistent pummeling surrounded by Sgah’gahsowáh’s signature snarl and raging guitars.
“The Dying Breath of a Sacred Stag” keeps the momentum levels high and the fires burning on another furious Sgah’gahsowáh-composed masterpiece while “The Earth Is Weeping” gently flows out of that almost eight minute maelstrom with a GORGEOUS comedown that’s delicate and haunting before “God Of Black Blood” ups the volume but lays off the tempo for one nasty sounding ditty bolstered by Sgah’gahsowáh’s dirty, gnarly riffage to match that gruff growl.
“Traversing The Forest Of Eternal Dusk” arrives like a sonic palette cleanser next with Neil Schneider’s drumming absolutely destroying all semblance of peace when “Tears of the Dawn” begins. Another break in the intensity comes in the form of “Like Wind Through The Reeds Making Waves Like Water” and a flurry of precisely plucked strings that perfectly play into the beginning of “And He Became the Burning Stars…” until one final aural onslaught is served up to close out III (Save for the Lord Belial cover of “Fleshbound” as a coda).
Blackbraid III is out now and you can secure your physical or digital copy in a variety of ways when you head here or to the stream below. For more from Blackbraid, including all the dates for their in progress headline run which hits Cambridge’s Middle East TONIGHT (9.30) with Lamp of Murmuur & Dödsrit, hit the socials here.