Blackbraid - Blackbraid III - review
Blackbraid - Blackbraid III - review
Tracklist
01. Dusk (Eulogy)02. Wardrums At Dawn On The Day Of My Death
03. The Dying Breath Of A Sacred Stag
04. The Earth Is Weeping
05. God Of Black Blood
06. Traversing The Forest Of Eternal Dusk
07. Tears Of The Dawn
08. Like Wind Through The Reeds Making Waves Like Water
09. And He Became The Burning Stars…
10. Fleshbound [Lord Belial cover]
A review by
musclassia August 11, 2025
Blackbraid initially made waves at least in part due to its marketing as ‘the Native American one-man black metal band’ (although, with Neil Schneider performing drums and handling production for the third time in a row, the project very much seems to be a duo), but beyond some discussion of the exact nature of the ancestry of Sgah'gahsowáh (the stage name of Jon Krieger) that I am ill-placed to comment upon, Blackbraid also quickly moved past potential accusations of gimmickry by producing a pair of very solid melodic/atmospheric black metal albums that received very positive responses. Blackbraid III pretty much picks up where the last record left off.
With the increased length and expanse, Blackbraid II was something of a maturation of Blackbraid I. In contrast, Blackbraid III is more of a consolidation, as pretty much everything here will feel familiar to listeners of past albums. The metal fluctuates between sharp riffy meloblack contrasted with more melancholic and expansive atmo-black, while regular acoustic interludes are included. Around 10 minutes in total is taken up by these interludes; this might be a bit much for some listeners, but the returning use of nature sounds (“The Earth Is Weeping”) and pipes (“Traversing The Forest Of Eternal Dusk”) will feel comforting to fans of the previous records.
As for the metal contents, the album leans more towards the band’s aggressive side early on. “Wardrums At Dawn Of The Day Of My Death” is a frantic assault of rapid tremolo, shrieks and blast beats, one that gradually evolves into a more mid-tempo meloblack march. It’s a decent track, but I find that “The Dying Breath Of A Sacred Stag” right afterwards captures my attention more firmly. The acoustic arpeggios carried over onto the distorted guitars, the pyrotechnic guitar tapping lead, the rampant riffs and the melodic guitar leads make for a solid melodic black metal song.
When looking at how this album fits into the band’s quickly growing discography, the production, which already took a big step forward on the last album, continues to improve this time around, albeit to a more gradual extent. Blackbraid III overall is arguably an incremental improvement over its predecessor, with slightly tighter writing that avoids arguable missteps such as the strange thrashy section of “Twilight Hymn Of Ancient Blood” from its predecessor. Each song is largely enjoyable; that said, I do think there is something about this album that I find a little less impressive or engaging than Blackbraid II.
I can’t quite put my finger on what, but it might partially be due to a slight sense of safeness here. Having reviewed the two previous releases from Blackbraid for the site, in each instance I did namedrop Agalloch, but the song “Tears Of The Dawn” feels arguably more indebted to that band than any on the previous two outings. There’s something about the mid-tempo riffs during this song that feel unmistakably reminiscent of Agalloch’s more blackened material, and perhaps coming after an album with bold expansive tracks such as “Moss Covered Bones On The Altar Of The Moon”, it slightly dampens the impact of the new release. With all that said, I do enjoy the record, and “Tears Of The Dawn” is thrilling in its full-pelt blackened sections and evocative in its slower, morose sections.
Like Blackbraid II, this new record ends with a cover, and the Lord Belial song “Fleshbound” slots seamlessly into the record’s tracklist. The only debate over its inclusion is whether it makes for as effective a conclusion to the album as “And He Became The Burning Stars...” would have done; another somewhat Agallochian epic, this track really takes flight in its closing minutes with compelling lead guitar melodic riffs and a mournful conclusion with a touch of finality to it.
Blackbraid show no real signs of slowing down, and there’s no real need for them to do so; while I’m not as taken with it as its predecessor, Blackbraid III is another solid genre effort with a couple of standout longer tracks.
Written on 11.08.2025 by
Written on 11.08.2025 by
Hey chief let's talk why not Comments
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Posts: 792  |
Posts: 792
Good review. The interludes seem to be the main complaint but I don't mind them, just helps keep that nature feel to it.
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 Posts: 8254 |
Posts: 8254
I can safely say that this is my favourite Blackbraid album. The folk elements are better integrated compared to previous releases, every song is a banger, and I love the interludes. My only (minor) complaint is that the Lord Belial cover should have been a bonus track maybe, and the album should have ended with "And He Became The Burning Stars…" My favourite song changes with each subsequent listen, which only happens to me if an album is full of excellent songs; just like this one. Great compositions, wonderful cover art, superb song titles, immersive atmosphere... what more can I ask?
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Posts: 1820  |
Posts: 1820
I think my main complaint is that the interludes could've absolutely been shaved down. They work, sure, but a minute or so instead of three would've been more than enough to build the atmosphere he was trying to convey. But otherwise, this is doing a bang-up job putting other black metal records this year to shame.
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Posts: 212  |
Posts: 212
I am not super excited about this to be honest. The compositions are a bit formulaic, not bad at all, just very conventional. I am missing a standout song, one that will be a classic in the years to come. It doesn’t help that the vocals are flat and that the drums sound so VST plugin.
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 Posts: 6665 |
Posts: 6665
I find the interlaudes pleasant enough to listen to but I agree they could've been cut short, perhaps then even integrated into the other songs, as they contained some beautiful acoustic melodies and interesting nature sounds vital to it's stunningly enchanted atmosphere. The songs themselves follow pretty much the same formula as the sophomore, which again, works just fine by me. The way in which the songs flow, build-up, and then unleash (what are to me) memorable riff melodies one after the other, is once again, delightful to listen to. I just worry now that this album will be his pinnacle, and the formula will soon run dry, but I just can't see where else he can go from here, maybe introducing clean singing like someone has suggested?
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 Posts: 64434 |
Posts: 64434
Good album,but he migjt do 2 equal but quation is how long he can manage do do good albums
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