Black metal has long been associated with the gray skies, snowy landscapes and Norse mythology of Scandinavia. But black metal has expanded and diversified, so much so that the genre’s latest success story, the one-man band BLACKBRAID, hails from the Adirondacks and draws on its founder’s Native American roots rather than Vikings and medieval weapons. BLACKBRAID is creating music as raw and powerful as the mountains from whence it came…As project creator Sgah’gahsowáh says, “I didn’t want to do something ingenuine or be some Indigenous guy who’s writing about Thor and Odin, stuff I have no personal connection to — I want to make a traditional-sounding black metal album, but write something that I can actually identify with.”
The music of BLACKBRAID is inspired by the forces of nature in the land around us, overpowering emotions of rage and sadness, and the deep spirituality of the project’s creator, Sgah’gahsowáh; a southern native raised in the mountains of the northeast. His stage name was chosen to honor the Mohawk land which inspires much of BLACKBRAID’s music.
Started in 2022, the musician currently has two full-length albums in his discography. BLACKBRAID is a fiercely independent artist, viciously carving a new and inspiring path for indigenous people & underground musicians alike.
The worldwide attention-garnering band BLACKBRAID is visiting the Baltics for the first time ever!