Last year, our readers named Blackbraid — the one-man Indigenous black-metal project of Adirondack musician Sgah'gahsowá — one of the top five breakout bands of 2022, and we couldn't have agreed more. His 2022 debut, Blackbraid I, was a hauntingly crushing amalgam of lush, spirtual black-metal, and he's already preparing to drop its mighty follow-up.
Fittingly dubbed Blackbraid II, the album is out July 7th, and today (May 3rd), Blackbraid has dropped its lead single, a galloping, 13-minute epic titled "Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon."
Journeying from a stomping trot to a whirlwind of blasty drums and blanketing guitars — and with the tasteful addition of a warm flute passage — the song is a total stunner that will certainly appeal to fans of Wolves in the Throne Room, Uada and other black-metal bands on the more atmospheric side of the spectrum.
Listen above via YouTube. Blackbraid II will be self-released on July 7th. Check out Blackbraid's Bandcamp.
