[ATTENDED: October 24, 2026] Blackbraid
Initially, the Mexican band Moonspell was supposed to be the second band on the bill but they weren’t able to secure a visa–boy our government sucks. So Blackbraid was chosen to take over. I’d never heard of them, but I quickly learned that Blackbraid is the solo black metal project of a Native American (no visa issues there, ye bastards).
So I listened to Blackbraid and it reminded me of Bathory [R.I.P.]–the Swedish solo extreme metal guy who I’d assumed stopped making music forty years ago (he hadn’t, in fact he made all kinds of different music throughout his a career until his death in 2004). Bathory’s first few albums were basically the fastest drumming you could get, screamed impenetrable vocals and moderately cacthy guitar progressions. And it sounded like it was recorded on a $5 cassette player. Well, Blackbraid embraces much of that sound except it is really well recorded and sounds 1000 times better. But it has the same kind of relentlessness. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from them, but they did not disappoint.
In front of me was one of the guitar players who had corpse paint and some kind of bones around his neck. The rest of the band wasn’t really painted up that much, but main singer (and main guy) Jon Krieger (also known as Sgah’gahsowáh, a Mohawk name meaning “the witch hawk”).
They started off with an explosion–really fast drumming and a black metal riff that reminded me of the style of Bathory. And then Kreiger started….singing. The songs have lyrics but live, it was like one explosive growl after another. I genuinely couldn’t tell if he was singing anything or just making guttural sounds. He never spoke to us, although he did occasionally gesture for more applause.
The band was incredibly tight–the drummer was a machine of fast drumming and I loved watching the guitarist in front of me. After a few minutes of intensity, things slowed down and it seemed like Kreiger was singing, but it was still so animalistic that it was hard to tell. He had an intensity that was unstoppable.
I was also impressed with how melodic most of the music was. Aside from the growls and incessant drum beats, the songs were pretty catchy. And with song titles like Barefoot Ghost Dance on Blood Soaked Soil, what’s not to like?
I was glad I had looked at the set list before the show, because I would have guessed they played about 20 songs. But instead, they played six. Fast songs with lots of parts. One of the songs even had a quiet part where the guitars played a quiet melody together (on the album there are several lengthy gentle acoustic moments, too). This is where Blackbraid far exceeds the early Bathory–he has a lot of diversity in his extreme metal.
Before playing the last song, Kreiger lit some sage (I assume) and walked the stage clearing it of bad vibes (I assume). He also had a skull with antlers on the floor with his gear. I assumed he’d do something with that but he didn’t.
I didn’t expect to enjoy the set as much as I did. Even more surprising is how much I enjoy the band’s records. They are intense and fast but melodic and strangely soothing as well. Maybe instead of sage, he lit some kind of magick spell. That’s cool.
I’m only bummed I didn’t get a good look at the setlist (which I was amused to see he carried around in a plastic folder).
- Celestial Bloodlust ♣
- The Spirit Returns ≈
- The River of Time Flows Through Me ∼
- The Dying Breath of a Sacred Stag ≅
- Twilight Hymn of Ancient Blood ≈
- Barefoot Ghost Dance on Blood Soaked Soil ∼
∼ Blackbraid I (2022)
≈ Blackbraid II (2023)
≅ Blackbraid III (2025)
♣ Nocturnal Womb EP (2026)
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