- CountryUnited States
- Formed2022
- StatusActive
- GenreAtmospheric black metal
- LabelIndependent
Blackbraid is the solo project of Sgah’gahsowáh, an Indigenous musician from the Adirondack Mountains whose raw black metal draws on Native American history and instrumentation. Started in 2022, it has released three studio albums, most recently Blackbraid III in 2025.
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Blackbraid is the solo project of Jon Krieger, a Native American multi-instrumentalist who performs under the Mohawk name Sgah’gahsowáh, meaning “the witch hawk”. He started it in 2022 in the Adirondack Mountains of New York as his first solo venture, after taking part informally in friends’ projects. The first single, “Barefoot Ghost Dance on Blood Soaked Soil”, appeared the same year.
The independently released debut Blackbraid I came out in August 2022. Sgah’gahsowáh wrote and performed everything except the drums, which were played by Neil Schneider, and the album appeared on year-end lists from Rolling Stone, Metal Injection and Decibel. For concerts he assembled a backing band, which played the Decibel Magazine Tour in spring 2023.
Blackbraid II followed in July 2023. The third album kept the alternation of heavy and atmospheric passages with Native American instrumentation and lyrics on Native American history, with Schneider again on drums and a guest guitar solo from Randy Moore. After a preview at the Fire in the Mountains festival in Montana in July 2025, Blackbraid III was released independently on 8 August 2025.
Discography 3
Blackbraid I- Blackbraid II
- Blackbraid III
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