Metalcatto
Our favorite Black/Folk act that’s not really that Folk is here! Most of us were there when Blackbraid took the Metal world by storm with a short, effective album that captured our imagination. It was Black/Folk that didn’t bastardize its own roots — no gimmicks, just music as a tool to tell a story. Then Blackbraid II hit us, showing the full potential of a project that kept people debating the real cultural background of its creator. Personally, I have little interest in judging people’s identities; as long as they treat the matter with respect, I have no problem. So, can Blackbraid III surprise us?
If you loved the previous album, you’re going to keep falling in love with Blackbraid, because everything that worked before is here — and in an even more spectacular way. III feels like the project at its full potential. It’s an epic journey into the dry cold of the Adirondack Mountains, where mysterious nights shine through a mix of Dissection-like Black Metal and dark Folk reminiscent of Panopticon (or maybe more like a mirror!). The two opposite faces of North America in the same subgenre. III cuts through you like the sharpest blade, taking its time to explore this ancient world.
It never runs out of riffs. Some might fault it for having too many flute passages — this isn’t a Prog album, after all, and we don’t need every instrument to have a solo — but I don’t mind. The history geeks get their time in the sun. There’s something final about III; maybe it’s the fact that the album closes with the same riff that ended the first album, as if we’ve come full circle and learned whatever we were meant to learn from our mystical trip to the mountains. If this is the end, it’s been a great run. And if you want more specifics, the writing and production are what set Blackbraid apart — and hopefully that won’t change anytime soon.
There are some stylistic points to keep an eye on. The album is long. Really long. I’m not sure why Blackbraid keeps including covers at the end of each release, but the band could easily do without them. The extreme contrast between harsh and soft passages can hurt the pacing at times, though this isn’t anything new. We could probably agree that this sounds very similar to Blackbraid II — essentially a refined version of the same formula — so I can understand if some feel it’s overrated.
I wasn’t expecting to be disappointed, but the odds of Blackbraid pulling off something as good or better than II were slim. Still, the band has shown that Black Metal isn’t dead yet — that there are still mysteries in the genre worth exploring before we give up on it. It’s always nice to review something that restores your faith in the niche, right? Now, time to go back to our mailbox, where a zillion Black Metal bands claim to be the next big thing. Wish me luck!
Label: Independent
Release date: August 9, 2025
Website: https://blackbraid.bandcamp.com/album/blackbraid-iii
Country: USA
Score: 4.0/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 