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Interview with Sgah’gahsowáh of Blackbraid

I interviewed Sgah’gahsowáh, the main man behind the indigenous black metal band Blackbraid, and it just aired on the Metal Embassy Radio Show on Saturday. If you missed it don’t worry, you can still check it out in podcast form below. We talk about his debut album, Blackbraid I, which just dropped on Friday, the meaning behind several songs, his inspirations as a musician and more!

Metal Embassy Podcast episode 13: Blackbraid

You can also listen to the Metal Embassy Podcast by searching for Metal Embassy in most podcast apps (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio and more).

You can listen to all previous episodes of the Metal Embassy Radio Show here after they air.

You can buy or stream Blackbraid’s debut album on Bandcamp below.

Blackbraid music video for the song “Sacandaga”

August 29, 2022
Categories: Black Metal, Interviews, Podcast . Tags: Black Metal, Blackbraid, Indigenous, Interview, Jon Krieger, Native American, Sgah'gahsowáh . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 1 Comment

Local picks for Bandcamp Friday

I just thought that I’d throw together a list of some recent local metal releases for Bandcamp Friday (or whenever you’re reading this).

Borracho – Pound Of Flesh
Release date: 6 August 2021
It’s hard to believe that it has been 5 years since DC’s best stoner metal band has released a full length but Pound of Flesh is finally here!

So Be It – Let The End Begin
Release date: 6 August 2021
So Be It is a death/thrash band based out of Silver Spring that is dropping their second full length today for Bandcamp Friday. Cathy riffs abound on these mosh pit friendly songs.

Grishka – Death Throes Radio Vol 1. – Grishka Live Set
Release date: 6 August 2021
Grishka is a new extreme metal band that actually formed during the pandemic era of no concerts. They did live perform on a Death Throes Radio livestream event back in April and the audio from their entire 17 minute set is now up on Bandcamp. Be sure to check out their debut album (here) if you haven’t yet!

Misery Index – Coffin Up the Nails
Release date: 20 July 2021
This release by death/grind band Misery Index isn’t a proper album but a collection of covers and demo versions of other songs scattered among b-sides and such of previous releases. The Bolt Thrower and Sepultura covers are worth the price of admission alone though!

Spiral Grave – Legacy of the Anointed
Release date: 16 July 2021
When Iron Man founding member Al Morris passed away in 2018 the remaining members of his band regrouped with Willy Rivera of Lord to form Spiral Grave. This is the doom band’s debut full length and while it has a freshness to it you still get that classic Maryland doom metal sound too.

Blunt Horse / Grilth – split
Release date: 16 July 2021
Blunt Horse is a proggy sludge band from DC and this split with Grilth (who are from upstate New York) includes three tracks of the band showing their wide range but always keeping it weird.

Unendlich – Paradox of a Broken World
Release date: 9 July 2021
Unendlich is a local one man black metal band that plays in a more aggressive style of the genre. This fourth full length album is the band’s first since the pandemic took hold in early 2020 and it was worth the wait!

Honey Spreader / Reeking Cross – split
Release date: 2 July 2021
Honey Spreader is a harsh noise duo consisting of Blake Harrison (Pig Destroyer, Zealot R.I.P.) and Alex Cha. This split with Reeking Cross, who is a more powerviolence/grind style band, is short but brutal and I think the Honey Spreader song titled “Cement Mixer of Emotion” sums up this release pretty well.

Bonus tracks! Here’s a couple of upcoming releases by local bands that you can preorder on Bandcamp right now.

Zealot R.I.P. – The Extinction of You
Release date: 10 September 2021
Guitarist Mick Schleibaum (Darkest Hour), Blake Harrison (Pig Destroyer) and Jason Hamacher (Frodus) make up the core of Zealot R.I.P. which has a sound somewhere between DC hardcore and Entombed. This is their debut EP and it is sure to be a rager!

Full of Hell – Garden of Burning Apparitions
Release date: 1 October 2021
Ocean City based grind band Full of Hell have been getting more and more experimental with each release while keeping the heavy on full blast. I can’t wait to hear the rest of this upcoming release this fall.

August 6, 2021
Categories: Album Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Local Band Info, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner, Thrash Metal, Upcoming Album Releases, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: Bandcamp, Bandcamp Friday, Blunt Horse, Borracho, Full Of Hell, Grishka, Honey Spreader, Misery Index, So Be It, Spiral Grave, Unendlich, Zealot RIP . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

First Nations and heavy metal on the new episode of Metal Embassy

On the new episode of the Metal Embassy podcast Metal Chris interviews Josh Cayer, a First Nations Algonquin in Ottawa, Canada, that performs bass and vocals for the bands Longhouse and Dismal Aura. Josh goes in depth about the recent discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves of indigenous children at schools across Canada and the impact this has had on the country’s indigenous population.

You can listen to this episode on the player below or by searching for Metal Embassy in most podcast apps (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio and more). We’re on Bandcamp now too!

Metal Embassy – 011 – Longhouse (Canada)

I have also released a longer version of the podcast as a Bandcamp exclusive. It features an extra 20 minutes of the interview with Josh and includes several questions and answers not found in the shorter version that went out everywhere else. You can stream it below if you’d like or stick with the tighter, shorter version above.

August 4, 2021
Categories: Black Metal, Doom Metal, Interviews, Podcast . Tags: Algonquin, Black Metal, Canada, Disma Aura, Doom Metal, First Nations, Indigenous, Josh Cayer, Longhouse . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Heavy metal from Kenya on the new Metal Embassy podcast episode

Metal Chris speaks with Preston and Barbara, the vocalist and drummer, respectively, of the Nairobi, Kenya, based metal band Chovu on this episode. They cover a wide range of topics from African mysticism and mythology to what it is like to be a woman in a heavy metal band in Kenya.

Metal Embassy – 010 – Chovu (Kenya)

July 14, 2021
Categories: Black Metal, Black Voices, Interviews, Podcast . Tags: Africa, Black Metal, Chovu, Kenya, Metal Embassy, Nairobi, Podcast, What Kind Of Sorcery Is This? . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Black metal from Bangladesh on the newest Metal Embassy podcast episode

On the new episode of the Metal Embassy podcast, Metal Chris talks to Rubayet Hussain, stage named Katatonic, the man behind the black metal band Brajangngana. The band focuses on Hindu mythology and blends South Asian influences with black metal to create a unique sound unlike anything else I’ve ever heard.

Metal Embassy – 009 – Brajangngana (Bangladesh)

June 29, 2021
Categories: Black Metal, Interviews, Podcast . Tags: Bangladesh, Black Metal, Brajangngana, Dhaka, East South Asia, Katatonic, Rubayet Hussain, South Asia . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

New Metal Embassy episode interviews Palestinian metal band

Amir Jacob is the man behind the Palestinian black metal band Zalaam and this episode’s interview with Metal Chris is Amir’s first interview about his band. Amir gives insight into how his environment influences the music of Zalaam and of course we listen to a song by the band at the end of the episode as well.

Metal Embassy – 005 – Zalaam (Palestine)