I was recently turned on to a musical project called
Blackbraid by a rad metal couple I met when I checked out
Carcass in Vancouver last month. I watched some music
videos created by Sgah'gahsowah (the sole composer) and his
wife, and I felt the music speak to my heart. It evoked
a sound that hearkened back to the old school roots of
underground black metal; and with the added depth of the
artist being Mohawk and conjuring the history and spirit of
the First Peoples of these lands, this project stands out as
one of the most unique and soulful metal bands I’ve ever come
across.
I travelled over to Vancouver to see them play at the Vogue
Theatre as part of the Decibel Tour on a motley crew of a bill
that also included 200 Stab Wounds, Cattle Decapitation and
Black Funeral. I’m still getting used to these early music
events, as for most of my life shows didn’t really get started
until around 10pm and went until 2 or 3 am. So ya, I missed
Blackbraid! And so did my friend Lynn... so, there was only
one thing to do: cancel our lives for 2 days and drive to
Portland where they would be playing the next day!
We stayed and watched Cattle Decapitation, grabbed a quick
dinner and then headed home to sleep before setting out in the
morning. I didn’t have my passport so was hoping that we would
be able to get through the border without any troubles, and
quickly, as we were crunched for time.
As we were approaching the border crossing I used my pendulum
to guide us to the best line up and the border guard who we
got was awesome, letting us go through after 4 questions. We
also had the added challenge of it being a sold out show and I
had tried unsuccessfully to get tickets that morning, and had
someone try to scam me.
It felt so good to be out on the road and feel so free and we
gorged on Taco Bell and listened to Blackbraid’s album on
repeat. Lynn and I hadn’t seen each other for a few years and
wasted no time reverting to immature and ridiculous versions
of ourselves. Disturbingly, we saw a Trump 2024 billboard on
the side of the highway..
A couple of hours before the show a legit looking metal
aficionado responded to my plea for tickets and said that we
could meet him at the venue beforehand. With bellies full of
low-class burritos and gas station food we made it to the
Hawthorne with time to spare.
Blackbraid started at 7pm sharp and played a short yet
powerfully intense and beautiful set, including one of their
new songs Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon,
an epic 13 minute piece that speaks of a ritualistic journey
taken as the light falls and by the light of the moon. He’s
guided to an altar in a grove of pines and makes a blood
sacrifice to “bring the spirits home”...
A walking I must go
Down through the dreary pine
To meet the woodsy lord
And make the sacred bind
I walk beneath the moon
Across her silent fields
Through forest and through marsh
With twilight as my shield
With twilight as my shield
She takes me in her shroud
And whisks me on my way
Down to the hidden copse
Where the sacred altar lay
Tucked amongst the pines
An ancient slab of stone
A long forgotten shrine
Bathed in moss and bone
And as the night grows still
And creeping shadows grow
I offer up my blood
To call the spirits home
Beneath the fields of stars
The old ones dance and sing
Round their ancient fires
A sacrament of flame
A sacrament of flame
Spirits converge under cover of night
Called down from timeworn stars
Forgotten keepers of the sacred pine
Forged in cosmic fire
Encircling the altar in the pale moon light
Called down by blood and bone
They forge their spectral bodies into mine
Imparting me with a sacred song
A blaze in the heart of a sleeping god
A long forgotten dream
Awakened by the cry of my flute upon the wind
He descends upon the glade
Amidst the mist the ancient beast beckons
A crown of antlers cradling the sky
Inside his heart the nightsong softly echoes
A forgotten spell
to invoke the fated hand of twilight
To invoke the fated hand of twilight
A sacred path transpires
Born of dust and stars
The ghostly stag becomes me
I walk the path of ancient light
Born again amongst the stars
An ancient magic penetrates my soul
And with the sacred covenant fulfilled
The vision fades into the shadows of the blackened night
At the edge of twilight
I turn to leave
I pass my hands across the stone
A spell softly whispered
On the winds of time
One day I shall return
Fated
To the moss covered bones on the altar of the moon
I felt so honoured so see Blackbraid on their first tour in a
small venue with a group of other fanatics and I know for sure
that this artist is going to explode. As Lynn put it, they are
“breaking barriers, boundaries and ear drums.”
I also reflected on how Blackbraid has taken the essence of
black metal and matured it to a higher level that feels less
like a teenage suicide club and more like a solid path for
spiritual renewal and healing; birthed out of darkness, nature
and solitude.
Next up was 200 Stab Wounds and we had listened to some of
their music on the way down as well, so were psyched up for
some intense barking death metal - and they didn’t disappoint.
I was completely hypnotized by the tempo and intensity of
their songs and threw myself into the circle pit screaming out
all of my earthly frustrations.
The Hawthorne is a very unique venue with several separate
rooms and an upstairs enclave that overlooks the stage. They
also had vegan pizza by the slice and I remembered what a
vegan wonderland Portland is and how even a hole in the wall
dive bar will have vegan options for almost everything on the
menu.
We skipped out on part of Cattle Decapitation’s performance
and bought some merchandise in a separate bar room. There was
a little passageway from the stage area with a water station,
and other little nooks and crannies all around. I restrained
myself from buying some Cattle Decapitation sweat pants, and
settled for a couple of stickers and some patches.
Dark Funeral, who seemed as if they had appeared out from of a
misty shroud during a D&D quest, put on a compelling and
theatrical performance. It was also cool that the show was all
ages and there was a teenager near us with corpse paint on,
and some parents with their teenage kids in attendance. Dark
Funeral’s fans were all very devout and there were some great
moments where we all chanted ‘Hail Satan’ at the goading of
the black cloak bedecked frontman who had a handsome moustache
that was accented by the back lit stage. All of the members of
DF had incredible poise and stage presence, and the show was
super fun and entertaining. I think that the best description
I’ve heard of Dark Funeral is that they are “the Manowar of
Black Metal.”
In between bands when we were outside in the smoking area we
were chatting with some locals and they told us about a vegan
strip club that had decent food and was a Portland staple, so
we decided to head there after the show.
The venue was completely dead, which was perfect as we were
hella tired and were just there for the spectacle. One of the
girls came over to our table saying she was “bored" and we had
an interesting conversation with her where she revealed some
of the innerworkings of the place, including the owners
distaste for rap music and how sometimes women are the worst
offenders for touching the dancers without consent. She
identified as a queer femme and had long blonde hair, tattoos,
thick sculpted eyebrows, long wing tips coming out from her
eyes and porcelain skin. She looked like a comic book
character come to life and it was a bit of trip talking to
her.
Another girl was sitting by herself at a table reading a book.
Someone else had their boyfriend sitting on the sidelines and
went and hung out with him after her dance. I appreciated
seeing everyone with their guards down idling around.. and the
Yakisoba with tofu was super delicious!
We had an intense drive back to the motel through overpasses,
underpasses, long city streets, industrial sprawls, pockets of
tents where people were living, more strip clubs, a 24 hour
psychic and a heck of a lot of convenience stores and fast
food outlets.
The next morning I remembered that my friend Bramble was in
Portland and I managed to get a hold of her so we drove to
where she was staying and went out for tea. On the way back we
stopped at Beaver Falls and went for a swim, and then hit up a
Value Village in Bellingham, where I found the exact pair of
trashed vans I was wearing in my size only they were nearly
new and were only 14 bux.
I crashed at Lynn’s for the night and got to see her brother
Al, who’s making really cool outsider art and music, and he
gave me one of his paintings of a Devo energy dome:
**
Lynn is an inspiring activist for Indigenous rights and has
been harnessing the power of social media to promote her
family business and to promote other important grassroots
causes like the MMIW, the #stopthesweeps movement, Indigenous
land sovereignty, and the uplifting of other Indigenous
business owners and artists.
Portland sits on the lands of the Multnomah, Wasco,
Coelitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin,
Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their
homes along the Columbia River. These lands are unceded and
were stolen in the process of a widespread genocide that
continues to this day.
