“A lot of people don’t know our history,” says Blackbraid’s Sgah’gahsowáh.
Jon Krieger, under the pseudonym Sgah’gahsowáh (pronounced Skah-gah-sow-ah), is the force behind Blackbraid, a one-man black metal project. Unlike typical black metal, his music diverges from the genre’s clichés of blast beats and Satanic lyrics.
“People are bored of a lot of the black metal tropes out there right now,” says the multi-instrumentalist. “I’m a huge fan of Scandinavian black metal, but the dark, medieval style has been done to death. It’s hard for bands in that genre to create anything that doesn’t sound repetitive.”
Blackbraid, which recently released its debut album *Blackbraid I*, focuses on nature, folk music, and the struggles of Native Americans. Their first single, “Barefoot Ghost Dance On Blood Soaked Soil,” addresses the numerous atrocities faced by indigenous people, from the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre to the 2016 North Dakota Access Pipeline construction at Standing Rock. The track blends black/death metal with the sound of rattling chains to express its rage against oppression. Other songs, like “Sacandaga,” incorporate traditional flutes.
Jon, adopted by white parents at birth, learned about Native American trials and customs from a young age. “I think I first saw Wounded Knee when I was about six or seven,” he recalls. “I’ve visited several times since. A lot of people don’t know our history, but it’s always been at the forefront of my mind.”
