There is a city in the shadow of the mountain
Where footsteps turn to echoes in the sand
Faces are a blur of colors, failing to take form
Words return to senders’ lips in the form of scattered hands
Children dance in terminal deceit before the ghost
Who watches on with hopelessness as he is choked
By smoke and ash that billow from the ever reddened ground
Life and death in the shadow of the arches of a crown
This city, it becomes you
This skyline, it consumes you
You will never be one of us
The circle may never break
The tongue perched on dry lips, to speak through staggered breath
Hopeful eyes unsheath themselves to beg for life from death
Leather skin surrounds the wounded beast that crawls
His wings collapse in crumbled heaps, beneath the sun, silence falls
The wall opens up like a gaping maw to consume the dying mass
And from the maw steps forth a man in an ancient golden mask
He looks down upon the failing limbs and organs of the lost
And says “for all your life you’ve been searching for your god”
“Here I am”
The golden mask, the glory of enlightenment
The spirit fades and transcends but I am always present
The golden mask, the glory of enlightenment
The spirit fades and transcends but I am always present
I can help you shed your skin of sorrow
I can mend the bones you broke wandering here
I can carry you before the conquering sun
I can hide you in a temple bare
I can help you shed your skin of sorrow
I can mend the bones you broke wandering here
I can carry you before the conquering sun
I can hide you in a temple bare
What an impressive piece of black metal. This one-man hurricane is pure art. Sgah‘gahsowáh creates an haunting atmosphere. He puts so much soul in his music. Sælzer Bub
Blackbraid quickly followed up their 2022 debut in 2023 with more native folk infused furious black metal. This is by no means a sophomore slump as it is equally excellent, methodical, melodical, and approachable as the first record. 9/10 RJ
One of the best metal albums I've heard this decade. Has a mournful, one of a kind atmosphere that has yet to be replicated by just about any other band. 10/10 honeycombguy