Nechochwen is an artistic force dedicated to preserving the past through sound. With “Kanawha Black”, the West Virginia duo delves deeper into the folklore, war, and generational wisdom of Appalachia, transforming history into music that is both urgent and timeless. This is an album shaped by the land itself – its rivers and ridgelines, its battles and buried secrets, its ghosts and forgotten voices.
Melding intricate folk passages with the might of black metal, “Kanawha Black” is a work of contrasts: the tangible and the spectral, history and legend, past and present. The doomed last stand of Chief Cornstalk in “I Can Die But Once” and the ancestral scars of “Generations of War” stand alongside the mythic – the great horned serpent of “The Murky Deep”, the strange omens of “Visions, Dreams, and Signs”, and the meditative “A Cure for the Winter Plagues”, a tribute to nature’s quiet resilience. The further one listens, the more the lines blur, until history and folklore become one.
More than an album, “Kanawha Black” is a testament to the unbroken lineage of Appalachian customs and indigenous tradition. With this reissue through Nordvis – now available on CD for the first time – its themes remain as vital as ever, offering new listeners a chance to step into Nechochwen’s world.
This edition also includes two bonus tracks: “Eastern Hemlock Medicine Song”, appearing on physical format for the first time, and “Across the Divide (Acoustic Version)”, making its debut release.
1. Kanawha Black
2. The Murky Deep
3. I Can Die But Once
4. A Cure for the Winter Plagues
5. Visions, Dreams, and Signs
6. Generations of War
7. Across the Divide
8. Eastern Hemlock Medicine Song (bonus track)
9. Across the Divide (Acoustic Version) (bonus track)