Branikald was the Russian black metal band lead by Boris "Kaldrad" Podsoblyayev (1974-2019) and featuring a drummer, the first being Wizard (1994-1998) who was replaced by Ransverdi (1998-2001). Boris Podsoblyayev‘s legacy in black metal was the earliest spark in crossing borders into both atmospheric black metal and raw black metal from the Eastern European front. In April of 2019 Boris Podsoblyayev was pronounced dead after being struck by a car. He was 43 years old. Branikald was founded 1993 in Novomoskovsk, Russian Federation, they released around 14 albums, many of which were recently reissued on CD by the Russian label Stellar Winter. Branikald was put on-hold in 2001 while Kaldrad continued other projects after his imprisonment of that year. It was rumored that Kaldrad had a new Branikald project in the works during the years since, however the band was kept on hold until his death in 2019 with no new information regarding the unreleased material. Though it's possible Podsoblyayev held alt-right views throughout the band's lifespan, Branikald in its early years was strictly utilizing imagery and lyrical themes relating to nature, misanthropy, paganism, as well as the freezing cold weather the band's named for. After the turn of the century and the departure of the band's previous drummer, Wizard, the band began to further utilize national-socialist imagery in their covert art and song titles, along with lyrical themes shifting further into paganism and Slavic-pride. This was likely due to Podsoblyayev joining an alt-right neo-pagan organization with other members of the Blazebirth Hall around this time, and these themes were more clearly expressed in his other projects during this period. The final two albums released by the band likely draw influence from the Pagan NSBM scene of the time, with the bands final album leaning all the way into the fascist imagery and theming the band previously only dipped their toes into, and likely being heavily influenced by Absurd as it features a similar blend of pagan black metal and RAC musical influences. This was Ransverdi’s final work in the band and he left thereafter, with Podsoblyayev placing the band on hold so he could spend more time providing backup vocals for Темнозорь (Temnozor'). Branikald was a part of the Russian black metal circle known as the Blazebirth Hall alongside Forest, Raven Dark, Rundagor, Vargleide and the mighty Nitberg.