Concert Review: Myrkur, April 26, The Phoenix

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Amalie Bruun has a stunningly beautiful voice. This is evident upon first listen to Myrkur’s debut full length M, right from the opening notes of the first track, “Skøgen Skulle Dø,” but live, her voice is even more impressive. “Stunningly beautiful voice” is not necessarily the first phrase that comes to mind when speaking of black metal, but then again, not every black metal act will pause for a completely a capella number midway through their set as Myrkur did on Tuesday night, and very few could make that a capella number one of the highlights of their show. Though her clean vocals were impressive, Bruun did have two microphones set up onstage, one of which was set up for the more traditional black metal shrieks, which became all the more effective when contrasted with her unfiltered singing voice and traditional folk-style melodies.

While Myrkur has her share of haters, thankfully not much of that was on display at the show, with many fans showing their appreciation (The fact that she was opening for Behemoth, and Behemoth fans are a lively bunch, could have had something to do with the crowd’s positive response). Someone in the audience even presented Bruun with flowers, which she then held aloft for a few seconds in a very metal pose, providing us with perhaps the most metal use of a not overtly metal prop since Gaahl from Gorgoroth swished a glass of wine around and intoned, “Satan” in Sam Dunn’s Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey.

Bruun also proved herself more than capable in the fine art of shooting down hecklers. When some clown in the audience threw out the tired old chestnut, “Play Freebird,” Bruun’s retort was simple and succinct: “Suck my cock.” Myrkur closed out the set by returning to the keyboard for a solo piano cover of Bathory’s “Song To Hall Up High” and it sounded fantastic. While her relatively low key performance couldn’t really compete with the dramatic stage show of headliners Behemoth, Myrkur nevertheless put on an engaging, impressive show.

Posted on by Paul in Concerts