MYRKUR — M (review)

MYRKUR — M album cover Album · 2015 · Atmospheric Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Unitron
Myrkur - M

"M" is the debut studio album and overall second release (excluding singles) from black metal musician Myrkur. I was absolutely blown away by Myrkur's 2014 EP release, so I was eagerly awaiting a full-length studio album from her. I initially loved it, then was a bit disappointed, now back to loving it.

"M" pretty much continues the atmospheric black metal-folk hybrid of the EP. A big thing that makes Myrkur stand out in the black metal genre is her extensive use of clean vocals, which appear in both the shredding black metal sections and Scandinavian folk passages. There is of course a mix of clean vocals and stark black metal screams but I'd probably say that the clean vocals appear more then the screams or at least equally, already giving it a unique sound.

While you may think that the folk passages and black metal sections are completely separate from each other, they actually play in unison often throughout the album. Just take a listen to songs like 'Hævnen' and 'Onde børn', the former being one of my favorites from the album, and you'll hear how both styles work together to bring a unique blackened folk metal sound. Speaking of folk, the short folk songs that transition to other songs are among the most beautiful on the album, some featuring great piano work along with Myrkur's calming vocals. There is some variation besides the black metal and folk, as the songs 'Skøgen skulle dø' and 'Jeg er guden, i er tjenerne' both have elements of doom metal which fit in perfectly with the rest of the sound of the album. The song 'Mordet', which features Chris Amott of Arch Enemy on guitar', is an amazing combination of killer thrash metal and stark black metal. This is probably my favorite on the album.

I usually don't mention other criticisms of albums in my reviews, but I feel like I should mention it here. I've seen a lot of comments about how this is "hipster black metal" and even some comments attacking Myrkur as a person. Regardless of opinions on the music here, I think the comments against her are very rude and mean-spirited and completely unwarranted. As far as the "hipster" comments go, I find this in no way "hipster", I simply see Myrkur as doing something new with the genre.

Overall, while I still prefer her debut EP, "M" is still an amazing album and I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoyed the debut, really enjoys black metal and folk, or wants to get into black metal. Myrkur's music really got me into the genre, and I can't wait to see where she goes with her next release. Hope you found this review helpful.

(Reposted review due to accidental deletion, originally posted April 2016.)
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