Released today on Relapse Records, Danish artist Myrkur has provided an early Christmas present in the form of the Juniper EP. Since emerging on the scene seemingly from nowhere in 2014, Myrkur has become to the black metal community what marmite is to the British public. Seeing Myrkur’s rise as an affront to the sanctity of the style Myrkur received no quarter. Yet despite many dismissing the band, Myrkur still have a strong and faithful base that take the view that there is nothing more metal than being yourself and throwing off the yoke of genre conformity.
Continuing to provide unique perspectives on the genre, the Juniper EP manages to provide an atmosphere similar to Mareridt, despite the EP consisting of just two songs. Lending its name to the EP, the title track Juniper carries some the same raw intensity of the last release yet is somewhat lighter in tone than your typical Black Metal release. Making heavy use of violins to carry to verses underneath the vocals, the first minute of the song could almost trick you into thing that this could be a more commercial effort. However, if you delve deeper into what your hearing and wait to listen past that initial minute, then you soon discover that this song is as disturbing as is beautiful.
The second song of the EP is an acoustic reinterpretation of a historic Danish folk song titled Bonden og Kragen. Sung in its mother tongue, this track is entirely acoustic. But don’t let that take away from the metal nature of the song as the lyrical content more than makes up for the lack of distortion. Telling the tale of a farmer who shoots a sleeping crow, Bonden og Kragen is about defying the church’s right to ownership of livestock during the 17th century and follows the framer as he makes an absurd list of how he will use the bird as a way of refusing tribute.
Highlighting the strength of Myrkur, the absence of the “metal” on this release allows for Bruun’s vocals to shine in the place of the guitars and continues to prove that Myrkur are not bound by the confines of the genre and it is the opinion of Metal Mashup that Myrkur is all the better for it.