A View From The Back Of The Room: Myrkur

Myrkur & Jo Quail, The Fleece, Bristol

A second night in Bristol and one that totally flew in the face of the previous evenings gig, this was a more subtle, subdued, cerebral affair, heavy yes but also enriched by the musical dexterity displayed. The queue was already around the corner as the doors opened at 7:30, I took a place by the sound desk as seeing the band is never really an option in the Fleece due to the pillars, slowly but surely the venue reached it’s sold out capacity, note I said sold out, not over sold like the previous evening as all manner of punters came through the doors. Black metal fans covered in Emperor patches, mixed with Wiccans, New Age hippies, prog fans, classical buffs, folk fans and those who always try to seek out the latest trend in music making for a very heady mix of crowd, most of whom I will say were very well behaved with limited chatter throughout the night.

First on stage was the solitary figure of acclaimed solo cellist Jo Quail (8) who’s EP I reviewed earlier this year, her set was built upon numerous ‘pieces’ from her repertoire that were performed by her and a set of loop pedals. She plays an electric cello decked out with skulls and horns in keeping with the evenings other worldly feel, and virtuosically constructs the songs from a base level, adding layers upon layers that start with percussion on the cello itself, then plucking, tapping or bending the stings, building etc until the finished product. You can tell it was all happening live as opener White Salt Stag was played as a 'remixed' version due to some minor hiccups. Jo explained this much to the mirth from the crowd who she seemed genuinely shocked to see was so big. It was followed it with Gold, the brooding Mandrel Cantus and the finale of Adder Stone all of which are elongated sweeping pieces that need time to properly develop, this was not the 3 minute wonders of Clutch the previous evening.

With a rapturous reception and the tone firmly set in the spectral realm the crowd grew bigger again waiting for the main show already warmed by Jo’s performance and the folk songs playing over the P.A finally it was time as Amalie Bruun took to the stage with a Bodhran in hand backed by an acoustic guitar, electric bass, drum kit and Jo Quail once again on the cello. This inital part of the set was skewed toward the folk side of Bruun’s persona playing traditional songs with traditional instruments from Sweden (Fager som en ros), her native Denmark (Ramund) and Scotland (The House Carpenter). It was an interesting way to begin as the trve cvlt members of the audience stood a little dumbstruck waiting for the tremolo riffs and violence. Personally I find folk fascinating so hearing the stories around the songs was excellent even though there was a little chatter during the more plaintive numbers. There was also a special treat for the gamers in the audience as since their Polish shows Lullaby Of Woe from The Witcher Official Soundtrack has been added to the set fitting brilliantly just before the folk song set ended with the Nickelharp led Två konungabarn which left Bruun alone on stage the band having left previously.

With the final folk number concluded and the stage cleared, there was metamorphosis, the soft candle light grew darker with shades of orange and red, a much more evil presence could be felt as a deafening electronic thud bludgeoned your ears as you catch glimpses of the stage being rearranged for the second part of the set and like an explosion a distorted guitar cut through the drone beckoning the ungodly as Amalie changed from the folk songstress into her more spectral Myrkur (10) persona, it was almost like the black metal influence corrupting everything and as the cheers and the volume grew louder, it was wondrous to behold.

This second set saw a band clad in hoods faces obscured and the lighting now more prominent, emphasising Myrkur’s appearance of being resurrected or corrupted her face covered in corpse paint. Opening with the chanting The Serpent the heaviness was just beginning as Myrkur’s haunting vocals soared over those tremolo riffs the doom and darkness built and built until the finale of Måneblôt. The way the entire evening was constructed, it was almost as if the it's almost like the folk innocence from the beginning was being defiled and laid to waste in front of our collective eyes, Myrkur was now more animated when singing moving between the soaring cleans and screams beguiling the room with her expressive performance, as the hooded band constructed an atmospheric foundation of doom, every so often Myrkur herself strapped on a guitar and the level of noise increased with blast beats steamrolling for Elleskudt.

With minds blown and bodies broken (mine especially), Amalie humbly thanked everyone and introduced the ominous Juniper, the slow thundering doom allowed necks to be massaged and then they took their leave the crowd wanting more, they were expecting more I believe but as the house lights went up that indicated that this ritual of superior music was over. Breathless and still mesmerised much of the crowd departed still trying to comprehend what had just happened, it took me the best part of a day to really put into words this show. It was one of those ‘had to be there’ moments and I’m glad I was.