Get Murky with One-Woman Black Metal Outfit Myrkur’s Full EP Stream

I feel a tinge of guilt every time I attach “one-woman black metal outfit” to Myrkur, the Danish musician who is exactly that. Because the music should speak for itself. But it is an interesting footnote — there aren’t any other one-woman black metal bands, as far as I know. So “one-woman black metal outfit Myrkur” is shall be, at least for the foreseeable future.

Myrkur’s song “Nattens Barn” really impressed us when it came out in July, and now that her self-titled EP is coming out next week and Pitchfork is streaming it in full, we’re really digging that too. It’s alternatingly dark and light, it’s murky (that word’s similarity to the artist’s name notwithstanding), it’s haunting and it’s beautiful, and it’s generally everything you want black metal to be… yet Myrkur’s angelic, almost Gregorian voice lends a touch of femininity. It’s a welcome addition to the often homogenous black metal canon that instantly makes this release stand out and gives this article’s opening paragraph some credibility — maybe there’s a reason to continue highlighting Myrkur’s gender after all. Take a spin here and see what you think.

Myrkur comes out next week on Relapse Records and can be ordered here.