ALBUM REVIEW: Spine – Myrkur
On March 8th 2023, Amalie Bruun posted a photo of herself on her Instagram page to apologise for her recent radio silence in regards to her solo black-folk metal project MYRKUR. Coinciding with International Woman’s Day, this post featured herself wrapped in knitwear in snowy Scandinavian woods on a bright morning and revealed two things: that MYRKUR was continuing to work with the Royal Theatre Of Denmark on a score for their production Ragnarok, and that an upcoming studio album was “finished and mastered”.
It would have been easy to assume that working on a score for a theatre production would have taken the time and dedication that would have pushed a studio album onto the backburner, yet somehow, she was able to balance both and make one of the most interesting and captivating albums of the year and her career to date.
Spine is a story of motherhood and growth that conjures the spectrum of emotions associated with bringing a life into the world, the joy and the vulnerability that comes with being a parent. Bruun uses her beautiful, haunting voice to weave her feelings through this tapestry and explores life in both the light and the dark. Taking the narrative elements from the rich Pagan journey of 2020’s Folkesange, Bruun remarkably intertwines this sound with her earlier black metal material. Such a summary left alone would not quite express what Bruun has created with Spine, which is an experience that is difficult to summarise in such terms. The sunlight is prevalent but balanced with the weight of the darkness, the highs soar only to be punctuated with the deep lows.
The churning guitar that opens Like Humans goes hand-in-hand with Bruun’s disquieting gothic melodies before bursting into a dance-pop chorus that is underpinned with sorrow. The ethereal, dancing synths of Mothlike lead the way into the night, with ferocious black metal drumming and pained screams emerging at the exact halfway point, maintaining the equilibrium between the two forces.
My Blood Is Gold is a soaring ghostly symphony that summarises much about the statement of this album. During the quieter, more reflective moments of this track, Bruun forces out the words “I’m invincible, because my blood is cold”, conveying with it a story of anxiety and deceit that finds within itself a strength. The album is perhaps best summarised in such a way – finding a prevailing strength in a world of conflicting forces. It encourages an exploration of the self to find that same strength amongst the negative forces of life, casting the flaws of human nature into the open instead of hiding them away. Devil In The Detail acts as a statement for exactly this, throwing a spotlight on insecurity and shortcomings but reclaiming them, robbing them of their power.
Spine is as much a gorgeous and powerful statement as it is musically brilliant, combing through a rich catalogue of influences and masterfully forming them into a vivid self-portrait. Throughout the 33-minute run time there is not one moment that doesn’t feel intentional, and Spine triumphs largely due to this. The sincerity and bravery, on both a musical and emotional level, is striking and unique in ways that are seldom achieved with such compelling results.
Rating: 9/10
Spine is out now via Relapse Records.
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