It is my firm belief that there’s no artist in all of the black metal universe that gets more unnecessary flack than the one woman band of Myrkur. Why does she get so much hate? Don’t know, don’t really care, but that’s not the point of why you’re here is it? No, it’s not. You’re here because you saw a review for an album you’ve not heard yet and you wanna know my so called “professional” opinion about it and here it is: yes. I really wish I could leave the review at that because I cannot find a single flaw, mishap, or even an opportunity for improvement within Myrkur’s upcoming live album of “Mausoleum”. But do not insult the woman by thinking that this is a mere recording of some random concert performed in some random city. This is completely different. “Mausoleum” features five tracks off Myrkur’s previous release, “M”, but does them in a completely acoustic version and done without any sort of growls or shrieks to be found, but instead her singing that can instantly be described as beautifully ominous to say in the least. Then add the factor that alongside Myrkur was the Norwegian’s Girl Choir for extra angelic voices while also being done inside the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, Norway for both an extremely appropriate atmosphere for any sort of piece going for excellent ambiance, and for that addition chills-down-your-spine factor which is always a bonus. And to top it all off, there is also a brand new song and a Bathory cover to be found within “Mausoleum”. That is one f*cking hell of a package to come out of an album that’s not even 30 minutes long if I do say so myself. And I can’t help but tell you that if you ignore this piece for any reason in the world, you are sorely missing out on some juicy creativity the likes of which we simply don’t see very often. Myrkur has shown us before that she is not a musician to be taken lightly, and if anything “Mausoleum“ has only even further cemented that fact with it conjuring up a side of Myrkur that we’ve definitely seen before, but not on such a grand scale as this. Each album has always shown us another side of this ever changing artist, and I personally cannot wait to see how Myrkur will evolve after such a transcending release that is “Mausoleum“. This is simply a piece that you should not and cannot pass up if you want a one of a kind experience.
“Mausoleum” releases on August 19th! You can pre-order the album via iTunes here, and stream two tracks off the album on Bandcamp here.
