Myrkur Releases Piano-Based Cover of Iconic King Diamond Song “Welcome Home”

Myrkur, the solo project of Danish musician Amalie Bruun, has released a chilling cover of the classic King Diamond track “Welcome Home.” Myrkur runs the gamut from caustic, abrasive black metal to angelic folk metal.
The song was recorded for a Revolver special series, which for reasons made completely obvious in this cover, is titled “No Distortion.” “Welcome Home” is the first entry in the cover series. Watch the cover below:

Myrkur is gearing up for the release of album number two, which will be titled Mareridt and be released on September 15, 2017 through the seminal Relapse Records. All of the instruments and arrangements are straight from Bruun, who music fans may also recognize as one of the two members of dream-pop act Ex-Cops. While the vast majority of the music heard on Mareridt are the work of Bruun, there is one exciting exception: Chelsea Wolfe (who has a new album coming out this month as well) makes a guest appearance on the song “Funeral.”

Other tracks released from the new album include “Ulvinde” – which came with music video and “Måneblôt.” In addition to those two singles, she also issued her first song in English under the Myrkur moniker, titled “Shadows of Silence.” Myrkur covering metal classic is not an unexpected move for Bruun, as she recently covered the Bathory song “Song to Hall Up High” at Psycho Vegas 2017 earlier this month – playing on the same day as the source material for “Welcome Home,” as King Diamond was one of the main attractions on the second day of the festival.

For those who are unfamiliar, King Diamond is a bona fide legend in the world of metal as the lead singer of Mercyful Fate and through his own solo career. He is known for his incredible range (which is on full display on the original version of “Welcome Home”), hitting the purest of falsettos that has inspired countless metal vocalists (most of them unable to pull it off the way King Diamond can). The song “Welcome Home” is the second track from his third album, Them, a 1988 concept album about his relationship with his mentally-ill grandmother. The lyrics of “Welcome Home,” clearly delivered by Bruun, are a clear and direct illustration of this concept: Grandma’ welcome home / You have Been gone for far too long / Is this a dream, are you really back? … Wait till you see your room up in the attic / Prepared just like you said, without a bed / You will find your rocking chair and the tea pot that Missy found.

For comparison’s sake, here’s the original video for “Welcome Home”:

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

Matt Matasci: Music Editor at mxdwn.com - matt@mxdwn.com | I have written and edited for mxdwn since 2015, the same year I began my music journalism career. Previously (and currently) a freelance copywriter, I graduated with a degree in Communications from California Lutheran University in 2008. Born on the Central Coast of California, I am currently a few hundred miles south along the 101 in the Los Angeles area. matt@mxdwn.com
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