Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

Danish musician Myrkur has spoken out about the online criticism she received after a photo of her wearing a King Diamond shirt sparked gatekeeping comments from some heavy metal fans. After posting the photo on social media, the dismissive remarks started flooding in. Many suggested that she “probably can’t name a single song” by the legendary heavy metal frontman. Myrkur went straight to Instagram with her response, saying, “Sir, I know all his songs by heart, all different harmonies and how to best tune in unison to double King’s haunting vocals.”

Her exchange even addressed the long-standing issue in the metal community of women often not being taken seriously as fans or facing extra scrutiny about their band knowledge. Myrkur wrote, “Even if you were IN the band, you are not safe wearing the shirt as a woman hahaha.”

Her response is all the more humorous as Myrkur recently collaborated with King Diamond for their new single “Spider Lilly,” and performed backing vocals. In a follow-up post, she reminded those critics of that fact: “Oh almost forgot, I quite literally recorded vocals and am featured on King’s latest single. Would they acknowledge that I probably know at least THAT song?”

Myrkur definitely showed her humor in all this with her responses undermining the gatekeepers. Wearing that shirt just further promoted her genuine collaboration with King Diamond and proved her years of immersion in the music.