Musketeer – Prince of Denmark (2021)
With the last single from their second studio EP, Musketeer is inviting you into a dark Shakespearean take with ‘Prince of Denmark’. Telling the haunting story of a modern-day Hamlet style character, the single charts his descent into madness. The acoustic guitars of their past releases are left to the side for this slow-burn tale of madness as the soundscape takes on a fiery abyss of sounds.
This modern twist to a Shakespearean play comes from the musings of Joseph Daniel Pogson (vocals) after he walked the brittle streets of Copenhagen. With Felix Virmani (synth, bass, backing vocals), Eric Timmann (guitar) and Michael Rosner (drums), the story is brought to a howling life. If the single on its own does not have you falling into the spiral of madness, the official music video will.
‘Prince of Denmark’ draws you into the dark soundscape with a deep progressive opening. The guitar line that flutters through the twilight of the soundscape has you feeling the midnight tendrils of the music grabbing at your ankles. The melody has a breathing quality to it that slowly gets heavier as the single progresses like a pressure resting on your chest. As the song progresses, that dark melody pulls you further and further into the darkness while the guitar crashes over you like icy waves stealing the air from your lungs.
Pogson’s vocals have a murky vibe to them that is enhanced by the music. The darkly haunting tone of his voice creeps up your spine as he details a spiral into madness. As the guitars pulse through icy depths, his voice calls out into the abyss. There is a captivating feeling to his performance like watching something happen and not being able to pull your eyes away. Later in the track, he howls into the dark for a moment of mad anguish that perfectly matches the movement of the music.
The official music video brings the darkness of the single to visual life with subdued lighting and dark red tones. The video shows the band playing the single in a dimly lit room. The cinematography is artful as you see each band member playing and get the full effect of the emotional impact of the music. There is a lot of passion in the video as you watch the band and you really feel the emotions they pour into every note.
Musketeer have you spiralling into the fiery abyss of madness with the modern take on Hamlet that is ‘Prince of Denmark’. The single has a creeping darkness that nips at your heels before you are pulled into the darkness of the night. The vocals bolster the freefall into madness through haunting tones and howls into the dark.
Find out more about Musketeer on their website, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
