Track Review: Prince of Denmark // Musketeer
In 1844, Alexandre Dumas brought us the tale of The Three Musketeers with a brave trio of soldiers; now, we have four brave musketeers sharing their epic music the masses. Founded in 2016, after the lead vocalist singer-songwriter stopped over in Hamburg, Germany, Musketeer is bold, vivacious and awe-inspiring. Lying somewhere between Stone Sour, Seether and Shinedown, the lads can hit you in the gut while giving you a hug. The latest single from the foursome is ‘Prince of Denmark’.
The only way to describe Musketeer’s ‘Prince of Denmark’ is spine-chilling. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the track explores themes of self-identity, anxiety, confusion and madness. Not necessarily a stream-of-consciousness narrative, but with an element of rambled thoughts, the track plunges you into the dark hole of insanity. Sinister lyrics coupled with hollow vocals presents a realm of shadows each dragging you further into a hopeless pool of despair.
What I find particularly interesting is how the instrumentation and haunting vocals harmonically carry you along in a terrifying spiral downwards. While the haunting vocals seem to swirl around you as you search for a light, Musketeer’s rich vocals add warm robustness making it slightly less scary. Unfortunately, the calming elements do not overrule ‘Prince of Demark’s terrifying sentimentality.
So what is my verdict? ‘Prince of Denmark’ can chill your bones leaving you gasping for breath; however, the melodic flow of Musketeer’s unique sound makes it far too addictive to ignore.
“I wrote this after wandering around the brittle streets of Copenhagen in winter some years ago. I saw the horses prancing around the royal palace, I looked blankly into the windows of restaurants way too expensive for me, I stared into some murky canals. I also did a little busking on the quiet streets and was completely ignored by the public… Later I picked up a copy of Hamlet and after reading the play I felt like I had been right there with him in the old streets of Copenhagen entering my own sort of madness.” – Musketeer on ‘Prince of Denmark’