England's Download Festival happened this past weekend in Castle Donington, and Sunday, June 16th, saw alternative-rock stalwarts Smashing Pumpkins deliver a heavy set to the rain-soaked crowd. A particular highlight came with they brought onstage dark-folk and metal star Myrkur, a.k.a. Amalie Bruun, to perform Black Sabbath's 1972 song "Snowblind."
The pregnant Bruun floated out an airy white gown after a brief intro by Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who looked her polar opposite in his ominous black robe and stage makeup. The Danish singer and her temporary backing band got straight to it, churning out a lovely rendition of the cocaine-obsessed song to a daytime crowd in front of the group's futuristic, alien-esque stage setup.
"Today I joined @smashingpumpkins for a Black Sabbath cover at @downloadfest," Bruun commented later on Instagram. "Thank you @williampcorgan for inviting me, it was such a pleasure to join you and to honor Sabbath." A gracious follow-up post shows her emotional state before and after of her performance, seeming nervous as she went on and delighted following the collaboration.
Bruun has performed with Corgan and Co. before, including a spirited cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide."
The Smashing Pumpkins have a handful of European festivals to come in the following weeks before they bring the summer tour back to the United States on August 8th at Camden, New Jersey's BB&T Pavillion. Find a full list of dates on the band's official website.
Below, watch Myrkur's haunting reworking of King Diamond's "Welcome Home" for our No Distortion series:
