Hidden Gems & Guilty Pleasures: Lyrre (Poland)
Photo credits: Justyna Kamińska
Lyrre (Atmospheric/Dark/Folk Metal // Poland)
Lyrre is a Polish metal band, founded by former Eluveitie hurdy-gurdy player Michalina Malisz and her husband Piotr Martuś.
Lyrre combines the organic sound of the hurdy-gurdy with metal riffs and candid, ethereal vocals. The band’s music oscillates around dark alternative music, prioritizing authenticity over stylistic simplifications.
Their second album »Nothing Is Promised«, released in May 2026, focuses on the uncertainty of human existence and the adaptation to changing life conditions, framed by nostalgia and hope.
Lyrre’s »Nothing Is Promised« is based on the organic sound of the hurdy-gurdy – an instrument dating back to the Middle Ages. The group supplements this with raw guitar riffs and atmospheric vocal parts. The album »Nothing Is Promised« is constructed as a coherent, immersive entity, positioned within a stylistic framework balancing realism and dreamlike forms.
If you would like to learn more about Lyrre, here is also a short interview with Michalina and Piotr!
Can you say a few words about your band?
Michalina: We are Lyrre from Kraków, Poland, and we play metal with the hurdy-gurdy – a traditional string instrument, which our music is centred around.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Piotr: The biggest challenge has probably been building and maintaining the whole band almost entirely on our own. From the beginning, we have been fully independent, without a label or a big team behind us, but we still managed to release two albums, make nine music videos, play many shows in around ten countries, and we keep developing the band step by step.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Piotr: I think we are most proud of the fact that we managed to develop our own very individual, distinctive style and sound, and capture it on our latest release.
We are also proud that we do everything as a fully independent, self-released band, on our own terms, even if it is not always the easiest path.
What was your biggest regret?
Michalina: To be honest, we don’t have too many regrets as a band.
What was the best concert or tour so far and why?
Michalina: Echos & Merveilles in France. That was our biggest and most magical show to date.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Piotr: The biggest surprise for us has been how important it is for many people to place a band into one specific genre category. In our case, this problem feels almost extreme, because the range of descriptions is huge. People have called us symphonic metal, folk metal, progressive metal, atmospheric metal, neofolk, art metal, alternative metal – and the list goes on.
At the same time, it is also interesting, because it shows that different listeners focus on very different elements of our music.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Piotr: For the past few years, Michalina and I have been listening a lot to albums by Alcest and Harakiri For The Sky. Personally, I’ve also been enjoying the latest albums by Kanonenfieber and Behemoth, as well as the previous Lorna Shore album.
In the van, on the way to shows, we often play Electric Callboy – it always puts us into a great mood.
What was the best advice you have ever been given as a musician?
Michalina: Do not compare your progress too much with other bands. Everyone has a different path and pace, and not everything you see online is real.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Michalina: I would say we don’t really have guilty pleasures. If we like something, we just do, and we don’t feel guilty about it! 🙂
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Kraków?
Piotr: I have to admit I don’t follow the local scene closely enough to give a broad overview. In my own bubble, there are a few interesting bands from Kraków connected to folk and traditional instruments. Two of them are Jarzmo and Daj Ognia – both are friends of ours, and we also know them through the luthier/instrument-making world. Both bands use folk or ethnic instruments in their music, though in quite different ways.
Where can we see you live this year?
Michalina: We have just played two release shows, in Kraków and Warsaw, for our brand new album »Nothing Is Promised«. At the beginning of July we’ll also play at Rockowisko Festival in Zwierzyniec, Poland.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Michalina: We want to keep pushing our creativity further. There is still a lot we can explore in the combination of hurdy-gurdy and heavy music!
How can people best support your band?
Piotr: A great way to support us is to listen to our music, share it with friends, and help spread the word. Streaming, adding our songs to playlists, posting about the band, or showing our music to someone who might enjoy it really helps. You can find the links to our music HERE.
And if someone wants to support us even more, buying merch or physical releases from our official store is definitely the best way to do that.
If anyone feels inspired to start playing the hurdy-gurdy, ordering an instrument from Ancestore or taking lessons with Michalina is another way to support us.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you for listening to our music. The fact that Lyrre resonates with so many fans across the world is something we are very thankful for!
Discography:
• »Divide And Conquer« Single (2022)
• »North Star« Single (2022)
• »Call In The Wind« Single (2023)
• »Crown« Single (2023)
• »Chariot Of Sun« Single (2023)
• »Not All Who Dream Are Asleep« LP (2023)
• »Not All Who Dream Are Asleep (Instrumental)« LP (2024)
• »Orchard« Single (2025)
• »Still Human« Single (2026)
• »Ephemeral« Single (2026)
• »Nothing Is Promised« LP (2026)
Lyrre is:
Michalina Malisz – Vocals, Hurdy-gurdy
Piotr Martuś – Guitars
Miłosz Buśko – Bass
Tomasz Młóciński – Drums
FFO: Eluveitie, Faun, Cellar Darling, Tvinna, Vermilia, Patty Gurdy, Saltatio Mortis, In Extremo
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well