Folk metal
Template:Short description Template:Infobox music genre
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example, Dutch Heidevolk, Danish Sylvatica and Spanish Stone of Erech). It also sometimes features soft instrumentation influenced by folk rock.
The earliest folk metal bands were Skyclad from England and Cruachan from Ireland. Skyclad's debut album The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth was released in 1991 and would be considered a thrash metal album with some folk influences, unlike Cruachan’s early work which embraced the folk element as a defining part of their sound. It was not until 1994 and 1995 that other early contributors in the genre began to emerge from different regions of Europe and beyond. Among these early groups, the German band Subway to Sally spearheaded a different regional variation that over time became known as medieval metal. Despite their contributions, folk metal remained little known with few representatives during the 1990s. It was not until the early 2000s when the genre exploded into prominence, particularly in Finland with the efforts of such groups as Finntroll, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Turisas, and Moonsorrow.
The music of folk metal is characterised by its diversity with bands known to perform different styles of both heavy metal music and folk music. A large variety of folk instruments are used in the genre with many bands consequently featuring six or more members in their regular line-ups. A few bands are also known to rely on keyboards to simulate the sound of folk instruments. Lyrics in the genre commonly deal with fantasy, mythology, paganism, history and nature.
History
[edit]Origins
[edit]The English band Skyclad was formed in 1990 after vocalist Martin Walkyier left his previous band, Sabbat.<ref name="allmusic Skyclad">Template:Cite web</ref> Skyclad began as a thrash metal band but added violins from session musician Mike Evans on several tracks from their debut album, The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth,<ref name="Metalstorm Skyclad">Template:Cite web</ref> an effort described by Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic as "ambitious" and "groundbreaking."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song "The Widdershins Jig" from the debut album has been acclaimed as "particularly significant" and "a certain first in the realms of Metal".<ref name="MusicMight Skyclad">Template:Cite web</ref> With a full-time fiddler in their lineup, the band's second album feature a "now legendary folky jig style" and "more prominent inclusion of the fiddle playing lead lines and melodies normally associated with the lead guitar parts of most other rock bands."<ref name="Metalstorm Skyclad"/>
Even with the departure of Martin Walkyier in 2001, Skyclad remains an active folk metal group today after nearly two decades since their formation.<ref name="MusicMight Skyclad"/> In contrast, the Portuguese band Moonspell had a brief tenure in the genre. Their first release was the 1994 Under the Moonspell EP with music that featured Lusitanian folk and Medieval influences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With the release of their debut album Wolfheart in the following year, the band made a transition into gothic metal and within a matter of years "quickly evolved into one of the major players of the European goth-metal scene."<ref name="AMG BE">Template:Cite web</ref>
Cruachan were formed in 1992 in Dublin, Ireland. From the outset their intention was to mix the native Irish folk music of their home country with the more extreme side of metal music. Their debut album Tuatha Na Gael was released in 1995 and was a full folk metal album from start to finish. In the Italian book “FOLK METAL, Dalle Origini Al Ragnarok”, a comprehensive history of the genre, Author Fabrizio Giosue credits Cruachan as being the very first real Folk Metal band. He acknowledges that Skyclad did have some folk parts in some songs before Cruachan however he goes on to say Cruachan used folk music as much as they used heavy metal music. Cruachan also used arrangements of known folk songs and melodies, Skyclad wrote folk "sounding" parts.
Spanish band Mägo de Oz was among early Folk Metal artists that were influenced by the Celtic folk music. The band introduced folk elements and instruments in their power metal-based music from their 1994 debut album.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Another early developer of folk metal is the Finnish group Amorphis. They formed in 1990 with their debut album, The Karelian Isthmus, following two years later.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their sophomore effort Tales from the Thousand Lakes was released in 1994 with "plenty of fascinating melodies and song structures that drew heavily from the traditional folk music of their native country."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album received a favorable reception from fans with "its content quickly being exalted across the Metal underground as perhaps the very pinnacle of atmospheric Death Metal achievement."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Regional variations
[edit]In the years 1994 and 1995, several distinct variations on folk metal emerged from different regions.
Medieval metal
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The German band Subway to Sally was formed in 1992 as a folk rock band, singing in English and incorporating Irish and Scottish influences in their music.<ref name="Lords of Subway">Template:Cite web</ref> With their second album MCMXCV released in 1995, the band adopted a "more traditional approach" and started singing in German.<ref name="Lords of Subway"/> Taking Skyclad as an influence,<ref name="Rock Sally">Template:Cite web</ref> Subway to Sally performs a blend of hard rock and heavy metal "enriched with medieval melodies enmeshed in the songs via bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, lute, mandoline, shalm Template:Sic, fiddle and flute" and combined with "romantic-symbolic German-speaking poetry" in their lyrics.<ref name="goth sally">Template:Cite web</ref> With chart success in their native Germany,<ref name="Lords of Subway"/> they have since been credited as the band "that set off the wave of what is known as medieval rock."<ref name=Goethe>Template:Cite web</ref>
This distinctly German phenomenon<ref name=Goethe/> has been continued and expanded further by subsequent bands. Formed in 1996, the Berlin based In Extremo has also found chart success with their "medieval style stage garb and unashamed usage of such bizarre, sometimes hand made, instruments as the Scottish bagpipes."<ref name="Rock In">Template:Cite web</ref> Another band that has experienced commercial success in Germany is the Bavarian outfit Schandmaul.<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul">Template:Cite web</ref> Describing themselves as the "minstrels of today,"<ref name="Goethe"/> the band employs a musical arsenal that includes the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, shawm, violin and mandolin.<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul"/>
Celtic metal
[edit]
The Irish band Cruachan was formed in 1992 by guitarist Keith Fay with their first demo recording distributed in 1993.<ref name="Rock Cru">Template:Cite web</ref> Drawing inspiration from Skyclad's first album, Fay set out to combine black metal with the folk music of Ireland.<ref name="Cru Imp">Template:Cite web</ref> Their debut album Tuatha Na Gael was released in 1995 and the band has since been acclaimed as having "gone the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand" the genre of folk metal.<ref name="Allmusic Cruachan">Template:Cite web</ref> Cruachan combination of Celtic music and heavy metal is known today as Celtic metal.<ref name=Chad>Template:Cite web</ref>
Parallel to Cruachan, the black metal act Primordial also released a demo recording in 1993 and "found themselves heralded as frontrunners in the burgeoning second-wave black metal movement."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Irish music plays "a very big role" in Primordial but in "a dark and subtle way" through the chords and timings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band has since "established themselves as one of the most unique sounding bands in the folk-meets-black metal field."<ref name="Primordial live">Template:Cite web</ref> Other early representatives of Celtic metal include the bands Geasa, Mägo de Oz and Waylander<ref name=Chad/> with both groups releasing a demo recording in 1995.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Rock Way">Template:Cite web</ref>
Oriental metal
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The Israeli progressive metal band Orphaned Land was formed in 1991 and released the demo The Beloved's Cry in 1993, "immediately creating a media stir"<ref name="Rockdetector Orphaned">Template:Cite web</ref> that "quickly drew attention to their unorthodox style."<ref name="allmusic Orphaned">Template:Cite web</ref> The music of Orphaned Land "borrow[s] heavily from Middle Eastern music styles"<ref name="allmusic Orphaned"/> with traditional elements coming from both Jewish and Arabic folk music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Acclaimed as "one of the world's most unique and trailblazing heavy metal bands,"<ref name="allmusic Orphaned"/> Orphaned Land's style of music has since been dubbed oriental metal.<ref name="Rockdetector Orphaned"/>
Melechesh formed in Jerusalem in 1995, becoming "undoubtedly the first overtly anti-Christian band to exist in one of the holiest cities in the world."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Melechesh began as a straightforward black metal act with their first foray into folk metal occurring on the title track of their 1996 EP The Siege of Lachish.<ref name=McKay>Template:Cite web</ref> Their subsequent albums saw the group straddling the boundaries between black, death, and thrash metal, with "impressive, tastefully rendered epics chock-full of superb riffs, Middle Eastern melodies, and vocal exchanges varying from a throaty midrange screech to chanting."<ref name=Djinn>Template:Cite web</ref> Other oriental metal acts emerged thereafter with the band Distorted emerging in 1996 as the first female-fronted metal act from Israel.<ref name=Distorted>Template:Cite web</ref>
Additional oriental metal bands emerged form the Middle East in the 2000s, such as Myrath from Tunisia, who mix Middle Eastern and Arabic melodies with power metal and progressive rock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Kordz from Lebanon combine Middle Eastern instrumentation with politicized lyrics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lazywall from Morocco<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Andaz Uzzal<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> from Algeria combine that region's traditional music forms with heavy metal. Egypt's Massive Scar Era includes several female members, who have reported harassment due to their participation in heavy metal music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Americas folk metal
[edit]In the Americas there are many bands that blend metal subgenres with different pre-Columbian and Native American traditional folk music. Bands from Canada and United States include Blackbraid, Pan-Amerikan Native Front, Ifernach, Volahn, Maȟpíya Lúta , 'Iisnááhí, Ŭkcheănsălâwit, Blue Hummingbird on the Left, and Maquahuitl, all of them varying topics between Navajo, Mi'kmaq, Nahua, among others North-Native American tribes. Kūka'ilimoku from the United States is a black metal/hardcore punk band with Hawaiian elements.
Bands from Mexico that blend metal with Mesoamerican instruments (like those used for Aztec and Mayan music) include Mictlan, Cemican, Yaotl Mictlan, Amocualli, Miquian,Camaxtli Yoxippa (formerly Cabracan), Kalaveraztekah, and Xipe Totec. Also, bands like DelDesierto and Aztlan do a blend of metal and Mesoamerican folk with also folk music from modern Mexico such as mariachi and son huasteco.
Regarding South America, Peruvian bands such as Chaska, Apu Rumi, Yana Raymi, Yawarhiem, Hammelin and Flor de Loto; Colombian bands such as Guahaihoque, Indoraza, and ThunDarkma; Ecuadorian bands such as Aztra, Gnosis, Diablo Huma; and the Brazilians Tierramystica and Toccata Magna combine a large diversity of metal subgenres with Andean folk, usually accompanied of an Inca ethos. Folkheim from Chile also adds elements from Rapa Nui folk, and Arraigo from Argentina blends progressive metal and progressive rock with cumbia, samba and tango. Brazilian Arandu Arakuaa is known for their blend of groove metal with Brazilian Native American tribals.
There are also cases of bands like Argentinian Skiltron and Mexican Ulveheim that are known for an European-folk metal style instead of a local one. Other example is the Peruvian band Saloma which is a pirate-themed band that blends power and symphonic metal with Spaniard-esque folk.<ref>'Saloma', una banda peruana con identidad única Exitosa Noticias. 23 September 2023.</ref>
Development
[edit]From the middle of the 1990s, other bands gradually emerged to combine heavy metal with folk music. Storm was a short lived Norwegian supergroup with Fenriz, Satyr and Kari Rueslåtten from the black metal groups Darkthrone, Satyricon and the doom metal band The 3rd and the Mortal respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their only album Nordavind was released in 1995 with the use of keyboards to imitate the sound of folk instruments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Germans Empyrium also relied on synthesizers and guitars to deliver their "dark folklore" black metal music with the release of their 1996 debut album A Wintersunset...<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The year 1996 also saw the debut album of the "one-man black metal project of multi-instrumentalist Vratyas Vakyas" from Germany known as Falkenbach.<ref name="AMG Falkenbach">Template:Cite web</ref> Even though Falkenbach was formed as early as 1989, the band didn't get much attention until the debut, that includes epic music that is "rife with keyboards, Viking themes, and folk music tendencies," Falkenbach was effectively a merge of Viking metal with folk metal.<ref name="AMG Falkenbach"/> They were joined in the next two years by other bands combining the two genres including Windir,<ref name=Windir>Template:Cite web</ref> Månegarm<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Thyrfing.<ref name=Vansin>Template:Cite web</ref>
Predating most folk metal groups, the Spanish band Mägo de Oz was formed as far back as 1989 with a self-titled debut album, released in 1994.<ref name="A Costa">Template:Cite web</ref> With nine members in their lineup, including a violinist and flutist, the band has evolved over the years into a combination of power metal and Celtic flavored folk metal.<ref name="A Costa"/><ref name=Gaia>Template:Cite web</ref> They have experienced strong chart success in their native Spain as well as in South America<ref name="Rock Mago">Template:Cite web</ref> and Mexico.
Slough Feg from Pennsylvania, United States also had an early formation dating back to 1990.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their self-titled debut album was released in 1996 and the band has pursued a "unique style of combining traditional/power metal with folk metal."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Czech band Silent Stream of Godless Elegy had formed in 1995 as a doom metal band "laced with Pagan imagery and adventurous enough to include violins and cellos alongside the expected modern day arsenal."<ref name="Rock Silent">Template:Cite web</ref> With the release of their second album Behind the Shadows in 1998, the band began to use "folklore influences" in their music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Explosion
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The folk metal genre has dramatically expanded with the turn of the new millennium. At the forefront of this explosion, with a "revolutionary clash of tradition and amplification that set them apart", is a group from Finland known as Finntroll.<ref name="Trolls detect rock">Template:Cite web</ref> The band was formed in 1997 with a demo recorded the following year and a debut album Midnattens widunder released in 1999.<ref name="Trolls Are My Gods">Template:Cite web</ref> They have since developed a reputation for being "obsessed with all things trollish."<ref name="Trolls in NYTimes">Template:Cite news</ref> Their lyrics are sung exclusively in Swedish instead of the Finnish language "apparently because this language was better to evoke the trollish spirit",<ref name="Trolls detect rock"/> even though the real reason for this lies in the band's original vocalist belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority. The music of Finntroll features a "real innovation" in the marriage of black metal music with a style of Finnish polka called humppa.<ref name="Trolls in NYTimes"/> Specifically, the band took from humppa "the alternate picking bass lines accompanied with the drumbeat, and the use of accordion."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This unlikely mix of polka and extreme metal has received a mixed reception from critics. Andy Hinds of AllMusic laments the polka influence as undermining "the intended threat of a death metal band"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while his colleague Alex Henderson praises the band for their "solid, consistently likable effort," declaring that Finntroll has set themselves apart from their peers "because of their emphasis on Finnish humppa" and "the humor and irony they bring to the table."<ref name=Alex>Template:Cite web</ref>
Finntroll's second album Jaktens tid was released in 2001 and became a chart success in their native Finland.<ref name=jaktenstidcharts>Finnish Charts for Jaktens Tid Template:Webarchive</ref> Some of the songs on the album feature vocals performed by Jonne Järvelä of Korpiklaani, another band from Finland.<ref name="Rock Korp">Template:Cite web</ref> While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk music before turning metal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The roots of Korpiklaani can be traced back to a Sami folk music group under the name of Shamaani Duo,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> an "in house restaurant band" created in 1993.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An album of folk music was released under this name before Jonne Järvelä relocated and formed a new band, Shaman.<ref name="Voice of Ramos">Template:Cite web</ref> The folk metal act Shaman was based on the folk music of Shamaani Duo.<ref name="High Korpi">Template:Cite web</ref> Two albums were released in 1999 and 2001 before Shaman changed their name to Korpiklaani.<ref name="Voice of Ramos"/> The change in name was accompanied by a change in the music. The traditional yoik vocals and the use of the Northern Sámi language were dropped while the synthesizer was replaced with real folk instruments.<ref name=Yoik>Template:Cite web</ref> Jonne Järvelä credits his work with Finntroll as the catalyst for the shift in emphasis from folk to metal.<ref name="Tartare Korpi">Template:Cite web</ref>
While Korpiklaani used an assortment of traditional instruments to deliver their folk metal,<ref name="High Korpi"/> Finntroll relies on keyboards for Finnish folk melodies played in the humppa style.<ref name="Trolls Are My Gods"/> The keyboards in Finntroll are performed by Henri Sorvali who also performs in Moonsorrow, another folk metal band from Finland that he formed with his cousin Ville Sorvali in 1995.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They released two demos, the first in 1997 and another in 1999, before the 2001 debut album Suden Uni.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moonsorrow blends folk metal with Viking metal by incorporating "Finland's traditional folk music forms into elaborate symphonic arrangements typical of Viking metal outfits such as Bathory and Enslaved."<ref name=Suden>Template:Cite web</ref> The adoption of folk elements was "becoming all the rage" in Finland by this point<ref name="AMG Cadacross">Template:Cite web</ref> and other folk metal bands from Finland that began to emerge in the early 2000s included Cadacross,<ref name="AMG Cadacross"/> Ensiferum<ref name="AMG Ensiferum">Template:Cite web</ref> and later on Turisas<ref name="AMG Turi">Template:Cite web</ref> and Wintersun.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ensiferum notably found themselves at the top of the Finnish charts with their 2007 single "One More Magic Potion".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow and Turisas have all experienced chart success in their native Finland as well.<ref>Finntroll at Finnishcharts.com Template:Webarchive, Korpiklaani at Finnishcharts.com Template:Webarchive, Moonsorrow at Finnishcharts.com Template:Webarchive, Turisas at Finnishcharts.com Template:Webarchive</ref>
There are also folk metal acts from the other nordic countries. Icelandic group Skálmöld is a notable example. The Norwegian act Glittertind was A-listed and played with the highest playing frequency on Norway's most popular radio channel NRK P1 with the song "Kvilelaus" (eng. Restless)"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and performed the song on Lindmo when they released their first full-length as a full band.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other Norwegian acts include the aforementioned Storm and Windir as well as more recent groups such as Kampfar,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lumsk,<ref name="Rock Lumsk">Template:Cite web</ref> Ásmegin and Trollfest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bands from Sweden include the aforementioned Thyrfing and Månegarm along with other acts such as Otyg<ref name="RD Otyg">Template:Cite web</ref> and Vintersorg.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Sharpe-YoungGlittertind/> Folk metal bands from Denmark include Wuthering Heights,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Svartsot,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Huldre and the Faroe Islanders Týr.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Outside Scandinavia, other European nations have contributed to the growing genre. Groups from the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania includes Metsatöll,<ref name="Rock Met">Template:Cite web</ref> Raud-Ants,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Skyforger<ref name=Chadforger>Template:Cite web</ref> and Varang Nord<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while representatives from Russia include Alkonost,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Arkona<ref name=Arkona>Template:Cite web</ref> and Butterfly Temple.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> More isolated examples across Europe include Dimmi Argus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Balkandji from Bulgaria,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Equilibrium<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Finsterforst from Germany, Dalriada from Hungary, Ithilien from Belgium,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cruadalach from the Czech Republic, Litvintroll from Belarus, Nightcreepers from France, Zaria from Slovenia, Mägo de Oz and Saurom from Spain, Elvenking from Italy<ref name="Rock King">Template:Cite web</ref> and Eluveitie from Switzerland.<ref name="Rock Elu">Template:Cite web</ref>
Folkearth is an international folk metal project with members from several different European countries. At its inception, the project consisted of 14 musicians from separate backgrounds in folk and metal music.<ref name=Nordic>Template:Cite web</ref> With their second album By the Sword of My Father released in 2006, the project boasted the participation of 31 musicians.<ref name=folkearthg>Template:Cite web</ref>
Beyond the European continent, folk metal is relatively rare with only a few known acts including the aforementioned The Lord Weird Slough Feg and their fellow Americans Agalloch. The latter's music "made for a stark geographical anomaly, since its eclectic, avant-garde folk-metal was the sort of thing one would expect to emerge from Scandinavia -- not Portland, Oregon."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tuatha de Danann is another geographical anomaly with their Celtic metal from Brazil.<ref name=Danann>Template:Cite web</ref>
Characteristics
[edit]Music
[edit]
The music of folk metal is a diverse collection with bands pursuing different subgenres of heavy metal music. While bands like Primordial and Finntroll perform black metal, other groups such as The Lord Weird Slough Feg ply their trade with a more traditional or power metal base. The German-Norwegian group Midnattsol blends the genre with gothic metal.<ref name="Rock Mid">Template:Cite web</ref> Progressive tendencies can be found among some bands including Elvenking,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lumsk<ref name="Rock Lumsk"/> and Týr.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some bands are known to adopt more than one different styles of heavy metal. Orphaned Land combines folk metal with progressive and doom/death metal. The band formed in 1991, also combining Jewish, Arabic, and other West Asian influences<ref name="Rockdetector Orphaned"/> while Ensiferum mix folk music on top of a power and death metal hybrid.<ref name="AMG Ensiferum"/> A few groups are also known to incorporate the styles of other music genres outside of heavy metal. Examples include the punk rock in the music of Glittertind<ref name=Sharpe-YoungGlittertind>Template:Cite web</ref> and the neofolk and post-rock tendencies of Agalloch.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The folk elements in the genre often reflect the ethnic background of the musicians as is the case for the Finnic folk music in Finntroll,<ref name="Trolls in NYTimes" /> Korpiklaani,<ref name="Voice of Ramos" /> and Metsatöll,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Baltic folk music in Skyforger,<ref name="Chadforger" /> East Asian influences such as Chthonic's use of Taiwanese folk music<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or Tengger Cavalry's incorporation of Mongolian throat singing,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or the Middle Eastern background of Orphaned Land.<ref name="allmusic Orphaned"/> However, some bands defy the geographical and ethnical background, like Ymyrgar, who hail from Tunisia but chose to focus on Norse mythology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Celtic music can be found among such Irish groups as Cruachan and Waylander<ref name="Chad" /> as well as bands outside Ireland like Ithilien from Belgium, Eluveitie<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (although Switzerland can be considered a country with a Celtic history), and Tuatha de Danann (from Brazil, a country that has no cultural ties with the Celts whatsoever, despite the similarity of the country's name to an island in Irish myth).<ref name="Danann" /> Folk music from multiple regions are employed by some groups like Elvenking,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ithilien<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Ensiferum.<ref name="Victory">Template:Cite web</ref>
The genre also offers a variety of atmosphere and moods. A fun and cheerful nature is characteristic of groups like Finntroll<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Korpiklaani.<ref name=Farso>Template:Cite web</ref> Both bands are also noted for playing music that one can dance to.<ref>Template:Cite web
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Template:Cite web</ref> In contrast, other acts such as Thyrfing and Primordial are known for their contemplative atmosphere.<ref name=Farso/> Lumsk offers a more mellow style<ref name=Asmund>Template:Cite web</ref> while Agalloch are known for their "depressive ambient" sound.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
An epic atmosphere is characteristic of some folk metal bands like Primordial,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moonsorrow,<ref name=Viides>Template:Cite web</ref> Turisas<ref name=Varangian>Template:Cite web</ref> and the music project Folkearth.<ref name=Nordic/> Groups like Ensiferum and Wintersun are known to have a melodious side<ref name=Victory/><ref name=Wintersun>Template:Cite web</ref> while bands that favor a more blistering or brutal approach can be found in groups like Finntroll<ref name=Nattfodd>Template:Cite web</ref> and Månegarm.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Instruments
[edit]
Folk metal feature the same typical instruments found in heavy metal music: guitars, bass, drums and vocalist. While a few folk metal groups like Tharaphita discard "any notion of utilising folk instrumentation" and "rely solely on traditional metal instruments,"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> bands in the genre generally rely on folk instruments that range from the common to the exotic.<ref name=Bowar2>Template:Cite web</ref> Numerous folk metal acts include a dedicated violinist in their line up. This includes Skyclad,<ref name="MusicMight Skyclad"/> Subway to Sally,<ref name="Rock Sally"/> Schandmaul,<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul"/> Mägo de Oz,<ref name="Rock Mago"/> Ithilien, Silent Stream of Godless Elegy,<ref name="Rock Silent"/> Korpiklaani,<ref name="Rock Korp"/> Lumsk,<ref name="Rock Lumsk"/> Elvenking,<ref name="Rock King"/> Eluveitie<ref name="Rock Elu"/> and Tuatha de Danann.<ref name="Rock Tua">Template:Cite web</ref> The tin whistle and flute can be found in such Celtic metal bands as Cruachan,<ref name="Rock Cru"/> Waylander,<ref name="Rock Way"/> Ithilien and Eluveitie.<ref name="Rock Elu"/> The flute can also be found in other bands such as Metsatöll,<ref name="Rock Met"/> Schandmaul<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul"/> and Morgenstern.<ref name="Rock Morg">Template:Cite web</ref> Medieval bagpipes are used in bands like Folkstone and In Extremo. Some bands are also known to highlight more exotic instruments from their ethnic background or country, including Skyforger's use of the Latvian kokles,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Metsatöll's use of the Estonian torupill,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Korpiklaani's use of the Finnish kantele,<ref name="Tartare Korpi"/> Eluveitie and Ithilien's use of the hurdy-gurdy,<ref name="Rock Elu"/> and Orphaned Land's use of the oud and saz.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the absence of folk instruments, other bands in the genre resort to using keyboards to replicate the sound of folk instruments. This includes the aforementioned Storm, Empyrium and Finntroll as well as other acts like Midnattsol.<ref name="Rock Mid"/> Bands that supplement a folk instrument like the violin with keyboards include Skyclad,<ref name="allmusic Skyclad"/> Mägo de Oz,<ref name="Rock Mago"/> and Tuatha de Danann.<ref name="Rock Tua"/>
The large number of instruments that some bands rely on in recording their studio albums can be a hindrance for live performances. While Orphaned Land are able to perform onstage with twenty musicians in their homeland of Israel, they have to rely on a computer to replicate the roles of the guest musicians for concerts elsewhere.<ref name=Candyland>Template:Cite web</ref> Some folk metal acts confine themselves to studio recordings and are not known to perform any live concerts. This includes Folkearth,<ref name=folkearthg/> and Falkenbach.<ref name="Dead Falken">Template:Cite web</ref> Other folk metal bands expand their regular roster to include more musicians and consequently, it is not uncommon to find bands in the genre featuring six or more members in their line-up. Some of the sextets in the genre are Schandmaul,<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul"/> Cruachan,<ref name="Rock Cru"/> Korpiklaani,<ref name="Rock Korp"/> Turisas,<ref name="Rock Turisas">Template:Cite web</ref> and Midnattsol,<ref name="Rock Mid"/> while septets include Ithilien, Subway to Sally,<ref name="Rock Sally"/> In Extremo,<ref name="Rock In"/> and Lumsk.<ref name="Rock Lumsk"/> Both Silent Stream of Godless Elegy<ref name="Rock Silent"/> and Eluveitie<ref name="Rock Elu"/> boast eight members each while the line up of Mägo de Oz totals nine performers.<ref name="Rock Mago"/> Even when a band includes members dedicated to folk instruments, they might still rely on guest musicians to further enhance their sound. As an example, Lumsk added thirteen guest musicians to the band's seven members on their debut album Åsmund Frægdegjevar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At times, guest musicians are known to become full-fledged members of the band, as was the case in Skyforger<ref name="Modern Sky"/> and Turisas.<ref name="AMG Turi"/>
Vocals
[edit]The diverse range of music styles and instruments is matched by a variety of vocal styles in the genre. From the "spine-chilling death shrieks" in Finntroll<ref name=Nattfodd/> to the black metal rasps of Skyforger<ref name=Chadforger/> or Moonsorrow,<ref name=Viides/> there is no shortage of extreme vocals in folk metal. Other bands to feature extreme vocals include Cadacross,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ensiferum,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ithilien<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Equilibrium.<ref name=Fratyr>Template:Cite web</ref> In contrast, bands like Mägo de Oz<ref name=Gaia/> and Metsatöll are known to feature "clean" singing in line with their more traditional metal approach. Numerous other bands in the genre are known to feature both extreme vocals and clean singing. This includes Primordial,<ref name="Primordial live"/> Turisas,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Windir<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Wintersun.<ref name=Wintersun/>
Traditional folk singing can also be found among some folk metal bands. The yoik vocals of Jonne Järvelä have been featured in varying degrees in the music of Shaman,<ref name=Yoik/> Finntroll<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Korpiklaani.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Folk singing or folk-inspired singing can also be heard in the music of Equilibrium,<ref name=Fratyr/> Metsatöll,<ref name=Hiiecoven>Template:Cite web</ref> Skyforger<ref name="Sky Below">Template:Cite web</ref> and Orphaned Land.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The music of Orphaned Land also features the use of chants and choirs, commonly encountered in the genre of folk metal. Bands that are known to use a choir include Arkona,<ref name=Arkona/> Turisas,<ref name=Varangian/> Lumsk<ref name="Lumsk perspective">Template:Cite web</ref> and Eluveitie,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while chants can be found in the music of Týr<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Windir.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some bands like Falconer and Thyrfing are also known to feature "yo-ho-ho folk melodies" in their vocals to suit their Viking metal style.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Orphaned Land mostly uses English lyrics, but they are known to feature other languages as they "go well with the music and also sound more exotic and unique." Týr has also been known to use multiple languages in their music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other bands in the genre are known to sing exclusively or almost entirely in their native language, including Mägo de Oz in Spanish,<ref name=Gaia/> Moonsorrow in Finnish,<ref name=Suden/> Metsatöll in Estonian<ref name=Hiiecoven/> and Lumsk in Norwegian.<ref name="Lumsk perspective"/> Bands in the medieval metal subgenre also tend to sing largely or entirely in their German language, including Subway to Sally,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Morgenstern<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Letzte Instanz.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Lead female singers are not uncommon in the genre and can be found in Cruachan,<ref name="Rock Cru"/> Otyg,<ref name="RD Otyg"/> Lumsk,<ref name="Rock Lumsk"/> Arkona,<ref name=Arkona/> Celtian and Midnattsol.<ref name="Rock Mid"/> Other groups like Orphaned Land and Elvenking have employed guest female vocalists in their music.<ref name="Rock King"/><ref name=Candyland/>
Lyrics
[edit]Popular subjects in folk metal include paganism, nature, fantasy, mythology and history.
Folk metal has been associated with paganism ever since its inception, when Martin Walkyier left his former band Sabbat to form Skyclad, in part because the band "wasn't going to go far enough down the pagan, British way that we wanted to do it."<ref name=plague>Template:Cite web</ref> Consequently, the lyrics of Skyclad have been known to deal with pagan matters.<ref name="MusicMight Skyclad"/> The band Cruachan was also founded by a self-described pagan, Keith Fay.<ref name="Cru Imp"/> For Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow, the label "pagan metal" is preferred "because that describes the ideological points in the music, but doesn’t say anything about the music itself."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other bands that also prefer to use the term "pagan metal" as a self-description include Cruachan,<ref name="Cruachan Ready">Template:Cite web</ref> Eluveitie,<ref name="Lords of Elu1">Template:Cite web</ref> Obtest<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Skyforger. In contrast to bands with pagan themes, some folk metal bands such as Orphaned Land have themes of Abrahamic religion.
Nature is a strong influence to many folk metal bands.<ref name=Bowar2/> Groups such as Korpiklaani,<ref name="Voice of Ramos"/> Elvenking,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Midnattsol<ref name=Carmen>Template:Cite web</ref> and Vintersorg<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> have all based lyrics on the subject. For the band Agalloch, nature is an embraced theme "because we are siding with what is essentially the victim in a relationship where humankind is a disease."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All the members of Skyclad are supporters of "organisations like Greenpeace and others, for those are the ones who stand up and take on the battle" between "people who want to save the planet, and people who want to destroy it."<ref name="LoM Skyclad">Template:Cite web</ref>
The pioneers of the genre Skyclad avoided fantasy lyrics because "there was already enough fantasy in the world, told to us by our politicians every day."<ref name="LoM Skyclad"/> Nonetheless, other folk metal bands have been known to feature fantasy themes in their lyrics including Ensiferum,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Midnattsol<ref name=Carmen/> and Cruachan.<ref name="Cruachan Ready"/> For Elvenking, fantasy themes are used "as a metaphor to cover deeper meanings."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Similarly, the fantasy themes in Turisas belie the coverage of issues "that are deeper and have greater significance."<ref name="Turis Chaos"/>
The Celtic metal subgenre is known to feature lyrics based on Celtic mythology.<ref name=Chad/> The history of the Celts is another popular source for the lyrics of Celtic metal bands like Cruachan,<ref name="Cru Imp"/> Eluveitie,<ref name="Lords of Elu1"/> Primordial<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Mael Mórdha.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Norse mythology can be found in the lyrics of such Scandinavian bands as Falkenbach,<ref name="Dead Falken"/> Týr,<ref name="Lords of Tyr"/> Finntroll<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Mithotyn.<ref name="Neon Falcon">Template:Cite web</ref> Skyforger is known for featuring lyrics based on both the history and mythology of their Latvian culture.<ref name="Modern Sky"/> Other bands that have treated history to song include Falconer<ref name="Neon Falcon"/> and Slechtvalk.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Many National Socialist black metal (NSBM) bands like Nokturnal Mortum,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or Russia's Temnozor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Kroda<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> have been known to cross over into folk metal, a circumstance that Ciaran O'Hagan, the vocalist of Waylander, views as "an insult to people like myself who don’t hold with fascist ideals at all."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He further suggests that the NSBM bands are playing folk metal "for all the wrong reasons." Due to the misappropriation of pagan symbols by Neo-Nazism, several folk metal bands have also been mistaken for being part of the NSBM scene. Consequently, such bands as Cruachan,<ref name="Cru Imp"/> Skyforger,<ref name="Sky Below"/> Månegarm and Týr<ref name="Tyr FAQ">Template:Cite web</ref> have had to disassociate themselves with Nazism, fascism or racism. Skyforger went as far as to add the words 'No Nazi Stuff Here!' on the back of their album covers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2008, performers on the folk metal festival Paganfest were subject to accusations of being Nazis, racists and fascists from the German Antifa. Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow and Heri Joensen of Týr issued a joint video statement to refute these accusations, noting that "one of the biggest issues seems to be that we use ancient Scandinavian symbols in our imagery like the S in the Moonsorrow logo and the T in the Týr logo [even though] that is how the S and the T runes have been written for thousands of years."<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> Moonsorrow has also issued a written statement in response to the controversy<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while Týr notes on their official website that they "got the idea for the rune logo" from the Black Sabbath album of the same name.<ref name="Tyr FAQ"/> On the other side of the political landscape, some folk metal bands have uttered explicit socialist sentiments. For example the aforementioned Glittertind made a leftist statement against neoliberalism in their album booklet when re-releasing the record Til Dovre Faller on Napalm Records in May 2009.<ref name="Til Dovre Faller album booklet">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
The original folk metal band Skyclad was also known to deal with serious political subjects<ref name="LoM Skyclad"/> but through lyrics that were littered with puns<ref name="Sky Eat">Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web</ref> and humor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other bands have continued to feature fun and humorous lyrics. This includes Finntroll<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with their obsession on trolls.<ref name="Trolls in NYTimes"/> The lyrics of Korpiklaani also "focused on having a good time, drinking [and] partying."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a review of Turisas' The Varangian Way album, James Christopher Monger of Allmusic commented that some listeners might be put off by "the concept of grown men in pelts" singing such lyrics as "come with us to the south, write your name on our roll."<ref name="Varangian"/> Heri Joensen of Týr contends that a listener needs to be confident in his masculinity to listen to such traditional Faeroese lyrics as his own "young lads, happy lads, step upon the floor, dance merrily."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Unlike any other, the Belgian folk metal band Ithilien preferred to focus their lyrics on very personal subjects such as loss, perseverance or grief. The album Shaping the Soul is for example constructed based on Elisabeth Kubler-Ross model of the mourning process.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In Latin America is also possible to find folk metal bands with modern Pagan and Ethnic religion lyrics. Mexicayotl is common between Mexican bands, while Pacha Mama for South American bands with Andean roots. Indigenismo is also a common topic, varying between far-righ and far-left postures depending of each band. Similar to the European folk and Pagan metal scene, Latin American scene deals with certain controversial sub-movements. Some examples are Kukulcan, Yaocuicatl, Tlateotocani, and Mictlan (not to be confused with the other Mexican band of the same name that also play folk metal), Nican Tlaca, Nexcoyotl, and Tlillan Calmecac, all of them influenced by the 1933 fascist movement Revolutionary Mexicanist Action and the works of fascist authors like Miguel Serrano. Most of the forementioned bands are or were signed to the O.N.S.P. and Culto Solar Records, both NSBM labels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the other hand, bands such as Yaotl Mictlan, Ahpuch Oztoc, Yanaconas, and Aztra shows an indigenismo posture influenced by far-left and Marxist views, including a pro-EZLN thematic.