Folk metal

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).

[2] 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,[3] an effort described by Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic as "ambitious" and "groundbreaking.

[9] 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.

[12] Taking Skyclad as an influence,[13] 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 [sic], fiddle and flute" and combined with "romantic-symbolic German-speaking poetry" in their lyrics.

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.

[17] Describing themselves as the "minstrels of today,"[15] the band employs a musical arsenal that includes the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, shawm, violin and mandolin.

[19] 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.

"[24] Other early representatives of Celtic metal include the bands Geasa, Mägo de Oz and Waylander[21] with both groups releasing a demo recording in 1995.

[25][26] 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"[27] that "quickly drew attention to their unorthodox style.

[31] 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.

Egypt's Massive Scar Era includes several female members, who have reported harassment due to their participation in heavy metal music.

Regarding South America, Peruvian bands such as Hammelin, Chaska, Apu Rumi, Yana Raymi and Yawarhiem, or Guahaihoque, Indoraza, Aztra, Gnosis, ThunDarkma, and the Brazilians Tierramystica and Toccata Magna combine Metal with Andean folk.

[47] 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.

Andy Hinds of AllMusic laments the polka influence as undermining "the intended threat of a death metal band"[60] 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.

[64] The roots of Korpiklaani can be traced back to a Sami folk music group under the name of Shamaani Duo,[65] an "in house restaurant band" created in 1993.

[98] More isolated examples across Europe include Dimmi Argus[99] and Balkandji from Bulgaria,[100] Equilibrium[101] and Finsterforst from Germany, Dalriada from Hungary, Ithilien from Belgium,[102] Cruadalach from the Czech Republic, Litvintroll from Belarus, Nightcreepers from France, Zaria from Slovenia, Mägo de Oz and Saurom from Spain, Elvenking from Italy[103] and Eluveitie from Switzerland.

[106] 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.

The band formed in 1991, also combining Jewish, Arabic, and other West Asian influences[27] while Ensiferum mix folk music on top of a power and death metal hybrid.

Some bands are also known to highlight more exotic instruments from their ethnic background or country, including Skyforger's use of the Latvian kokles,[137] Metsatöll's use of the Estonian torupill,[138] Korpiklaani's use of the Finnish kantele,[70] Eluveitie and Ithilien's use of the hurdy-gurdy,[104] and Orphaned Land's use of the oud and saz.

Some of the sextets in the genre are Schandmaul,[17] Cruachan,[18] Korpiklaani,[63] Turisas,[143] and Midnattsol,[110] while septets include Ithilien, Subway to Sally,[13] In Extremo,[16] and Lumsk.

[84] Both Silent Stream of Godless Elegy[53] and Eluveitie[104] boast eight members each while the line up of Mägo de Oz totals nine performers.

[148] In contrast, bands like Mägo de Oz[49] and Metsatöll are known to feature "clean" singing in line with their more traditional metal approach.

[162] Other bands in the genre are known to sing exclusively or almost entirely in their native language, including Mägo de Oz in Spanish,[49] Moonsorrow in Finnish,[74] Metsatöll in Estonian[153] and Lumsk in Norwegian.

[156] Bands in the medieval metal subgenre also tend to sing largely or entirely in their German language, including Subway to Sally,[163] Morgenstern[164] and Letzte Instanz.

[21] The history of the Celts is another popular source for the lyrics of Celtic metal bands like Cruachan,[19] Eluveitie,[169] Primordial[179] and Mael Mórdha.

[189] In April 2008, performers on the folk metal festival Paganfest were subject to accusations of being Nazis, racists and fascists from the German Antifa.

"[190] Moonsorrow has also issued a written statement in response to the controversy[191] 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.

"[196] 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.

"[197] Unlike any other, the Belgian folk metal band Ithilien preferred to focus their lyrics on very personal subjects such as loss, perseverance or grief.

Four singers perform in the spotlights on stage. One is a female in shorts, a gauzy beige skirt and a leather belt, and plays the fiddle, The males are wearing black sleeveless shirts, black pants and have military-looking gear. A rock band is in the background.
Subway to Sally , seen here performing live at the 2005 Sundstock Openair, has been credited as setting off medieval metal .
Head and upper body shot of a male singer, with a shaved head and blackened eyes, performing on stage. He is wearing a double-breasted military overcoat with a large collar.
A.A. Nemtheanga fronts the Irish Celtic black metal act Primordial .
Orphaned Land is a leading performer of oriental metal.
Nine Treasures performing at WOMEX 15, Budapest
Four long haired musicians perform on a small stage in the spotlight, long hair swinging. The singer, wearing a black leather floor-length skirt, and the bass guitar player are bare chested with black leather wrist bands. The two other guitar players are in sleeveless black shirts, one with knee-length jeans and the other with black wrist band. Amplifiers crowd the stage.
Finntroll is a prominent folk metal band with a specific interest in trolls and humppa .
Long-haired man in beige shirt with wide sleeves and a brown leather vest and pants, plays the electric guitar on stage and sings. There is a large pair of felt antlers pinned to the microphone.
Jonne Järvelä of Korpiklaani played acoustic folk music for five years before turning his attention to folk metal. [ 71 ]
With influences that include Dream Theater , the Faroe Islanders Týr blend progressive metal with folk music. [ 109 ]
Mago de Oz in 2013
Mago de Oz in 2013
Eluveitie are seen here performing at the 2007 Cernunnos Fest in Paris , France, with a mandola , tin whistle and violin .
Skyforger , seen here performing with bagpipes at the 2007 Cernunnos Fest in Paris , France, initially mostly relied on a guest musician to perform folk instruments before inviting him to be a fully fledged member of the band. [ 140 ]
Turisas , seen here performing in 2008, have tackled such issues as the glorification of war through the use of fantasy-themed lyrics. [ 171 ]
Some bands, like Torbjørn Sandvik in Glittertind , have uttered socialist sentiments in statements explaining album concepts. Picture from Borgund Stave Church in Sogn og Fjordane (2009).