Folk Metal Music Guide: 5 Notable Folk Metal Bands

Folk metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that fuses classic metal styles like black metal and power metal with the instruments and traditions of European folk music.

Folk metal sprang to niche popularity starting in the 1990s and features many subgenres.

1. 1. Celtic metal: Celtic metal is a blend of traditional Celtic music and various metal styles. Cruachan helped launch the genre in Ireland in the early 1990s. Other prominent Celtic metal artists include Primordial and Mägo de Oz (who, despite their Celtic sound, hail from Spain).
2. 2. Viking metal: This folk metal genre focuses on Viking and Norse mythology. The genre is most popular in Scandinavia and neighboring Finland. Bands in the genre include Wintersun, Týr, Ensiferum, Månegarm, Falconer, Vintersorg, and Turisas. Viking metal is more likely to incorporate keyboards than other styles of folk metal.
3. 3. Medieval metal: Medieval metal hails from Central Europe—particularly Germany. German groups like Corvus Corax, In Extremo, and Subway to Sally pioneered the genre in the early 1990s. However, the genre extends beyond Germany and notably incorporates the folk instruments of the British and Irish isles. Bagpipes, flute, lute, violin, hurdy-gurdy, and shawm all appear on medieval metal albums.
4. 4. Pagan metal: Led by groups like Skyclad, Korpiklaani, and Primordial, pagan metal embraces general pagan mythology and imagery without strict adherence to one culture. Some pagan metal bands, like Korpiklaani, overlap with Viking metal. Others, like Primordial, overlap with Celtic metal. Groups such as Finnish rockers Finntroll and Moonsorrow openly favor the term "pagan metal" as the most accurate descriptor of their lyrical content.

From its origins in the early 1990s to its present state, the folk metal scene has fused many musical traditions.

• Born of traditional heavy metal: Many of the earliest folk metal acts started off playing other styles of heavy metal music, including progressive metal, gothic metal, doom metal, thrash metal, symphonic metal, and melodic death metal.
• Discovery of folk traditions: In the early 1990s, some of these acts began embracing the folk music traditions of their native countries including Ireland, England, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. They combined these traditions and folk instruments with standard heavy metal aesthetics and effectively created folk metal in the process.
• Breaking borders: From the start, folk metal groups delved beyond their own national borders to explore different types of European folk music. One of the earliest folk metal groups, Subway to Sally, formed in Germany but embraced the Scottish and Irish sounds of Celtic metal. Celtic traditions also permeate the sound of Spain's Mägo de Oz and Switzerland's Eluveitie.
• Pushing eastward: Folk metal began in Western and Central Europe, but after the fall of the Soviet Union, it gained traction in Eastern European countries. Groups from these regions include Russia's Arkona and Alknost, Hungary's Dalriada, Bulgaria's Dimmi Argus and Balkandji, and Latvia's Skyforger.
• Crossing oceans: The present-day folk metal scene now encompasses multiple continents. Portland, Oregon's Agalloch, Israel's Orphaned Land, Argentina's Skiltron, and China's Tengger Cavalry are among the groups shaping modern-day folk metal.

Folk metal music spans many subgenres, but most bands share core characteristics.

1. 1. Heavy metal foundation: The electric guitars, electric bass, and drum kit that form the bedrock of standard heavy metal music play a similar role in folk metal.
2. 2. Addition of folk instruments: Atop the electric guitars and drum sets, folk metal artists add traditional instruments like the lute, fiddle, flute, accordion, bagpipes, and hurdy-gurdy. Specific instruments align with specific folk metal subgenres.
3. 3. Lyrics that reflect local traditions: While some folk metal songs are instrumental, most are carried by lead vocals. Folk metal lyrics represent different regional traditions. For example, Finland's Finntroll often sings about the legendary trolls of far northern Europe. Ireland's Cruachan has covered traditional Celtic music sung in the Irish language. Tengger Cavalry features themes from China and Mongolia.

Start your journey into folk metal by exploring the music of the following bands.

1. 1. Cruachan: Dublin's Cruachan helped pioneer folk metal music in the early 1990s. Beginning with their debut album, Tuatha na Gael, they have embraced Celtic traditions and the Irish language while holding fast to their prior roots in black metal.
2. 2. Ensiferum: Led by guitarist Markus Toivonen, this Finnish collective blurs the line between folk metal and melodic death metal. While they once featured accordion, the band gets most of its folk sounds from patches on an electronic keyboard.
3. 3. Elvenking: One of the rare Italian folk metal bands, Elvenking comes from a symphonic metal background. They bear strong influence from English folk metal pioneers Skyclad and mainstream heavy metal acts from America.
4. 4. Finntroll: Finntroll hails from Finland but mostly sings Swedish lyrics. True to the group's name, trolls make regular appearances in these lyrics. Vocalist Mathias "Vreth" Lillmåns favors a singing style that sometimes devolves into shrieks and screams.
5. 5. Tengger Cavalry: Chinese-American act Tengger Cavalry exemplifies how contemporary folk metal has moved beyond the confines of Europe. They are known for infusing traditional Mongolian folk music with heavy metal.

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