Grab a horn of mead and join the FOLK METAL THREAD!

[Jakehammaren]

Folk Metal is one of the coolest styles of music to ever grace the ears of the human race. I'm sure there's some followers out there - so let's hear some opinions, recommendations, etc. If you don't know what Folk Metal is, grab a battleaxe and meet us here! All of us folked up fans will help you out.

[Charon]

Folk Metal seems like a huge oxymoron for a music genre.

What does it sound like? If I wanted to hear it for myself, what artists should I look up?

[Tatsubei Yagyu]

[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I have never heard of this kind of music...

It actually sounds kinda funny, but again, I wouldn't know. :animesmil

Do ya mind naming some bands of this genre so I can check them out?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Box Hoy]

It's like viking stuff ain't it. I've never heard of it either although I think I've seens tuff in Metal Maniacs advertising this Lord of the Rings looking band?

[Jakehammaren]

If you think that folk music and Metal are contradictory, I think you're going to be quite pleasantly surprised at how well they compliment each other. Keep in mind, this is not American folk music that's being blended with Metal - it's mostly Scandinavian and Celtic folk music. Some great places to start as far as Folk Metal is concerned are as follows. The first is the band title, followed by the most popular song by that band, and subsequently my favorite song by that band.

[B]Finntroll[/B] - [I]Trollhammaren[/I] - Det Iskalla Trollblodet
[B]Ensiferum[/B] - [I]Iron[/I] - Lai Lai Hei
[B]Moonsorrow[/B] - [I]Pakanajuhla[/I] - Pakanajuhla
[B]Korpiklaani[/B] - [I]The Hunting Song[/I] - Pine Woods
[B]Mago de Oz[/B] - [I]La Voz Dormida[/I] - La Voz Dormida

Finntroll and Ensiferum are my favorite bands up there. Finntroll is a really saucy band that plays fast, fun songs that you'd expect Trolls to rock out to at a party. They're an absolute blast to listen to. For example, just listen to the opening of the song Trollhammaren. Or start the song Fiskarens Fiende at 2:57. Singing along to it is one of the most fun things you will ever do. Seriously. Another highlight is about 50 seconds into the song Det Iskalla Trollblodet. You will start doing a jig. This is not a "you will think about it". No. You will get up, and you will dance. Don't get me wrong, there's still distorted guitars and gruff Troll vocals, but there's also accordians, flutes, you name it! It's great fun.

Ensiferum is a Viking band that is amazing and epic. My favorites by them are Eternal Wait and Lai Lai Hei. They're not as rambunctious as Finntroll, but they're more epic, and have some amazing guitarwork. Eternal Wait is a slower paced song, starting with some beautiful folksy accoustic guitar, then the electric guitars come soaring in with typical Ensiferum flair. The vocals are inspiring to say the least, and the chorus will bring you to your knees with it's sheer power and beauty. Lai Lai Hei is also an amazing song that changes pace multiple times, going from majestic riffery to upbeat jigs. My favorite part is a section of absolutey inspiring Viking chanting that leads into more guitar wizardry, starting at about 5:30 through the song.

This is definately one of my favorite types of music, and it's an amazing world to explore. Plus you get the added bonus of mythology and history lessons as far as some of the Viking bands go :D

Have fun. Tell me what you think.

Oh, and by the way, I know I'm leaving out tons of great Folk Metal, but I'm doing this quickly off the top of my head. I'm sure Amorphous will be around soon to tie up loose ends and make some great suggestions.

[Amorphous]

Well, there are tons of bands out there that I could suggest easily. So let's get started.

Wongraven - Folk Ambient style music. They only have one album, their self titled. Amazing work.
Isengard - Høstmørke, get that album, everything else is Death Metal.
Wintersun - Self titled album
Aes Dana - La Chasse Sauvage (Probably way to heavy for most on this forum)
Lumsk - Anything by these guys
Vintersorg - A big name in Folk Metal right here, Till Fjälls is my recommendation first.
Cruachan - Pretty much anything
Adorned Brood - Wigand, this album first.
Butterfly Temple - Anything from these guys.
Agalloch - The Mantle and Pale Folklore. I love these guys they paint absolutely amazing landscapes with their music

That is right of the top of my head right now.

[Box Hoy]

I've listened to Wintersun some. Just some that my friend Derek has. He's into the folk metal stuff. I'm not sure but I think that Sonata Artica is somewhat folk also.

[Rhym]

[quote name='Box Hoy']I've listened to Wintersun some. Just some that my friend Derek has. He's into the folk metal stuff. I'm not sure but I think that Sonata Artica is somewhat folk also.[/quote]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]It's great that you're listening to awesome music like Wintersun and Sonata Arctica, but comparing the two just made me groan.

Sonata's a great band, but they're Symphonic Power Metal. Although, come to think of it, you may be a little justified in your comparison. I seem to recall Wintersun having some Sonata-esque moments. But, for the most part, you can tell Folk and Symphonic Power Metal apart by a simple rule: Symphonic Power Metal uses keyboards; on rare occasions they'll bust out choirs and orchestras (à la Rhapsody or Nightwish). Folk Metal, on the other hand, uses traditional folk instruments, such as the accordion, the penny whistle, the didjeridoo (I'm not even kidding), other stuff like that. Folk Metal [i]can[/i] be symphonic, however; just take Ensiferum for example, they have [i]hella[/i] keyboards in their sound. But they're still folk, despite the keyboardage.

Another factor between the two is... drumbeat, for lack of a better descriptor. Power Metal is something to headbang to. Folk Metal is something to jig to. It's hard to describe, but if you listen to enough of both, you'll be able to tell one from another.

Well, anyways, both Wintersun and Sonata Arctica, while being from two different subgenres, are still intensely cool and you should keep listening to both of them.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Jakehammaren]

Sonata Arctica is definately not a Folk Metal band. I really don't think they're symphonic either. But that's beside the point.

The way to tell if a band is Folk Metal is this: folksy riffs. Some Folk Metal bands don't even use folk instruments (Nomans Land for example), but the riffs have that folksy swagger to them. This "Folk" refers to Celtic and Scandinavian folk music for the most part.

And as for your list Amorphous...

I was thinking of putting Cruachan on my list, but they really seem to be lacking. I can't put my finger on why, but it just seems like they're missing whatever would have made them good.

And I can't believe I didn't mention Wintersun! Although I like Ensiferum a lot more, Jari's efforts in Wintersun are classic nonetheless. He is a criminally overlooked guitarist, and his compositions never fail to inspire.

[Amorphous]

Well in Cruachans case most of their albums really are not all that amazing, if I was going to suggest anything by them it would be Tuatha Na Gael.

Sonata Arctica is just power metal, nothing else. Either way they aren't my idea of great power metal.

[Box Hoy]

Lol sorry. I just listened to this one song and was like, "Well this sound folkish?"

Right after I posted though I turned to the next song and went crap v.v

Yeah. I checked the Metal Maniacs magazine I told you guys about earlier. The band's name is BattleLore.

[quote name='Jake']This "Folk" refers to Celtic and Scandinavian folk music for the most part[/quote]

So, I'm not sure. BattleLore is themed around Tolkien's works. Is that still considered Folk Metal?