adding to the list, I'd suggest (though I wouldn't compare 'em to Arkona) Mel'nitsa [Мельница] and Stary Olsa [Стары Ольса].

Another Slavic folk band I just discovered is Midgaard (Russia). They're apparently a metal band (at least they're on Metal Archives), but their first "album" (it's somewhere between an EP and a full-length, at only 27 minutes), which was reissued as a split CD with Svarun, is acoustic pagan folk music, and it is beautiful. They sound a bit like Volkolak but with more variety in sound and less repetition.

their cover of "One Rode to Asa Bay" is awesome!

Loved both of these bands, but Mel'nitsa a bit more so.

check out Ros' [Рось], too. they're rock, not just folk, but the vocals are a bit closer to Arkona than most.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UqQcuTKUjM#at=30

I thought about suggesting Ros', but about half of the material on their one release is metal (though light metal), while the other half is folk rock. Good band, though.

I'm looking for some rather happy, upbeat folk metal like Alestorm.

Калевала makes me happy, and Vicious Crusade have some upbeat songs. Korpiklaani can party too! Maybe you'd like TrollfesT. And Wolfhorde's version of "Seven Drunken Nights" is hilarious!

i would like to find some "atmospheric" pagan black metal, atmospheric with flutes/violins and that sort of thing instead if sythersizers

Dråpsnatt?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mICQCmCVBig

hmm yeah they do sound interesting ,thanks

Can anybody find me Scottish folk metal with bagpipes? The only bagpipey bands that I know of are Eluveitie (I don't particularly like them and they're Swiss), Corvus Corax (who, although enjoyable, are not Scottish and don't seem to know what instruments are required for the genre), and Skiltron (who are from Argentina).

Check out In Extremo. Bagpipes galore. http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/In_ ... iscography

They are german though.

Forgot about them. They're good. Others?

they're pretty common in Mittelalter rock (German stuff like In Extremo)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_metal
Schandmaul, Ignis Fatuu, Saltatio Mortis, Folk Stone, Subway to Sally, Ingrimm, Ragnaröek, Morgenstern, etc.

Askival is Scottish, folk, great... but no bagpipes.

Also not Scottish, though Scottish-themed, but Suidakra is quite a good band all-around. I'm not familiar with their early work, but the last three albums have had bagpipes and are very good.

I am looking for some bands similar to equilibrium.
I am also looking for some bands similar to Amon Amarth's viking lyrical themes with it's melodic death metal music. (although this is not technically "viking metal" it is "viking" metal)
Thanks for the help \m/ new to metal myself.

I love bagpipes in my folk metal, and am looking for bands that use them a lot. I would prefer if the singing is either clean or a growl, no black metal vocals please. Also, as long as it isn't pagan or anti-religious, any lyrics would be fine. Something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7cJk5RMNfk

I'm looking for some upbeat folk/pagan metal like Heidevolk's Nehalennia and Vulgaris Magistralis, especially vocal-wise. Thanks!

love their cover of that song, don't know of anything else like it, though.

Can you guys recommend me something along the lines of Falkenbach's Tiurida? I just love the relaxed mood of that album. (Granted, I haven't heard anything else by them)

man, go listen to their other albums. it's hard to go wrong with them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dZKV7nmi5c

The other albums have more harsh/black styles in them, Tiurida is notably the softest and most 'droney' album of Falkenbach. Regardless, theyre excellent and will have a lot of the same stuff as Tiurida.

Looking for a band that goes in the same way as Nokturnal Mortum and Darkestrah, of course you can notice how both of these bands are similar in the way they merge several styles with each others, and the nice epic vocals, and the neat rich music,

I mainly don't like much Pagan or Folk, Forest atmospheric shit or anything like that, and please don't tell me to check out "Enslaved, Windir, Graveland, Temnozor, Arkona" or w/e those still does not sound the same for me even if it was defined as the same genre, Thanks.




a Pagan band that i found about early and i could possibly put it next to those two bands i mentioned:

I'm currently expanding my collection and am at a loss as to where to start. So, I'm basically asking for your favorites. I already have Eluveitie, Ensiferum, and Waylander. Pretty much anything is welcome, although I am not overly fond of black metal vocals.

I've picked out some favorite/essential albums that have no or very little BM vox.

(Latin equivalents in square brackets for your convenience)

Чур [Chur] - Лихо [Liho]
Калевала [Kalevala] - Кудель Белоснежного Льна [Kudel' Belosnezhnogo L'na]
Heidevolk - Uit Oude Grond
Сварга [Svarga] - Огни на Курганах [Ogni na Kurganach]
Сварга - Там, Где Дремлют Леса… [Tam, Gde Dremlût Lesa…]
Bran Barr - Sidh
Týr - By the Light of the Northern Star
Nomans Land - The Last Son of the Fjord
Грай [Graj] - Полынь-Трава [Polyn'-Trava]
Skald - Fjällälven EP
Твердь [Tverd'] - Вслед за Солнцеворотом [Vsled Za Solntzevorotom]
Weeping Twilight - Parastki Pamiaci na Ruinach…
Otyg - Sagovindars Boning
also, Excelsis, Falconer, and Metsatöll have lots of great songs, but there's no particular album I'd put above the others.
p.s., if you like Tverd' and can put up with BM vocals, check out Pagan Reign

No harsh vocals?

Sleipnir - British viking metal with wonderful hymnal and choral sections

Morrigan - Celtic themed Bathory worship. A lot of their music features blackened growls, but two of their albums, Celts and Headcult (especially Headcult) feature a good mix of vocal styles.

Scald - Epic Viking/Doom. They only released one fantastic album before the vocalist died, but it's a great slab of metal. As a point of reference, I've heard people compare it to Candlemass's older albums.

AgainstSuchThings and others: You should definitely check out this Spanish band called 'Runic'. Really good folk/viking metal. They have only an album out but it is better than most of the similar material out there. The vocals are harsh but they don't push too much into the black metal realm.

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Runic/986

I would agree with the Candlemass comparison. It reminds me quite a bit of Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. Scald was quite a good band. They live on (somewhat) in Tumulus, a great folk metal band with (mostly) clean vocals, though they don't sound anything like Scald.

So... This is going to be specific xD I'm looking for more cheerful, fast bands with pagan lyrics (slavic, celtic, norse, any kind) and two vocal types: growls and clean. In terms of sound, something between Finntroll's Trollhammaren, Tuatha de Danann's Land of Youth and Arkona's Stenka na Stenku. Any advice on this?

I'm gonna some fairly well-known bands here

Korpiklaani http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhZpmFORHBA
Eluveitie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th1iFOlsJoA
Ensiferum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZjIEodvyHg

The latter two don't always do what you're looking for here.

Thanks man, I already had listened to all those three bands. Korpiklaani didn't hooked me, I don't know... I guess I don't enjoy the lyrics about drinking xD Eluveitie I do enjoy a few songs, but some of them are just boring. Ensiferum IS FUCKING AWESOME, pretty agressive stuff.

Try Hellveto, start with newest album Damnaretis

Have you tried Turisas? Closest to Ensiferum for the two vocal styles. And yeah, they're cheerful just heads up that the non-metal instruments overwhelm at times

This, along with just general help within the genre. I'm less focused on death growls, but I don't at all want black metal vocals. I'm happy to crossover into other genres. Singing in either German or English preffered, but Gaelic and Irish are also OK.

I imagine you're going to have a hell of a time finding folk/pagan metal without pagan lyrics.

Its got to be out there. The only reason 'pagan metal' became a genre is because of lyrics, which is honestly quite stupid.

Skyclad and Solefald don't really have pagan lyrics.
I'm guessing Alestorm don't, but I haven't given that much thought.
Falconer aren't pagan, but they are a bit anti-religious.
Schandmaul _probably_ isn't pagan, but I don't speak German. seems like Falconer, more medieval/historical lyrical content.

these are all folk metal, not pagan metal bands.

most of the clean vocals in folk metal are pagan vocals and typically have pagan/euro (non-Christian/non-USA
!USA!USA!) themes.

I suppose American band Gallowbraid might fit, if not for their inclusion of black metal vokills along with the pagan vocals.

oh, and there's that new album by a Christian American guy using Gregorian chants - Epta Astera, it's preachy n' everything!

oh, and Holy Blood, duh! how could I forget the only blatantly Christian band I like.
edit: probably overlooked them because they have BM vox.

oh, Oskord had a promising debut, too!