Well, are you looking for just folk metal? Or does it matter what genre is mixed in with it?

Anyways, for something with pipes if you haven't heard them already Heol Telwen are really great. Just superb folk black metal with more influence on the folk.

Tuatha de Danann also uses pipes, including bagpipes. Great music. Trova di Danú is a great album to start with.

Folk metal is preferable though I dont mind what other genres its mixed in with. Im also enjoying Tuatha de Danaan, thanks for the recommendation. Not so sure about Heol Telwen yet, though.

You should clearly give the Belrussian bands PIAREVARACIEN and KAMAEDZITCA a try! both bands have some clips on youtube to check out. Also ZNICH, NATURAL SPIRIT, TEMNOZOR and KALEVALA could be coming a bit close to your research. But note that some of these bands are swimming in the waters of NS (BM) stuff..

I'm new to folk metal and would like to explore more about the genre.
What i would like is nothing pagan/black, but rather just folk metal with death metal vocals, a hint of female vocals and strong folk ambience. Any recommendation?

Eluveitie and the latest Suidakra CD are the first bands that come to mind. Others that may or may not fit what you're looking for would be Natural Spirit, Butterfly Temple, Smuta, Nevid', Asmegin, probably others that I can't think of now.

Hey! I'm kinda new to folk metal or metal in general in the sense that I've been listening to some bands for some time but I'm only starting to look for other bands. So yeah I hope you guys can help me!

I'm looking for some viking, folk metal bands similar to Turisas, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Finntroll, etc. Also, I'm not the biggest fan of screaming/growling but it doesn't bother me if it fits well the music. I'd prefer bands softer than Finntroll but not too soft, in the Turisas style if you will. Thanks in advance!

If you havent tried Tyr you really should give them a listen. They dont use growls and at times sound quite upbeat. Spme of their lyrics are in Faroese.
Samples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I1geB7U5VI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2bgwcv43o

^Seconding Tyr here; they are fantastic. You may like Heidevolk and Manegarm too



You could try Battlelore from Finland- lotsa death growls, tolkien-inspired lyrics and female vocals. Not that folky, but still pretty solid. Also- Kivimetsän Druidi may be an option, bit blacker and symphonic but also, pretty solid.

check out my review for Leshak

I've heard Battelore, Tyr and Manegarm, which i enjoyed. Just looking for more 'Beauty and the Beast" vocals in Folk metal.

Try Fferyllt, theyre a Russian Folk/Celtic metal band that uses growled male vocals as well as clean female vocals.
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ7HV5fwhkw

I'm looking for some TYR stuff, especially shit like Wild Rover.

Edit: I just read the post above me. How about other drinking songs?

Korpiklaani is the obvious choice. Kromlek, with the huumpa sound, might work.

Kivimetsan Druidi is right up your alley. Good stuff.

Any Viking Metal bands that have vocal styles similar to Amon Amarth?

Anyone know any Folk Metal bands that use only clean vocals? Folk/Power Metal is fine too. Here's a bunch that I know:

Falconer
Wuthering Heights
Otyg
Storm
Tverd
Mago de Oz
Elvenking
Folk Stone (kind of gruff, but clean enough)
Heidevolk
Tyr
Skyclad

I just want something without the incessant and (IMO) out-of-place black metal screeching, which is kind of a cliche of this genre.

Try Alestorm.Not very folky but might do the trick

For clean vocal folk/power metal:
Spellblast
Leprechaun (Damnagoras', from Elvenking, side project)
Crom
Conorach
Orden Ogan
Tengwar
Skiltron
Kalevala (Rus)
Odroerir

More folk metal but Wulfgar and Svartsot have deep powerful vocals.

Curiou- any bands similar to Kampfar; ie. folky soundinging black metal, without the folk instruments...?

Seconding both of these bands and definitely adding Runic to this recommendation. Thyrfing might work as well.

Also there's:

Ros'
Tin' Sontsya
Glittertind (except for briefly on the EP)
Lumsk
Metsatoll
Tumulus [Russia] (except for a few moments)
Nomans Land (on the first album)

There's also Dalriada/Echo of Dalriada, which has some harsh vocals but mostly clean female and male vocals, and the band is awesome.

Anyone? PLEASE????

You are prob familiar with them already Acidgobblin but Taake for some reason always remind me of Kampfar, if you have to listened to them they are well worth checking out.

^Yeah, Ive got the Taake albums- I don't see the Kampfar too much n them, but you've helped me decide what feel lke playing tonght :)

I only want scandinavian Black metalviking music
(from Sveriger norge island and Danmark)
No fake bands from ASIA that haven't grown up here.

And NOT

Isengård
Storm
Otyg
Bathory

I like songs about the dark Scandinavian woods,
because its familiar.
Any recommendations?

^Kampfar. Are they nordic enpough for you?

must haves:
http://www.myspace.com/manegarm
http://www.myspace.com/moonsorrow

edit: sorry - Moonsorrow are from FIN...

But you must really listen to MANEGARM!

and of course the first In The Woods... album!

Great.

Hmm, I thought I'd seen a thread about "sounds like early ULVER" yesterday here at Recommendation Central. I'm really sure... anyway, now the thread is gone (or I'm too blind to find it) and wanted to

first:

wanted to list what I think may suit to that search. Though the following band/albums don't exactly sound like early Ulver, they at least bare some (or sometimes many and more) similarities, atmosphere etc. Maybe you (the mysterious thread starter I can't find anymore) will like some of these:

BORKANAGR s/t debut album
maybe this is a bit more raw and blackish but there is a definite dark and "woodly" atmosphere, oh.. and of course features Ulver's Garm (as does the 2nd album, too)

LÖNNDOM
very gloomy, eerie and strange music which could be labelled as "Forest Folk/Metal/Rock", definitely has a vibe which reminds me of Ulver

FORLORN Forlorn EP and The Crystal Palace
These two releases are absolutely great! Though they use a damn lot more synth than Ulver they have an epic, melancholic etc. feel to it and a great mix of more harsh and cclean vocals reminding of Garm and his horde...

IN THE WOODS... "HEart of the Ages" album
as the name implies - this is really "woods" music and could be named a crossbreed of early Ulver and early Burzum. The band later developed a more prog influenced sound but their debut is clearly fitting to your research!

AUSTERE and SVARTI LOGHIN
yes, yes, I know... These bands could be put to Depressive Black Metal but both have a very nature based atmosphere, beautiful melodies, acoustics adn AUSTERE (on the "To lay like old ashes" album) also use choirs, chantings with clean vocals etc. Great stuff!

KERBENOK "o" Album
a really great pagan/black album which lots of acoustic interludes

STRIDSMENN debut album
though it unfortunately lacks the great cleaner vocals/chantings of Bergtatt their debut album is clearly influenced by Ulver (and other 90s Norw. BM bands)

and you could also try WOODS OF YPRES, early AGALLOCH and maybe WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM...

and second:
say that I, too, am always looking for albums similar to ULVER's "Bergtatt" album. So if anyone has recommendations in that vein, please tell me

As I said last night in that thread (which, yeah, seems to have disappeared for some reason), Hinsidig might be what you're looking for. They say themselves that they sound like early Ulver. I'd agree, they sound like early-era Ulver and occasionally like Nyktalgia (largely thanks to the fact that Winterheart plays on the album - and rules as usual) or Wolves in the Throne Room . Fairly raw but full sound; both harsh and clean chanting vocals as well as clean guitar every now and then; and just an awesome, nature-y atmosphere. They've only released the one demo, Bak og Forbi, but it really is a fantastic release. Hugely promising band.

And damn it, I really do need to check out Heart of the Ages. Been meaning to for a while and never got around to it somehow.

Second Hinsidig they are a good band remind me more of Nyktalgia though. Def check out Heart of the Ages, great release, worth it for the first track alone, a great black metal epic. As for other Ulver rec peng-peng did you check out Sort Vokter, great album in the ulver vein, sadly broke up. A few other bands meant to be similar, though I have not had a chance to check them out yet are Sykdom, Massemord and Blotsrit (Ocularis Infernus lp), unfort cant comment on these three yet but might be worth a look, Sykdom reviews sound pretty good.

Later Cruachan material. The first album is very Black Metal influenced and the '97 promo has a great mix of harsh vocals and female vocals (by a girl called Aisling Hanrahan) but from "The Middle Kingdom" onwards most vocal duties were done by Karen Gilligan who has a fantastic voice. "The Middle Kingdom" and the follow up "Folk Lore" are well worth getting but the 2 albums after that are a bit generic. Karen has left now so the next album should be going back to the older harsher style.



For general reccomendations i'd say either "Reawakening Pride Once Lost" or "Honour Amongst Chaos" by Waylander and anything by Kroda for something a bit more Black Metal influenced.

Lönndom was better than I expected, as i really hate LIK and Armaggedda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqDTLYRrRSM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sulk4yuLe0M

Trollfest and Finntroll might work too.

Has anyone come up with a list of essential viking metal albums?

http://metal-archives.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=45222

The survey was designed so that the bands had to be listed as folk metal to get on the list, so its missing a few good bands, but there are still a lot of awesome albums on there.

Just a heads up as I see people looking requests for bands that use bagpipes in their music here now and again, I came across a power/folk band with great use of bagpipes called Skiltron, impressive stuff if you dig the bagpipes!

http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=27714

Hey.. I'm looking for acoustic, lengthy, instrumental folk in the vein of Agalloch's acoustic stuff. Any recs?

Yes, it's certainly not a perfect or exhaustive list, but it's a lot closer than most lists I see, which tend to favor bands from Scandinavia but ignore anything else.