Yes, another one, inspired by the black, thrash, and power metal help threads.

This time, it's all about folk/viking. Ask for recommendations and me as well as other members will help. I have good knowledge of the genre and I'm sure others on this forum do as well. So ask away.

Also, I want to add that I made this thread because I've seen a lot of folk rec threads, and so I thought I would make a place where everyone could ask without the whole metal discussion overflowing.

...are you fucking kidding me right now...

I'm looking for some folk/viking that is depressing, i really don't like the bands that just sing about drinking mead and having a jolly time.

i like Bathory's "Blood Fire Death" and Moonsorrow's stuff that ive heard on their myspace

cheers in advance

I think you might like Temnozor's stuff, but only their newest album. Agalloch is also there, even though I would only rec "The Mantle" and "Pale Folklore".

I really recommend Temnozor though, Folkstorm of the Azure Nights is a genius record. Unless you wanted only screaming, then it's probably not for you.

Thyrfing, great dark and gloomy viking metal.

And Finntroll newest album isn't depressing, but it's easily not as 'fun'. Rok on Nattfodd is a really sad and depressing acoustic piece.

i'm looking for an album similar to enslaved - vikingligr veldi
i've never heard anything that's even close to it ...

I would recommend:

Einherjer - they're similar to Bathory, but to Hammerheart, not Blood Fire Death in their atmosphere (somewhat slow, but epic), with clean/harsh vocals.

Thyrfing - they are faster than Einherjer, have more folk elements (more acoustic passages, flutes) and have growling vocals.

But I wouldn't call them depressive, but they certainly don't have the happy atmosphere the bigger bands have.

If you're interested in just depressive folk music, check out Nest (ambient folk) and Uaral (acoustic folk with quite guttural vocals)

That album is one of the best viking albums ever, but unfortunately, it is a one of a kind album. I'll take a look at my collection though, and I'll get back to you.

Have you heard Windir? Any album is good from them, but my personal favorite is "1184".

I wish Enslaved would have kept their sound and not changed into progressive black


Of course
All albums are great, my personal favorite is "Arntor" by far

Feel free to check my site out as I have hordes of rare folk/black metal listed.

As good as Windir are, they bear little resemblance to Enslaved, let alone Vikingligr Veldi. I'm still undecided about their best album though. It's between Soknardalr and Arntor for me.

As for the rec, I have to agree with the others here in saying that Vikingligr really is a one of kind album. At least to my knowledge. The closest thing I could think of would be maybe early Kampfar or Varg's Wolfszeit, although they're still not that similar.

Well, you should also get Bathory's other Viking output. Get Hammerheart, Twilight of the Gods, Blood on Ice and both Nordland's. Also, definitely get all of Moonsorrow's albums. Verisäkeet is easily their best IMO. Absolutely incredible album.

Other bands:

Windir: Melodic Viking/folk, which is incredibly beautiful and emotional. Also can be quite 'depressing' (as you put it) in some songs. Like I said, melodic, but not in a 'bouncy' Fintroll-esque kind of way.

Borknagar: Get their s/t. Aggressive and folky black/Viking metal.

Enslaved: Fantastic, epic black/Viking metal. Vikingligr Veldi and Frost are both quite raw, if you're into that sort of thing. They changed their sound later on to a more progressive black metal sound.

Kampfar: Melodic black/Viking metal. Brilliant, brilliant band. Any of their three albums are great, but my personal favourite (and also one of the best black/Viking albums ever) is Mellom Skogkledde Aaser. Melodic, soaring riffs and extremely emotive vocals.

Sorgsvart: Black/folk metal. One of my favourite bands. His debut, Fortapt Fra Verden I Vakkert Selvmord, is an astonishing release. Ripping black metal fused with very well-crafted folk interludes/elements. His sophomore release, Vikingtid og Anarki, is just as good, if not better. Much better production and just more complex in general, with a much fuller sound.

Storm: Viking/folk side project of Fenriz and Satyr from the mid-90s. Very folk influenced and quite unique. Nordavind is an extremely good release.

And that's about all I can be bothered with right now. Might add some more later.

Thanks for the bands, ive got a nice haul to go check out

Rok isnt sad and depressing at all. It has a very positive vibe. Like chilling out after a great party, or looking forward to what the future will bring.

Ive got a couple of questions. I loved Enslaveds Vikingligr Veldi, and am in the process of checking out Hordanes Land. But I dont like rock music. Are there any other Enslaved albums I should check out? Which album was their last black metal release?

Also, I love Bathorys Blood Fire Death, but think Hammerheart sucks donkey balls. Any other release I should listen to?

All of Morrigan's albums seem to be inspired by "Blood Fire Death," and contain a mixture of faster, thrash-like metal and slower, epic metal with occasional clean vocals. "Celts" is an especially good album of theirs.

If you're looking for more "sad" Viking and folk metal, there are some more doom metal-style bands that remind me of Bathory's more epic style: Ereb Altor just released their first album, and it's very Bathory-esque. Also Scald, from Russia, who only released one album, is inspired quite a bit by Bathory, though the vocals are in a different style. [Edit: Graveland as well.]

One of the darkest folk metal bands I've heard is Vo Skorbyah. They have one album out so far, and it's awesome. The lyrics are all taken from Russian funeral texts, and the songs are all very slow and melancholy. Highly recommended.

Check out the Yggdrassil demo. Essential Enslaved release.

And if you like Enslaved, you may like Helheim. Viking black metal.

Enslaved started to incorporate more progressive stuff into their music around the time they released Eld. But really, anything up to Blodhemn is still black metal-y. Frost is quite raw, and more in the vein of Vikingligr Veldi.

As for hating Hammerheart, I can't really help you. Blood Fire Death is really a one off for Bathory. His first two are dirty thrash albums which hint towards black, Under the Sign... is a true black metal record, and Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods are much in the same vein. You might want to check out his later Viking stuff though, namely Blood on Ice and both Nordland releases. They're not quite as hard to get used to as Hammerheart.

Edit: Second Kruel's rec of Helheim. Furious Viking black metal. The vocals are quite extreme, especially on the first album, but for me that's a plus.

Also, the band Orlog is very good pagan metal in a black metal style. They remind me of Immortal or early Enslaved.

As for newer folk/Viking bands, anyone know of any bands similar to Eluveitie, Turisas, or bands of that sort. Bombastic, epic and still a bit folky as well as metal.

The best Borknagar album is by far The Olden Domain, and every fan of metal should already have it.

I'm not sure there's another band that sounds close to Eluveitie (except for the Celtic influences, in which case bands like Cruachan, Hordak, Heol Telwen, etc. might fit the bill), but you could probably get a ton of suggestions for bands that sound close to Turisas. Moonsorrow and Ensiferum are probably the most obvious choices.

Every female fan of metal should, yes. Borknagar is an incredibly weak band.

Thanks, though I've already heard of the obvious recs for the more famous bands. I would like to know though if more bands incorporate melodeath and folk like Eluveitie though.

You might want to check out Minhyriath, also from Switzerland like Eluveitie. He just released a really good death/folk metal album. It's not quite Eluveitie, but you might like it.

Suidakra doesn't use folk to anywhere near the same extent as Eluveitie, but their album "Caledonia" is worth checking out. I think some of their older albums as well, but I haven't heard those yet.

Falkenbach - not 'happy' Viking band, but more like Bathory...

Huldrefolk or Sacrilegium or any Pagan BM is good.

You'd really like Svartsot...well I think. They are death/folk. Not really melodeath, but it's still got some melody and really low growls.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Primordial. They are really depressive and have some celtic elements.

I definitly recomend Temnozor's Folkstorm of the Azure Nights.

Maybe check out Skyforger, not all of their material is happy and they do use some aggresive vocals.

It's all very opinionated I guess.

Boss, you may like Falchion. They're better than their reviews say, believe me. You could also try Elivagar from Germany. Their latest full-length could use alot of work, but it's certainly interesting..

Lol, I was one of the ones who gave them a negative review on a demo. Their full lengths are decent though.

And Svartsot is downloading now, thanks!

Vo Skorbyah are great, but I consider them to be funeral doom with folk influence. Although they might appeal to folk metal fans as well.

Another folk/doom band I haven't seen mentioned here is Mael Mórdha from Ireland, also very recommended.

Speaking of skuforger, they don't have any happy songs, they're either agressive or doomy, with little to no exceptions. Might try also Grindmaster Dead - the pre-Skyforger, when they played death/doom with some folk influences. That is, if you are lucky enough to find it anywhere for download.

I have pre-skyforger, and I must say I like it more then Skyforger now. I guess I could never really get into them.

My turn, I'm looking for Atmospheric Folk/Black, like Negura Bunget. Anything?

For those of you that like Eluveitie, Equilibrium, from Germany, play Epic Folk/Viking Metal that is absolutely amazing. They only have one album out now, but another is coming in June.

Temnozor: Atmospheric folk/black from Russia.

Darkestrah: Excellent folk/black from Kyrgyzstan that is quite atmospheric. They have released three albums, of which my personal favourite is Epos. I believe they have another album coming out soon.

Wyrd: Finnish band that employs quite a lot of folk elements with fairly raw black metal, especially on their early albums. Heathen and Huldrafolk are my favourite albums from them and are both excellent releases.

Altorių Šešėliai (also known as Altar Shadows): Lithuanian band which plays mainly slow-tempo ambient/atmospheric black metal but also incorporates a number of folk elements and uses a number of traditional folk instruments. His album 'Margi Sakalai' (Speckeldy Falcons) is fantastic.

Is there any band that does:

1. Really good solos (I know I keep asking this )
or
2. The voice is its own instrument (Ex: Tyr) and brings an amazingness to the music

I'm familiar with Tyr, Ensiferum, Lost Horizon, Turisas, Enslaved, Amon Amarth if that helps cancel out recommendations.

Windir, you'd love them, they are more black metal oriented, but they have folk influences. So you might want to give them a try if you haven't already.

Hmm, try Temnozor..I keep recommending that, but they have a vocalist that is weird at first, but it grows on you and meshes with the music so well.

Also...tryyyyy Eluveitie.

Moonsorrow, they don't really have guitar soloes, but they have such an atmostphere that...it's just...something you have to listen too.

I'm sure you've heard of Moonsorrow and Eluveitie, but their new albums rock ass.

I'll get back to ya ;d

I'm assuming you've heard the obvious Wintersun and Turisas, but if you haven't that might work. Also possibly Tverd by Pagan Reign.

Cadacross might work.

Falchion's full lengths might work, but they're nothing too special.

Thyrfing's Farsotstider is in the similar vein.