Folk Metal

Skuggsjá is a musical piece written by Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik. Arranged to be performed by Enslaved and Wardruna and was originally initiated as a commissioned concert piece for the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution and premiered in September 2014 at the Eidsivablot festival, Eidsvoll where the constitution was written. Shortly after its debut Skuggsjá was announced as one of the headliner acts of the 20th edition of Roadburn Festival 2015.

The growing desire to present Skuggsjá to a broader audience has ultimately led the Bjørnson and Selvik to record the piece in its entirety.

Skuggsjá translates into ‘mirror’ or ‘reflection’ in the Norse language, and the piece not only contextualizes harder music’s role in the democracy in Norway in 2014, but also joins threads from the country’s ancient musical history and solidifies harder music’s position as Norway`s most important cultural export.

By highlighting ideas, traditions and instruments of their Norse past, Skuggsjá tells the history of Norway and reflect relevant aspects from the past into the present day. In light of this we reflect on ourselves as a people and nation. In a magnificent tapestry of metal instrumentation, a wide variety of Norway´s and Scandinavia’s oldest instruments, and poetry in Norse and Norwegian, Skuggsjá is a fusion between past and present, both lyrically and musically.

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1. Intro: Ull Kjem
2. Skuggsjá
3. Makta Og Vanæra, For All Tid
4. Tore Hund
5. Rop Fra Røynda - Mælt Fra Minne
6. Skuggeslåtten (instrumental)
7. Kvervandi
8. Vitkispá
9. Bøn Om Ending, Bøn Om Byrjing
10. Outro: Ull Gjekk

Line-up:
Ivar Bjørnson: vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards
Einar Selvik: vocals, taglharpa, Kravik-lyre, goat-horn, birch-bark lure, bone-flute, percussion, electronics

Contributing musicians:
Grutle Kjellson: vocals
Lindy-Fay Hella: vocals
Eilif Gundersen: birch bark lure
Olav L. Mjelva: Harding fiddle
Cato Bekkevold: drums



Awesome stuff IMO. Super catchy even if I don't understand a single word of the lyrics :D
 
Later Walkyier-era Skyclad is where it's at for me in this genre. The Answer Machine? is brilliant, probably my favorite of theirs. Folkémon is also excellent in a heavier style, and most of the albums in that 1995-2000 stretch are great.

I hear a lot of stuff called "folk metal" that's really just black metal with a violin or a flute every once in a while. Personally, I prefer equal parts folk and metal in this genre.

A more recent band that really epitomizes this is Ball Noir from The Netherlands. Their most recent album Lost Serenades is fantastic -- lots of harp and hurdy-gurdy blended into high-quality mid-paced metal. The singer reminds me a bit of Justice-era Hetfield.

Ball Noir did another album before that one called Bitter Dreams. On that one the original guitar player sings, and he has more of an accent. There are more instrumentals and the songs are a little folkier, but it's very good.

Skyclad - The Answer Machine?

Skyclad - Folkémon

Ball Noir - Bitter Dreams

Ball Noir - Lost Serenades

Ball Noir - "The Other (andro)" (from Lost Serenades):
 
Stumbled across another album that I really like in this genre — The Forgotten Song, the debut from Bulgarian doomy folk metal outfit Aegonia, which just came out earlier this year.

This is a concept album based on a book series I’m not familiar with. It’s pretty chill, thoughtful stuff. There are male and female vocals, mostly clean, though the man sometimes delivers the least abrasive extreme vocals I’ve ever heard — more like a husky whisper than anything involving the Cookie Monster. The vocalists have a bit of an accent, but nothing too distracting. The main folk instruments used are violin and kaval.

Web site: http://aegonia.com/en/


 
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Perun said:
Cruachan is an often overlooked example of Celtic metal. They are a bit of a hit and miss, but their album, Folk-Lore is brilliant from start to finish.
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People seem to like their black metal influenced stuff more, but I liked their attempts at toning down the metal and being more trad/folk with the female vocals, it's a shame they abandoned that angle.

This is a great cover of a well known Irish track with Shane McGowan contributing vocals.

 
srfc said:
People seem to like their black metal influenced stuff more, but I liked their attempts at toning down the metal and being more trad/folk with the female vocals, it's a shame they abandoned that angle.

This is a great cover of a well known Irish track with Shane McGowan contributing vocals.

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I remember that one! Best one off Folk-Lore I'd say.
 
Another one I’ve enjoyed recently is The Quest by LEAH. Enya meets Evanescence, more or less. Vocal-driven symphonic folk metal that isn’t afraid to go soft, but can also bust out a face-melting guitar solo here and there. All the vocals are clean, and Leah makes some interesting choices with melody and harmony. I need to check out her earlier albums...



Album playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mNjyIrQpO1B0MH0hYiWgIXjbjSUALDhkk
 
I've listened to some of Leah's music. She's recently been running a crowdfunding campaign for her next album which will be modern interpretations of medieval Christmas songs with some guest musicians including Troy Donckley from Nightwish and Anna Murphy from Cellar Darling.

She has also made some music with Eric Peterson from Testament.
 
Ball Noir apparently released a new single a few months back — hopefully a new album is in the offing, since Lost Serenades was one of my favorites from 2017...

 
Ran into a couple more gems in this genre over the past couple of years:



Crescent Lament - 噤夢 Land Of Lost Voices (2020)

Really great Asian gothic folk metal from Taiwan. Clean female lead vocals with some limited male growls on about half the tracks. All lyrics are in Taiwanese. The erhu (Asian 2-string fiddle) is just as prominent as the guitars here, and there are flutes and other folk instrumentation as well. A very special album.



Aeterna - The Legend Begins (Легенда Начинается) (2018)

Epic melancholy folk metal from Russia. All clean vocals, predominantly female, but with occasional male singing. Most lyrics are in Russian, though one or two songs may be in Swedish. Has some crunchy Evanescence-style rhythm work and elaborate neoclassical soloing in places, and lots and lots of flute. Great stuff.
 
I just got into Eluveitie and I am loving them so much more than any melodic death metal band I’ve heard. However, I would absolutely love to hear a band just like them without harsh vocal. Are there any folk metal bands with clean vocals that have all of the same authentic instruments? Or is Eluveitie one of a kind?
 
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Travis The Dragon said:
Are there any folk metal bands with clean vocals that have all of the same authentic instruments? Or is Eluveitie one of a kind?
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I'm not very familiar with Eluveitie, but I listened to a few tracks quickly ("The Call Of The Mountains" and a couple others), and what I heard was sort of folky Evanescence with clean female vocals, not melodeath. So maybe I didn't hit a broad-enough cross section.

All of the albums I've mentioned in this thread are either solely or predominantly clean vocals. As far as folky albums with clean vocals and Evanescence-esque guitars go, Leah's The Quest or Aeterna's The Legend Begins (Легенда Начинается) may be up your alley. Ball Noir's Lost Serenades is also full of folky instruments like hurdy-gurdy, harp, and clarinet, while still being metal (though it's more melancholy and less Evanescencey).
 
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