Viking metal

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Viking metal is a term used in reference to heavy metal music with a dramatic emphasis on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the life and times of Northern and Central Europeans prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia. It is still debated whether or not Viking metal can be considerd a stand alone "genre", or merely an ideological off-shoot of other genres, as the influence of style being played varies among artists. Bands associated with Viking metal cover a broad range of musical genres and influences, such as folk metal, thrash metal, death metal, black metal, and power metal.

Viking Metal may be traced to "Immigrant Song" from Led Zeppelin's third album, with its references to Nordic gods and warfare. However, the first album to be dominated by such an ideology can be traced to the Swedish black metal band Bathory, with the release of their fourth album in 1988, Blood Fire Death. The album blended the aesthetics of black metal with an atmosphere of war and Norse mythology. Quorthon (the leader of Bathory) explains some of the philosophy behind the musical and lyrical changes from black metal to Viking metal in Bathory on the official website [1].

Bathory would continue on to innovate the genre further with their next release in 1990, titled Hammerheart. The album further explored the romantic elements of the previous album, and experimented with Scandinavian folk instruments and musical form. Along with Skyclad’s The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth, Hammerheart helped form the metal subgenre folk metal. The album is regarded by many as an important and influential release in Viking metal’s history.

Style and themes

Common among Viking metal is a reverence for pagan Germanic, or specifically Viking, culture with a rejection of contemporary Christianity and disdain for the Christianisation of Northern Europe in favor of a pre-Christian, Pagan society. Thus, most Viking metal bands are derived from Norwegian and Swedish black metal groups, and are native Scandinavians and Germans, often associating themselves with pagan and Ásatrú beliefs.

The music is often highly romanticized and epic in composition, reflecting Norse mythology itself, and creates an atmosphere rich both in Germanic heroic and metal music tradition. While some bands sing in English to reach a wider audience, many write lyrics in their own native languages (Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish or Icelandic) or archaic versions thereof.

Troll Metal

Troll metal is a term coined by fans of bands with lyrical themes revolving around trolls. Although not a real genre it makes classification more specific. Some bands, notably Finntroll, have shifted the focus of their music from the heroic humans or Gods of Norse mythology towards the creatures of more recent Scandinavian peasant folklore, most notably trolls. Like Viking metal, it often contains anti-Christian themes, with the trolls and monsters being a representation of the pre-Christian pagans of Northern Europe[citation needed]. These lyrics are seldom entirely serious, though, as they are as much anti-human as they are anti-Christian, and could even be seen as tongue-in-cheek, parodying the radical anti-Christianity of certain black metal bands.


List of Viking Metal bands

References

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