Folk metal

The folk metal is a subgenre of heavy metal developed mainly in Europe from 1990. As the name suggests this genre is a fusion of the different aspects of heavy metal with traditional folk music, therefore it includes a wide use of traditional instruments and songs. In essence, any metal group that uses traditional music in its compositions can be considered as exponents of folk metal, although there is a wide range of bands under this rubric, so in some cases it is a difficult classification. There are power metal bands that make use of folk elements, such as Tuatha De Danaan, Elvenking and Alestorm, others mix them with traditional heavy metal like Skyclad or Celtic Legacy, and a large number of bands mix traditional music with black metal like Aes Dana or Arafel.

Many times the term is related to pagan metal or viking metal, but although some bands can be considered as viking/folk or pagan/folk these should not be be confused as the same gender.^{[citation needed]}

Features

Musically it is characterized by its diversity, with different bands known for mixing the different subgenres of metal with traditional music. A wide variety of ethnic instruments are used so bands can often contain six or more members in their regular lineups. Some bands also use keyboards to simulate the sound of traditional instruments. The lyrics in the genre normally deal with paganism, nature, mythology and the history of their peoples, as well as festive themes such as alcohol or parties.

Due to their traditions, history and cultural heritage some countries and regions have stood out in the Folk Metal scene; Finland, Russia and Germany are perhaps the top three countries on this list with outstanding bands. Finland has some of the most recognized bands of the genre such as Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow, Ensiferum or Turisas which have known how to combine Finnish folk influences such as humppa, polka, or "yoik" songs, with other influences such as Celtic music and metal, as well as basing their lyrics on local legends, trolls or Finnish mythology.

In Russia there are a large number of folk metal bands, it is probably the country with the most representatives, despite the fact that Russian folk metal is not as "popular" Like the Finnish one, it has some of the best bands, being Arkona the best known; due to the strong Slavic influence in the music and lyrics of some Russian bands it is sometimes called "Slavic Pagan/Folk Metal" (also applies to bands from Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, among other countries). Germany also has a large number of groups in the genre; Falkenbach stands out, one of the main bands worldwide, although they are more classified as Viking Metal, their music is highly influenced by folk music; groups like XIV Dark Centuries or Menhir are closer to Pagan and Black Metal but also have a base in traditional music, other German bands have a much more "folk" like Finsterforst or Equilibrium.

History

It is considered that the first exponent of this genre was the British band Skyclad. Their debut album "The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth" was released in 1990. It wasn't until 1994 and 1995 that other bands began to emerge in a major way in various regions of Europe. Despite these contributions, folk metal remained little known and underrepresented during the 1990s. From the year 2000 the genre exploded into prominence, particularly in Finland with the efforts of bands such as Finntroll, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, and Moonsorrow, but it continues to be one of the metal subgenres with fewer exponent bands.

Subgenres

Celtic Metal

It is considered one of the most distinguishable subgenres of folk metal, it began in the 90s in Ireland and England, it is characterized by fusing various styles of metal with traditional Celtic music and the inclusion of Celtic myths and gods in the lyrics. Early notable bands in the genre were Cruachan, Primordial, Skyclad, Waylander and Mägo de Oz. Currently the genre has spread outside the Irish island and is practiced by many bands throughout Europe and even outside of it, such as the Argentine band Skiltron or the Russian Satarial. Although the origins of Celtic metal could be traced back to the English band considered pioneers of folk metal, Skyclad, the first band that really based their music on metal and Celtic influences was Cruachan, founded by Keith Fay who was inspired by the album The Wayward Sons of Motherearth from the English group Skyclad and the local folk rock band Horslips created a combination between black metal and traditional Irish music, releasing their first demo in 1992, a year later Primordial created their first demo in which they also Black metal was mixed with Irish music, but in a more subtle way through different times and chords, in this same year Waylander was also formed in Northern Ireland. After the year 2000, with the appearance of important groups of the genre such as the Swiss Eluveitie or the Russians Arkona, the subgenre has grown in bands and followers, which is why it has expanded in Europe, mainly in countries that also had a great Celtic influence, such as France. and Spain.

The most used instruments in celtic metal are the bagpipes, the tin and low whistle, the bodhrán, flutes, the hurdy-gurdy or the bombard.

Oriental Metal

Another of the recognizable subgenres in folk metal is what has been called oriental metal. Broadly speaking, this subgenre includes all Asian and Middle Eastern bands that mix metal with their local traditional music, despite that many do not agree with this denomination, arguing that several subgenres should be distinguished, such as middle eastern metal, mesopotamian metal, vedic metal or yiddish metal since, as happens in Europe with different genres such as celtic metal, slavic metal or viking metal, all these branches have great cultural and musical differences that should not be classified in the same genre, despite this the most widespread use of "oriental metal" it occurs due to the western conception in which it is included with the term "oriental" to everything corresponding to the Asian continent and some North African countries, from what we know as the "Middle East" to the "Far East"; In this way, there is a great diversity in the music considered as oriental metal, from metal with Arab influences in Egypt or Tunisia to the inclusion of ancestral instruments and melodies in Japan or China.

Given this definition, we can consider the Israeli band Orphaned Land as the pioneers of oriental metal, this group was formed in 1991 and released their first demo in 1993, which immediately attracted attention due to its enormous style of mixing music. Middle Eastern and Jewish music with metal, today it is one of the most outstanding and unique bands in folk metal. Another of the first bands to experience this mix of sounds is Melechesh, which was also formed in Israel in 1993, mixing riffs and melodies from the Middle East with a solid base of black metal. It should be noted that Ashmedi, leader of the band, is one of the detractors of the term oriental metal, calling their music "mesopotamian metal".

The instrumentation of these bands is very varied, from instruments such as the bouzouki, Oud, Chumbush, Saz or the tabla in the bands of the Middle East to the use of erhu, daegeum, haegeum, geomungo, gayageum or piri in the bands from the Far East, as in folk metal in general, flutes and violins are also included, and some bands even make use of traditional songs; It also highlights the use of percussion.

Middle Eastern bands have great diversity among themselves and are often even called "subgenres" their own, as in the case of vedic metal with Rudra and Asura, Yiddish metal by Gevolt or the aforementioned mesopotamian or middle eastern metal with Melechesh and Orphaned Land, there are also several bands considered as "oriental metal" Outside of Asia like Arkan in France or Kartikeya from Russia, even Nile, the American death metal band is usually considered in this genre since they add a lot of Egyptian music in their songs.

Within the classification of bands from the Far East, Onmyouza is a Japanese band from Osaka that mixes traditional heavy metal with elements of Japanese folk music. Others that include elements of Japanese folk music could be the Finnish Wintersun from their second album.

Folk/power metal

The inclusion of folk influences in power metal can be traced back to early power bands like Helloween or Running Wild; although at present several groups that are cataloged simply as "power metal" use folk melodies in their music such as Rhapsody of Fire, Nightwish, Dark Moor (in their most recent works) or Avantasia, they are known as "folk power metal" mainly to bands that make greater use of folk music and instruments. The most prominent groups in this style are the Swedish Falconer and the Italian Elvenking. Another of the bands that has achieved great recognition is Alestorm, from Scotland, barely formed in 2007, they have stood out due to their self-styled "True Scottish Pirate Metal" in which they base their lyrics on stories of pirates and alcohol. We could also highlight the case of the Spaniards Salduie from Zaragoza, FallenHall (from the Canary Islands), Sapere Aude (from the lands of Valencia), the goliardos Lèpoka from Castellón de la Plana and the Argentines Barloventos who, in addition to mixing folk metal with power metal, he adds typical symphonic metal elements to his music.

In this genre, bands outside Europe such as Skiltron or Tuatha De Danann from Argentina and Brazil respectively stand out.

Folk Power Metal has a large following due to it being an "easy" to listen to due to its absence of guttural voices and because it is more melodic and upbeat compared to black folk or viking folk.