|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 2:50 pm
 |
|
|
 |
I love Viking Metal!! And vikings and stuff.
Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterised by its galloping pace, keyboard-rich anthemic sound, bleakness and dramatic emphasis on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age.
History
____________________
The genre of Viking metal was pioneered by the Swedish band Bathory, who took some of their inspiration and musical style from American heavy metal band Manowar. Their first album Bathory was released in 1984 and is "regarded by many as the first black metal record." The band's fourth album Blood Fire Death was released in 1988 and signaled a transition from their black metal roots. Ed Rivadavia of Allmusic attributes it as "possibly the first true example" of Viking metal.. The album notably featured the band leader Quorthon singing in a clean style on the song "A Fine Day to Die." It was followed in 1990 with the release of Hammerheart, a landmark album that "formally introduced" to the metal world the "archetypical Viking metal album." By then the band had completely departed from "the Satanic mould" and was "squarely in Viking mythology." The Viking metal music of Bathory was characterised by Wagnerian "lengthy epics, ostentatious arrangements, chorused vocals, and ambient keyboards."
The year 1991 saw the formation of the Norwegian group Enslaved. Their debut album Vikingligr Veldi arrived in 1994 with "many melodies being borrowed from ethnic Scandinavian folk music to lend additional authenticity to the vicious, fast-paced black metal." Inspired by Bathory, Enslaved set out to "create Viking metal devoted to retelling Norway's legends and traditions of old." Their second album Frost, also from 1994, was "an important release for the extreme music subgenre of Viking metal." With "Viking themes, razor sharp guitars, blastbeat drums, and an ear for orchestration resulting in complex structures, bountiful harmonies and time changes," Enslaved has since been acclaimed as "probably the foremost exponents" of the genre.
Characteristics
____________________
Viking metal is "noisy, chaotic, and often augmented by sorrowful keyboard melodies." An epic sound is "a prerequisite for inclusion under the Viking metal banner" and bands in the genre typically adopt a "bombastic, keyboard laden" approach. Viking metal acts are known to be "very different in their music" with influences from death metal, black metal and some power metal. Gerhard Storesund from Einherjer contends that "this diversity is very good for the style" and notes that the black metal genre is more monotonous in contrast. Both clean vocals and death growls can be found in Viking metal and the "speed varies from mid-pace to a fast pace." Like folk metal bands, Viking metal acts "generally utilize some acoustic and other unusual instruments in addition to the traditional metal instruments."
Some commentators view Viking metal as more of a lyrical or conceptual genre than a musical one. The themes explored by bands "usually come from Nordic and Viking mythology." Guitarist Patrik Lindgren of Thyrfing explains the appeal of such mythology by noting that "as a Scandinavian, it's the ultimate and most fascinating source of inspiration." He also identifies the subjects of sailing, dragons, "furious winds" and a "lust for exploration" as some of the standard motifs for the genre.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 3:35 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 6:21 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:52 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:56 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:04 pm
|
|
|
|
MyFearsHaveBecomePhobias Meth Mike AMON AMAAAAAARRRRTH. lol Ever heard of Eluveitie? They're more Folk Metal than Viking Metal but still amazing. Heck yeah. Those guys are amazing. Also, the band Tyr is also a favorite of mine. Tyr isn't reall metal but they still sing about viking stuff, and the sometimes speak in the language of their homeland!! lol. Pretty epic. lol.
I've heard of Tyr before but I've never really listened to their stuff before.
I'll have to check it out. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:41 am
|
|
|
|
Meth Mike MyFearsHaveBecomePhobias Meth Mike AMON AMAAAAAARRRRTH. lol Ever heard of Eluveitie? They're more Folk Metal than Viking Metal but still amazing. Heck yeah. Those guys are amazing. Also, the band Tyr is also a favorite of mine. Tyr isn't reall metal but they still sing about viking stuff, and the sometimes speak in the language of their homeland!! lol. Pretty epic. lol. I've heard of Tyr before but I've never really listened to their stuff before. I'll have to check it out.
Yeah, tyr is more of a Rock kind of thing than metal. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
