Tag Archives: folk metal

Friday Morning Metal – Tyr – Cycle of Misery

Leave a reply

Those fantastic Faroeise folk metalheads are back at it! This time it’s Cycle of Misery, a new video from Tyr. I’m not sure what the cycle of misery is in Norse folklore, but I bet it’s no good. It might also be about breaking the cycle of abuse, which is a good thing to do. Maybe there’s a story about Odin smacking around his kids; that’s not a cool thing to do, man. Be encouraging and helpful, don’t be a dick.

Unrelated, did you know the Faroe Islands have a series of car tunnels that are underwater and connect the islands so you can drive from place to place? And that they look totally rad? Check it out. This isn’t some dumb SEO play; they just look neat and I wanted to share.

True to form, the song is full of staccato rhythms, great chanting, and Heri Joensen’s fantastic vocals. The song starts with a borderline lullaby and some crows before big drums and guitars join in, sharing the major melody. It’s a pretty catchy rhythm, kind of reminds me of Mare of my Night. Maybe that’s a thematic choice, linking nightmares and breaking the cycle of misery. Halfway through there’s some good chanting, I bet it sounds badass live. At 5 minutes and change, it’s not a super long song, but it’s catchy and bouncy during the choruses and I look forward to hearing it live.

The video looks like it’s shot on a beach but lit by one single bonfire and maybe the moon. It’s gives a haunting vibe, but it also makes it hard to really pick out what the band’s doing. Also the drummer is lit up, maybe so he doesn’t break his knuckles or something, but it makes him look spooky. Based on the content of the song, it’s probably for the best they didn’t add additional visuals.

Friday Morning Metal – Manegarm – Hervors Arv

Leave a reply

Woo Viking Metal! This time it’s from Manegarm, who took their name from the Norse wolf that’ll eat the moon when Ragnarok happens. That’s pretty brutal if you ask me. The moon’s important! Apparently the band was called Antikrist for a bit, which seems like leaning a little too hard. But they’re Swedish Viking/Folk metal, and they’re pretty great. The song is Hervor’s Arv, which translate’s to “Hervor’s Legacy.” Hervor is a shieldmaiden who apparently stole her dead dad’s cursed sword. That’s pretty badass.

The song kicks off with a driving beat and machine gun guitaring. The vocals are very folk metallic, I could see these guys touring with like Finntroll or Amon Amarth. There’s a solid breakdown at the midpoint, perfect for super dramatic headbanging or yelling HEY while fist pumping. It does lead into a great folky solo before picking up the pace again. Top to bottom, this is a fantastic folk metal track. I will have to go find more!

The video cuts between the band looking real tough and playing in like a barn, and Hervor taking a boat to an island to steal her dead dad’s sword. There are some interspersed visuals, maybe showing what the curse may do, or what she’s going to do in the future? Lotta volleys of arrows and burning structures. It also seems like all slow-mo, maybe the story itself was shorter than the song so they had to stretch it out. But good for Hervor stealing her dead dad’s cursed sword. Hopefully it doesn’t backfire on her. Cursed things aren’t good, you guys.

Friday Morning Metal – Svartsot – Midsommer

Leave a reply

Oooh Danish folk metal! Svartsot’s been around since 2005, though they were previously called Skoll. I don’t think they had issues with the chewing tobacco company but Svartsot is a pretty cool sounding name so why not switch it up. According to Encylopedia Metallum, Svartsot means “Black Sickness,” which is apt for metal.

Overall it’s a pretty cool sound. There’s a dude playing bagpipes and/or a fife for a bit, which helps lean into the folky part of things. The vocals are the big burly growl like you’d hear from Amon Amarth; I wouldn’t say I generally dislike it, but I do prefer clean vocals. But also the vocalist makes goofy faces when he sings, as though getting that growl requires similar muscle use to taking a big poop. He does some screechy stuff too, which is interesting. They pick up the pace around 2/3 of the way through the song, I really hoped it would transition to a shreddy solo, but we do get some bagpipe solo so there’s that.

The video cuts between the band performing and a village hauling lumber back to town. The bassist has a wild goatee, it flings around when he headbangs. It’s a wonder he doesn’t get it caught in his strings or a copy machine, that’d be really dangerous. Anyway, the village hauls all the lumber back to set up for a big bonfire, then they light it and have a dance. I was a little worried at some point it would become a Midsommar or Wicker Man bonfire, but it was just a regular-ass bonfire. Seems like a good way to celebrate with your neighbors.

Friday Morning Metal – Elvenking – Luna

Leave a reply

Behold, an elvennew elvensong by Elvenking. It’s too bad they didn’t call it Elvenluna, as discussed the last time I covered one of their songs. They’re from Sacile, Italy, and have been shredding since 1997. Kinda power metally, kinda folk metally, they’re pretty fun.

I can’t tell if the video is about a pagan sacrifice or a baby gender reveal party, but it looks pretty fun and shiny. THERE’S A FLYING V ELECTRIC VIOLIN IN THIS BAND! Also the vocalist has a pretty big and bodacious mic stand. Looks like you’d need tetanus shots if you were to use it. The sacrifice scenes are pretty out there, like if the Kali Ma scene from Temple of Doom happened in a forest and the bad guy had antlers.

There’s a pretty solid noodly solo up in the song, with the guitarist using the “totally vertical” stance to increase the sqeuadlies by 30%. I’m a little bummed there wasn’t a big violin solo. It’s a flying v for violin for crying in the mud, let him shred! But otherwise this is a pretty good folky power metal track, and them playing in the elvenforest is a good elvenaddition.

Friday Morning Metal – Mythbegotten – The Heedless Horseman

Leave a reply

Lifting a Friday morning metal band from Angry Metal Guy, this time it’s Mythbegotten, a folky proggy metal band from Central New York & New England. Not sure how long the band’s been around, but they did release this album on Halloween, which is fitting. If you wanna check it all out, they have a bandcamp for the whole album.

The song has a great intro, almost like something that’d be in Fable or some other cheeky RPG, before kicking into the main riff. I dig the vocals, when combined with the quasi-campiness of the folky sound, it gives a musical theater vibe. Which seems apt, metal is theatric as all get out. The song does kind of bound between genres, sitting in a heavily syncopated folk vibe during the main verse, and kicking into a higher intensity metal sound for the choruses. And then sprinkle in some noodly solos and you’ve got a stew goin.

Five and a half minutes is a bit long for a song, but the lyrics are telling the tale of the Heedless Horseman. He doesn’t heed at all. You yell at him to look out for chasms, he pays no heed. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find full music videos for these guys. Hopefully they’ll be able to make some of those in the future. The lyrics alone paint a great picture of what the video could be.

Friday Morning Metal – Ensiferum – Winter Storm Vigilantes

Leave a reply

Big epic folk metal! Horses flying through the air! Ensiferum’s brand of Finnish folk metal is back at it.

The Winter Storm Wigilantes appear to be knights who ride flying horses and have fire in their heart. And they tear evil apart. Keeping track of a flying horse has to be tough, what if it flies off somewhere when you’re not riding it? Also what happens if the horse poops while flying? The video culminates with an epic battle against a stone giant, with the Wigilantes stabbing it with their +3 to stone monster swords.

All in all it’s a fun song, big and bombastic, with a combo of clean and growly vocals. I don’t know if I necessarily need the growly vocals, but it does help them stand out amongst all the other bombastic swords and wizards type metal bands. There’s also some fun harmonizing that happens, gotta have some three-part harmonies.

Anyway, enjoy the metal! Then go ride your flying horse to wigilantize!

Friday Morning Metal – Dread Crew of Oddwood – Queen’s Decree

Leave a reply

Hey so these nerds were one of the openers at the Pirate fest a couple weeks ago, and I thought it’d be fun to share. Kind of acoustic folky metally something, they refer to themselves as pirate mahogany. But they’re great live, and have the lively pop of a folk metal band. So give them a shot, you may learn things!