There were pretty overt nordic folk influences on almost all of the first and second generation Norse bands. The influence was especially notable in Enslaved and Burzum, but the melodies of DarkThrone, Immortal, Mayhem, Ildjarn and Gorgoroth were all informed to a greater or lesser degree by folk traditions. Ulver and Satyricon show some of these same characteristics precisely because they began their careers as clones of the first generation innovators. Only Emperor remained largely untouched by folk influences during this period, possibly because Emperor alone retained a large measure of continuity with the death metal and progressive speed metal of the previous generation.
The early Polish scene, particularly Graveland, Behemoth and Fullmoon moved folk from the realm of a major influence to a primary influence, and this tradition has come to predominate within East European black metal generally (see Drudkh, Temnozor and Nokturnal Mortum).
