viking metal

[kollex]

pardon my newbieness
but what is it
I thought it was just a pet name for norwegian black metal amongst the media
but apparently its another genre entirely
can anybody shed any light on this

 

[Board]

Well, although black metal is the metal genre I listen to the most I must admit that I do not know much about viking metal either. As far as I know viking metal is black metal just with all this viking image, because some guys thought it would be cool to sing about and dress up like vikings and say they're the most real Norwegians around and shit like that and then everybody was like "Hey, their music is cool, let's be like them" and now lots of people do this shit. As far as I know the music is basically the same, but sometimes has more acoustic stuff - STILL as far as I know. Enslaved are categorized as viking metal as far as I know, but they're pretty brutal, at least "Mardraum" is. Bathory's "Blood on ice" is also labeled viking metal and is far, far different! Lots of acoustic guitars and clean vocals and really not much harder than grunge and rock stuff!

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

Ahh, Viking metal, my favorite.

 

[HauntED]

Hey you should check out Thyrfing from Sweden. Especially their older albums have this viking touch

 

[Loco Bahamut]

The Viking Metal genre branched out from the Black Metal genre.Enslaved is probably the most well known of this style.I believe they started out as a Black Metal band,but by the time their debut ablum,Vikingligr Veldi (often confused as a self-titled album) came out,they already had gone to the Viking sound.The "Viking" sound is generally more epic than the Black Metal sound.The the song that best demonstrates what this genre can do is the Enslaved song 793(Slaget Om Lindsfarne),an epic that is 16 minutes in length (from the Eld album).

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

Originally posted by HauntED
Hey you should check out Thyrfing from Sweden. Especially their older albums have this viking touch

Well, all their albums have the "viking" sound. In fact, they're my favorite band within my favorite genre, so you might say they're my favorite band!

I'd also check out:
Moonsorrow
Falkenbach
Enslaved
Ensiferum
Amon Amarth (though more melodic death, they are heavily into the whole "viking" imagery & theme)
Bathory, though only 5 albums ('Hammerheart,' the best IMO, 'Twilight Of The Gods,' 'Blood Fire Death,' 'Blood On Ice' and 'Nordland I,' the new one)
Einherjer
Finntroll
Graveland (be careful, if you're particularly sensitive and/or liberal, these guys are true Aryan Nationalists)
Helheim
Menhir
Mithotyn (no longer around, members are now in power metal band Falconer)
Suidakra

That ought to get you started

 

[AFSilverstar]

Finntroll! OH FO SHO!

 

[genocide roach]

i love viking metal. my favorite is thyrfing. mythotin and einherjer are also good
~gR~

 

[bloodfiredeath]

I think that people have different definitions of what 'viking metal' is, which is fine.

For my money, Hammerheart by Bathory is the epitomy of what I see as viking metal.

 

[MacMoney]

Bathory's Hammerheart is the first and most probably the best viking metal album ever.