Folk Metal: Introduction

Like all genres of music, Folk Metal falls afoul of the dreaded over-saturation issue. There are so many half-arsed Metal bands out there who think sticking a flute, violin or – heaven forbid – a synthesizer over their poorly played, badly written songs will hide their flaws and make them Folk Metal as opposed to just another forgettable pub band. In my estimation I’d say that for every good band, there are 8 or 9 bad ones, which can be daunting for fans of the sub-genre looking for new music to listen to. Luckily for those people, and I think there a few in this group, I have made the somewhat stupid decision to take on the monumental  challenge of trawling through every single band I can find (so far it sits at well over 1000, but I know there are more out there waiting to be discovered) to compile a top 40 album list, a best bands list, a best songs list and underrated bands list, much as I did with Grunge, although that being as it is, a pretty much dead 25 year old genre, was relatively easy, yet it still took me around two months to do. 

What complicates things a little more is where to draw the line of what is considered to be Folk Metal. Is it the use of traditional folk instruments, is it the lyrical themes, is it using “Folk” melodies or is it something more difficult to put your finger on, like an idea or an attitude. Can bands without an overtly Folk sound be considered to be Folk Metal if they themselves identify with the scene? 

As it stands, Folk Metal can already be broken down into a number of recognisable sub (sub) genres including Celtic, Medieval, Viking, Pagan and so forth, so after considering this little quandary for a while, I decided to base my lists on how the bands sound. Simply put, if they “sound” like they are using Folk instruments and melodies, they are in. As always, there were a number of bands that were a little difficult to categorise, such as Moonsorrow, Vreid and Enslaved, so I will, time permitting, be compiling a separate Pagan Metal list at a later date which will include the aforementioned bands and their ilk as well as harsher Pagan Black Metal acts which may not have such an obvious Folk sound, but identify themselves as part of the wider scene. Some bands, including Thyrfing, will make both lists as their earlier material was definitely Folk / Viking Metal, but their recent releases are more Pagan Black Metal.

I hope this is something that is of interest to at least a few of you, but I suppose the bottom line is that it is something I am very interesting in doing for myself, so it's really a labour of love. If only a couple of you find it useful then I will be happy with that. 

I think I've rambled on quite long enough now, so I'll wrap it up by saying that this project may take a little time, but I will posting as and when I have something ready.