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Pagan metal

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bardin (talk | contribs) at 14:25, 28 June 2009 (No, the primary source for this article (the revolver mag) actually identifies pagan metal as a subgenre. That opening decription on this wiki article is lifted straight from that revolver article.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Pagan metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that fuses extreme metal with "the pre-Christian traditions of a specific culture or region through thematic concept, rustic melodies, unusual instruments or archaic languages."[1][2] The genre is closely related to folk metal and Viking metal but has a broader scope because, as Heri Joensen of the band Týr notes, "it's more about the lyrics than the music".[3]

Characteristics

Pagan metal is "more of an idea than a genre" and consequently bands tend to be "wildly different" from one another.[1] Bassist Jarkko Aaltonen of the band Korpiklaani notes that bands singing about "Vikings or other ancient tribes of people are all labelled as pagan", regardless of whether they use folk instruments.[4] Heri Joensen expressed a similar desciption of pagan metal as bands that sing about "pre-Christian, European traditions, be they historical or mythological" and notes that it is "musically extremely diverse because it is more about the lyrics than the music."[3] Some bands are known to be "sprightly and spirited" while others are "bleak and doomy". Vocal styles range from "melodic chanting to unearthly growling" and while some acts sing in their native language, others sing in English.[1]

Pagan metal bands are often associated with Viking metal and folk metal. Bands such as Moonsorrow and Kampfar have been identified as fitting within all three of those genres.[5][6]

History

Led Zeppelin and Manowar had already explored pagan themes in the 1970s and 1980s but pagan metal bands are "reluctant to offer them any props", prefering instead to credit the influence of extreme metal bands Bathory, Enslaved, Amorphis and "foremost among them", Skyclad.[1] Bathory and Enslaved are also known as Viking metal bands[7][8] while Amorphis and Skyclad are also known as folk metal bands.[9][10]

Jarkko Aaltonen notes that Black Sabbath "was quite pagan" as well but of "the current metal scene", he credits Skyclad as starting "the mix of traditional folk-rock music with mythology-concentrated lyrics."[4] Chrigel Glanzmann of Eluveitie similarly credits Skyclad as the first pagan metal band, remarking that the band had mixed heavy metal music with Celtic folk music "in a way that was really inspiring."[11] The author Ian Christe has also identify Skyclad as the pioneers of pagan metal.[12] In contrast, Heri Joensen credits Bathory as the first pagan metal act instead, noting that Bathory had gotten "tired of the childishness of satanic lyrics, so they added some cultural weight by going to Nordic mythology."[3] Alan A. Nemtheanga of Primordial remarks that one "can see the formation of pagan metal" in Bathory's 1988 album Blood Fire Death. He also contends that Bathory "were copying Manowar, which most people don't like to admit."[13] Mathias Nygård of Turisas identified Amorphis as the first pagan metal band for playing "a huge role in guiding us in the direction we are now."[14]

In April 2008, performers on the folk and pagan metal festival Paganfest were subject to accusations of being neo-Nazis and fascists from the Berliner Institut für Faschismus Forschung.[15] Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow and Heri Joensen of Týr issued a joint video statement to refute these accusations, noting that "one of the biggest issues seems to be that we use ancient Scandinavian symbols in our imagery like the S in the Moonsorrow logo and the T in the Týr logo [even though] that is how the S and the T runes have been written for thousands of years."[16] Moonsorrow has also issued a written statement in response to the controversy[17] while Týr notes on their official website that they "got the idea for the rune logo" from the Black Sabbath album of the same name.[18] Other pagan metal bands such as Cruachan[19] and Skyforger[20] have also disassociated themselves from Nazism, fascism or racism. Skyforger went as far as to add the words 'No Nazi Stuff Here!' on the back of their album covers.[21]

As of 2009, the genre has become something of a phenomenon.[1] Mikael Karlbom of Finntroll feels that pagan metal has become something of a trend.[22] Jarkko Aaltone expresses a similar opinion and laments the number of people "jumping on a bandwagon".[2]

List of bands

Band Country Formed Notes
Amorphis Finland 1990 [14]
Arkona Russia 2002 [23]
Bathory Sweden 1983 [3][13]
Eluveitie Switzerland 2002 [1]
Ensiferum Finland 1995 [1]
Forefather England 1997 [24]
Finntroll Finland 1997 [1]
Kampfar Norway 1994 [6]
Korpiklaani Finland 2003 [1]
Moonsorrow Finland 1995 [5]
Primordial Ireland 1991 [1]
Suidakra Germany 1994 [25]
Skyclad England 1990 [12]
Turisas Finland 1997 [1]
Týr Faroe Islands 1998 [1]

References

Wiederhorn, Jon (2009). "Stairway to Heathen". Revolver: 60–64. Retrieved 2009-05-11. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiederhorn 2009, p. 62
  2. ^ a b Cummins, Johnson (2009). "Myth Demeanour: Finland's Korpiklaani lead the pagan metal pack". 24 (44). Montreal Mirror. Retrieved 2009-05-11. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b c d Heri Joensen of Týr, quoted in Wiederhorn 2009, p. 64
  4. ^ a b Jarkko Aaltonen of Korpiklaani, quoted in Wiederhorn 2009, p. 63
  5. ^ a b Bowar, Chad. "Moonsorrow - Viides Luku: Hävitetty". About.com. Retrieved 2009-05-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ a b Bowar, Chad. "Kampfar - Kvass Review". About.com. Retrieved 2009-05-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Blood Fire Death review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-03-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2007-11-08). "On the Road to Spread the Word of Good, Old-Fashioned Evil". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  9. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (2007). "Silent Waters". Revolver: 105. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ "SKYCLAD 'Awakening From Hibernation'". Blabbermouth.net. 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-05-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ Chrigel Glanzmann of Eluveitie, quoted in Wiederhorn 2009, p. 63
  12. ^ a b Christe, Ian (2008). "Sabbath: British Thrash Heroes Relive Their Glory Days". Revolver: 44. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  13. ^ a b Alan A. Nemtheanga of the band Primordial, quoted in Wiederhorn 2009, p. 64
  14. ^ a b Mathias Nygård of Turisas, quoted in Wiederhorn 2009, p. 64
  15. ^ "Rechtes Neuheiden-Festival mit Nazi-Runen im SO 36". Berliner Institut für Faschismus Forschung. 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow and Heri Joensen of Týr. Statement on behalf of Moonsorrow, Týr and Eluveitie. Youtube.com. Retrieved 2008-05-05. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  17. ^ "Moonsorrow: We Are Not Nazis". 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  18. ^ Týr. "Is Týr a facist, nazi or racist band?". Tyr.net (Týr official website). Retrieved 2008-03-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ Bolther, Giancarlo. "Interview with Keith Fay of Cruachan". Rock-impressions.com. Retrieved 2008-03-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ Fjordi. "Interview with Rihards Skudrîtis of Skyforger". Frombelow.dk. Retrieved 2008-03-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ^ Van Berlo, Andrej. "Interview with Pēteris Kvetkovskis & Edgars Krūmiņš of Skyforger". Tartareandesire.com. Retrieved 2008-05-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  22. ^ Mikael Karlbom of Finntroll, quoted in Wiederhorn 2009, p. 62
  23. ^ Bowar, Chad. "Arkona - Ot Serdca K Nebu". About.com. Retrieved 2009-05-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. ^ Bowar, Chad. "Forefather - Steadfast". About.com. Retrieved 2009-05-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  25. ^ Bowar, Chad. "Suidakra - 'Crogacht'". About.com. Retrieved 2009-05-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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