Lönndom - Fälen från norr (2007)

Swedish blackened folk metal. Somewhat a continuation of LIK. A hypnotic, often gorgeous, and idiosyncratic sound that makes for some of the more interesting folk metal I've heard.

Track listing:
1. Vid elden
2. Ripeluokte
3. Himlalågor
4. Tjåkkå
5. Stállo
6. Ripeluokte II
7. Nordafejd
8. På fjället

A glorious time of eternal darkness

You'd probably also like:

Obtest -
Tükstantmetis (2007)

Antagonic Omnipotent Catharsis -
...Onwards the Path to Antagony (2006)

Moonsorrow - Tämä Ikuinen Talvi (1999)

Magnificent third and final demo from these Finnish masters. Ripping, folk-leaning symphonic black metal of the most epic kind. This may be the first time they've come up here, but I want to be very clear: Moonsorrow are one the best metal bands on the planet.

Track listing:
1. Taistelu Pohjolasta
2. Vihreällä Valtaistuimella
3. Talvi
4. Luopion Veri
5. Kuun Suru

This journey won't be forgotten
Shall be written on a sacred stone

You should also listen to:

Obtest -
Tūkstantmetis (1997)

Kroda -
Fimbulvinter (2007)

Kroda - Fimbulvinter (2007)

Ukrainian Pagan black metal with strong folk elements. Epic, raging, and beautiful. I'm obligated to mention that, despite their claims that that they're not an NS band, some members have definitely been involved with NSBM -- as if covering Branikald isn't a dead giveaway -- so proceed with caution. For what it's worth, this is literally THE album that convinced me to loosen my policy regarding fucked-up black metal: some rando on Soulseek recommended it, it blew my mind, I found out they were shitty people, but I couldn't go back. It's that good.

Track listing:
1. The Beginning of Whiter Night of Oskorei
2. Glacial Riders of Fimbulvinter
3. Where Brave Warriors Shalt Meet Again
4. Funeral of the Sun
5. A Stormride [Branikald cover]

Cry to me, river

If you like this, you should hear:

Árstíðir lífsins -
Jǫtunheima dolgferð (2010)

Darkestrah -
Манас (2013)

Antagonic Omnipotent Catharsis - ... Onwards the Path to Antagony (2006)

US black metal with strong folk elements. A homemade-sounding EP (it's a little over half an hour) of majestic, mostly instrumental, multi-part epics with some truly breathtaking guitar work. Obviously, a warm, fuzzy home recording is never gonna bother me, but I really think this guy could do a lot with a small budget and access to a recording studio.

Track listing:
1. Genesis
2. Endymion
3. Mightiest Under the Moon
4. Alarum Within
5. Stella Viae

Because the sunlight is powerless against me. My rivers and seas are frozen with Christian blood and my throne is the forest's heart. My blood is the serpent's poison. The wolves are that force which roams my kingdoms... the wolves, the wolves are my only now disciples.

You would also like:

Obtest -
Tūkstantmetis (1997)

Himinbjorg -
Where Ravens Fly (1998)

Helrunar - Grátr (2003)

Stellar German Pagan black metal. Grátr is a demo in name alone, as it finds the band's sound -- vicious and lupine, with an epic, neofolk-tinged melodic sense -- already fully realized and flawlessly executed.

Track listing:
1. Der Fährtensuche
2. Raune mit der Ti
3. Ich Bin die Leer
4. Seelenwinter
5. Grátr
6. Morket Under Ver
7. Hornung
8. Das Heilige Feue
9. Kvasirs Blut

Impact of gods

You would also like:

Wolfhetan -
Entrückung (2006)

Árstíðir lífsins -
Jǫtunheima dolgferð (2010)

Draugnim - Northwind's Ire (2008)

Finnish blackened viking metal. Mid-paced, melodic, and epic, with a lush, orchestral backbone.

Track listing:
1. Moonpath
2. Craionhorn
3. Feast of the Fallen
4. Towards the Dusk
5. Will Dawn Rise Again
6. Sworn to Waves
7. Archein

In salty grave I shall be reborn

You'll also like:

Kermania -
Kehre Heim... (2014)

Ancestors Blood -
Hyperboria (2016)

Àrsaidh - Roots (2013)

Scottish atmospheric, folk-infused black metal. Epically mournful songs composed of lush, towering walls of guitars, vicious shouts, ethereal backing vocals, and various traditional Scottish folk instruments -- yes, that includes bagpipes. Roots has since been reissued under this project's new moniker, Saor. It's worth mentioning that, somehow, this is a solo project, the man behind it has another project called Fuath, and both released truly phenomenal records this year.

Track listing:
1. Roots
2. Carved in Stone
3. Saorsa
4. A Highland Lament

Stars ignite the sky
Illuminating sacred stones

You will also enjoy:

Kauan - Lumikuuro (2007)
+ Tietäjän Laulu (2008)

Darkestrah -
Манас (2013)

Hromovlad - Vládca Lesov, Skalných Stien (2005)

Epic, folk-infused Slovakian black metal.

Track listing:
1. V Objatí Stromov
2. Vládca Lesov, Skalných Stien
3. Žiť Stromom
4. Triste Est Mori
5. Tiene Minulosti
6. Balada Skazy
7. Hrom Do Toho!
8. Hromovlad
9. Bytosti Lesné
10. Raw

Evil in its cruelest shape

Also listen to:

Obtest -
Tūkstantmetis (1997)

Orlog -
Reinigende Feuer (2006)

Crown of Asteria - Karhun Vakat (2016)

An album of mesmerizing, atmospheric, neofolk-infused US black metal from one-woman project Crown of Asteria. Adventurous, often breathtakingly gorgeous, utterly singular sounds. Free/name your price, along with a bunch of other great albums, via the Crown of Asteria bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. Tietäjä
2. The Golden Light of Birchwood Temples
3. Hongotar
4. Sky-Nail
5. Black Antlers Above the Lodge
6. Väki
7. Kallohonka

A conduit for the trees and stars

You might also want to check out:

Summoning -
Oath Bound (2006)

Wolfhetan - Was der Tag
Nicht Ahnt (2012)

Necroart - The Opium Visions (2005)

Obscure Italian melodic death metal with folk and symphonic elements. The Opium Visions has a slightly rough feel -- an out-of-tune guitar here, some less-than-tight keyboard there -- but to me this is a plus, as this style of music often comes off as polished to a fault. Funniest lyric: "Come with your dark embrace / Pale as a pale caress." That's pretty damn pale. Reminds me of a line from Blackadder: "Disease and deprivation stalk our land like two giant stalking things."

Track listing:
1. The Crimson Minority
2. Le Fleur Noir
3. Necronova
4. Pandemonic Opium Night
5. Capricorn Years
6. A Visionary's Trip
7. Lullabye
8. L'Inverno Dell'Anima

The snake will bring me the secrets of death

You might also enjoy:

Lordian Guard -
Lordian Guard (1995)

Dead Blue Sky - Symptoms of an
Unwanted Emotion (2001)

Obtest - Tūkstantmetis (1997)

Lithuanian Pagan black metal with folk undertones. Driving, melodic riffs emanate from warm, fuzzed-out guitars, hoarse vocals, and a drum machine. Tūkstantmetis is the only record of Obtest's that I have heard, and I get the sense that their sound has changed rather significantly over the years, so I definitely can't vouch for their other stuff, but this one's solid gold.

Track listing:
1. Karo dvasia
2. Iš nualinto krašto (kai nieko nebelieka...)
3. Vilkalokiai
4. Tolstant krantams
5. 997
6. Mėnulio karūnos kautynės
7. Sakmė apie ugninę širdį
8. Amžiams...

The sea of snakes and souls

Darkestrah - Манас (2013)

Masterful, epic pagan black metal from this long-running, Germany-based band. IMO Манас is their strongest work; it's idiosyncratic, but grand and sorrowful, with a warm, lush sound, and a river of fiery anger running through its core. The folk elements, which include throat singing and temir komuz, are used tastefully and to great effect, and their songwriting has never been more cohesive. And of course, their vocalist (who I just found out is, after 15 years, no longer in the band, boooo) puts in a chill-inducing performance, alternating between a fierce, gravelly scream and expressive, layered singing. If you have the attention span for it, Манас is one of the more rewarding black metal records in recent memory.

Track listing:
1. Манас-Мститель
2. Память
3. Победа
4. Кыргызстан
5. Манас-Батыр

Here the silence is empty. It is no longer there.
Nothing exists... nothing.
Columns of dust fly upon the desert as spirits and genies,
protecting their possessions.
Sands like herds of huge horses, rising under the clouds.

If you like this, try these:

Árstíðir lífsins - Jǫtunheima dolgferð (2010)

Negură Bunget - Om (2006)

Grivf - Yggdrasil (2007)

Desolate, neofolk-fueled, Danish Pagan funeral doom. Simple, mournful acoustic guitar melodies give way to crushing waves of distorted guitars, harshly growled vocals, and, on occasion, extremely minimal percussion consisting seemingly of a single, massive floor tom. This lack of percussion makes Yggdrasil feel even less propulsive than your typical funeral doom; the songs seem to hang there, suspended in some void deep within the earth.

Track listing:
1. Helfarer
2. Ash
3. Mimirs Visdom
4. De Gamles Ord
5. Naar Alt Fryser Ind

Everything freezes

If you dig this, check out Kauan. Their first two records also work with a Pagan, neofolk-y doom metal aesthetic, but with a more melodic approach that makes for much easier listening.

Summoning - Oath Bound (2006)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Summoning - Nightshade Forests (1997)

Another virtually flawless album from this Austrian duo. As any writeup about Summoning will tell you, their lyrics deal exclusively with J.R. Tolkien's universe. Musically, you can expect epic, keyboard-heavy, slow-paced, quasi-Medieval, atmospheric black metal that could, without the context of aesthetics and lyrical trappings, easily be mistaken for blackened viking metal. Oath Bound just might be my favorite Summoning album, and contains at least one undeniable masterpiece of their distinctive style in the majestic, album-closing "Land of the Dead".

Track listing:
1. Bauglir
2. Across the Streaming Tide
3. Mirdautas Vras
4. Might and Glory
5. Beleriand
6. Northward
7. Menegroth
8. Land of the Dead

Upon the plain, there rushed forth and high
Shadows at dead end of night and mirrored in the sky

Summoning - Nightshade Forests (1997)

In case any of you are young or unfortunate enough to have slept on the epic, fantastical, Tolkien-obsessed sounds of Summoning, here's an early EP consisting of songs recorded during the same sessions that yielded their classic third album, Dol Guldur. Each of these four songs, driven by glacial guitars, semi-cheesy synths, rasping vocals, and tom-heavy drum machines, drives forward at a slow but determined pace, slowly forming enthralling, mysterious, oddly beautiful musical landscapes. Highly recommended for anyone who's nerdy enough to get down.

Track listing:
1. Mirkwood
2. Kortirion Among the Trees
3. Flesh and Blood
4. Habbanan Beneath the Stars

The echoes of his harp
have poisoned the air
The horizons of the earth
have drowned

Wolfhetan - Was der Tag Nicht Ahnt (2012)

It should go without saying that the primary function of this blog is to direction attention towards bands and albums that IMO don't get enough attention or respect. Given that, it should also go without saying that I consider pretty much everything that I post to be underrated.

So it's redundant to say it, but... goddamn, Wolfhetan is just so fucking underrated. They're a German trio whose music, which can be classified as pagan black metal with folk influences, is raging but majestic, atmospheric but raw, sprawling but never meandering. Plus, their drummer is absolutely phenomenal. And it's not that their sound is particularly esoteric; fans of comparatively well-known acts like Agalloch and Helrunar, for instance, should find a lot to like here. Was der Tag Nicht Ahnt is their second album, and you need to hear it right now.

Track listing:
1. In Die Stille Der Zeit
2. Abschied
3. Vollkommenheit
4. Eispalast
5. Was Der Tag Nicht Ahnt
6. Tagtraum
7. Ankunft

Buried

Kauan - Lumikuuro (2007) + Tietäjän Laulu (2008)

Excellent first two albums from this Russian duo. Their debut, Lumikuuro, introduces their lush, folk-tinged, keyboard-centric take on doom metal, while their second album, Tietäjän Laulu, deemphasizes guitar distortion and harsh vocals, in favor of acoustic picking, clean vocals, and lush string sections to generate a more delicate, mournful sound. If Tenhi were to admit that they were a doom metal band, this is what they would sound like.

Track listing:
-Lumikuuro-
1. Alku
2. Aamu Ja Kaste
3. Lumikuuro
4. Savu
5. Koivun Ela
6. Syleily Sumu
7. Villiruusu
8. Syleily Sumu (Acoustic)
-Tietäjän Laulu-
1. Vmesto Slez
2. Kyynelten Sijaan
3. Pesnja Materi
4. Äidin Laulu
5. Prozrachni Cvetok
6. Orkidea

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