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Viking metal
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Stylistic origins
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sea shanties
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Regional scenes
Nordic countries
Austria
Canada
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Norse mythology
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vlkisch movements
Celtic metal
Viking metal is a style of heavy metal music characterized by a lyrical and thematic focus
on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. Viking metal is quite diverse as a
musical style, to the point where some consider it more a cross-genre term than a genre, but it is
typically seen as black metal with influences from Nordic folk music. Common traits include a
slow-paced and heavy riffing style, anthemic choruses, use of both sung and harsh vocals, a
reliance on folk instrumentation, and often the use of keyboards for atmospheric effect.
Viking metal emerged from black metal during the late 1980s and early 1990s, sharing with black
metal an opposition to Christianity, but rejecting Satanism and occult themes in favor of
the Vikings and paganism. It is similar, in lyrics, sound, and thematic imagery, to pagan metal, but
pagan metal has a broader mythological focus and uses folk instrumentation more extensively.
Most Viking metal bands originate from the Nordic countries, and nearly all bands claim that their
members descend, directly or indirectly, from Vikings. Many scholars view Viking metal and the
related black, pagan, and folk metal genres as part of broader neopaganist and neo-
vlkisch movements as well as part of a global movement of renewed interest in, and celebration
of, local and regional ethnicities.
Though artists such as Led Zeppelin, Yngwie Malmsteen, Heavy Load, and Manowar had
previously dealt with Viking themes, Bathory from Sweden is generally credited with pioneering
the style with its albums Blood Fire Death (1988) and Hammerheart (1990), which launched a
renewed interest in the Viking Age among heavy metal musicians. Enslaved, from Norway,
followed up on this burgeoning Viking trend with Hordanes Land (1993) and Vikingligr
Veldi (1994). Burzum, Emperor, Einherjer, and Helheim, among others, helped further develop
the genre in the early and mid-1990s. As early as 1989 with the founding of the German
band Falkenbach, Viking metal began spreading from the Nordic countries to other nations with
Viking history or an even broader Germanic heritage, and has since influenced musicians across
the globe. The death metal bands Unleashed and Amon Amarth, which emerged in the early
1990s, also adopted Viking themes, broadening the style from its primarily black metal origin.
Contents
[hide]
1Background
o 1.1The Vikings
o 1.2Nordic folk music
o 1.3Black metal
o 1.4Precursors to Viking metal
2Characteristics
o 2.1Musical traits
2.1.1Influence from sea shanties and popular media
o 2.2Thematic and lyrical focus
2.2.1Paganism and opposition to Christianity
2.2.2Relationship to pagan metal
2.2.3Masculinity
3History
o 3.1Bathory
o 3.2Enslaved
o 3.3Burzum
o 3.4Other pioneers
o 3.5Amon Amarth and Unleashed
o 3.6Spread outside the Nordic countries
o 3.7Influence on pagan metal
4See also
5Notes and references
o 5.1Footnotes
o 5.2Citations
o 5.3References
6Further reading
Background[edit]
The Vikings[edit]
Main article: Vikings
Viking metal features the Vikings as its subject matter and for evocative imagery. The Vikings
were Northern European seafarers and adventurers, who, during the Middle Ages, relying on
sailing vessels such as longships, knerrir, and karvi, explored, raided, pirated, traded, and settled
along the North Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Caspian coasts and Eastern
European river systems.[2] The Viking Age is generally cited as beginning in 793, when a Viking
raid struck Lindisfarne, and concluding in 1066, with the death of Harald Hardrada and
the Norman conquest of England.[3] During this two-hundred year period, the Vikings
ventured west as far as Ireland and Iceland in the North Atlantic and Greenland and what is
now Newfoundland in North America, south as far as the Kingdom of
Nekor (Morocco), Italy, Sicily, and Constantinople in the Mediterranean, and south-east as far as
what are now Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine in Eastern Europe, Georgia in the Caucasus,
and Baghdad in the Middle East.[4]
The Vikings originated from the Nordic countries and the Baltic states, and consisted mostly
of Scandinavians, though Finns, Estonians, Curonians, and Sami people went on voyages as
well.[5] While otherwise disparate peoples, they shared some commonalities in that they were not
considered "civilized" and they were not, at first, adherents to Christianity,[6] instead following their
indigenous Nordic and Finnic religions.[7] However, they often adopted Christianity upon settling in
an area, intermixing the faith with their own pagan traditions,[8] and by the end of the Viking Age,
all Scandinavian kingdoms were Christianized and what remained of Viking cultures were
absorbed into Christian Europe.[6]
Nordic folk music[edit]
Main article: Nordic folk music
Nordic folk music encompasses traditions from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and
the dependent countries land Islands, Faroe Islands, and Greenland, and nearby regions.
Specific instruments vary between countries and regions, but some common instruments include
the lur,[9] sckpipa,[9]Hardanger fiddle,[10] keyed fiddle,[11] willow flute,[12] harp,[12] mouth
harp,[12] and animal horns.[13] Common genres in Nordic folk include ballads, herding music,
and dance music, genres which trace back to the medieval era.[14] Often, Nordic melodies will
contain the phrase C2-B-G.[15]
In Swedish folk music, songs are monophonic, unemotional, and solemn in character, though
working and festive songs might be more lively and rhythmic.[16]Danish songs melodies tend to
lean toward the major.[15] In Icelandic folk music, the rmur, a form of epic poem dating back to the
medieval era and Viking Age, is prominent.[17] Faroese music contains dances directly descended
from medieval ballad and epic poems, particularly from literature in the Icelandic tradition,[18] and
often follows unusual time signatures.[19] Many Norwegian folk ballads follow a four stanza
structure known as stev.[20] Stev alternate a trochaic tetrameter with a trimeter, and lines typically
rhyme following an ABCB scheme, though stev are not standardized.[20] Finnish folk music tends
to be based on Karelian traditions and the meter and thematic material found in the Kalevala.
These themes include magic, mysticism, shamanism, Viking sea voyages, Christian legends, and
ballads and dance songs.[21] The older runo song tradition follows meters such as 5
4, 5
8, or 2
4.[21] Under Swedish and German influence, a newer, round-dance tradition based on
the runo emerged the rekilaulu and these usually follow a 2
4 or 4
4 time.[21] Sami music traditions (music from the Sami people throughout Fennoscandia)
historically were rather insular, exerting little influence on the music surrounding cultures.[22] Sami
music is known for joiking, improvised singing particular to the performer.[23] These songs are
often sung accompanied by a drum.[23]
Black metal[edit]
Main article: Black metal
Above: Attila Csihar of Mayhem, a formative band in the second wave of black metal
Black metal is an extreme form of heavy metal that, mostly in Europe, emerged from speed
metal and thrash metal in the 1980s. A "first wave" began in the early to mid-1980s, through the
work of bands such as Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate, and Bathory.[24] The
name black metal is taken from the 1982 album of the same name by Venom,[25] while Bathory's
1984 self-titled release is generally regarded as the first true black metal record.[26] A "second
wave" developed in part as a reaction to the burgeoning death metal genre,[27] and in part inspired
by the Teutonic thrash metal scene.[28] It was headed by the early Norwegian black metal scene,
through artists such
as Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, Emperor, Satyricon, Thorns, Ulver,
and Gorgoroth.[29] The early Norwegian scene became infamous for murders, assaults, and
numerous church arsons committed by members of the scene.[30] Black metal lyrical themes are
focused on Satan and Satanism, which many first-wave bands used with a tongue-in-cheek
approach, contrary to the more serious beliefs and vehement anti-Christian sentiment of many
second-wave bands.[31]
Musically, the first wave of bands were just considered to be playing heavier forms of metal
Venom was part of the new wave of British heavy metal, Celtic Frost was variously described as
thrash metal or death metal, and Quorthon of Bathory simply labeled his music "heavy metal".[32] It
was not until the second wave that black metal was more clearly defined. A key development
during that period was a guitar playing style featuring fast, un-muted tremolo picking or "buzz
picking",[33] introduced by Euronymous of Mayhem and Snorre Ruch ("Blackthorn") of
Thorns.[34] Other common traits for guitar playing include a high-pitched or treble guitar tone and
heavy distortion.[35] Solos and dropped tunings are rare.[32] Overall, the guitar sound tends to be
"thin and brittle" compared to other heavy metal genres, with the idea of "heaviness" conveyed
through harshness and timbral density rather than low frequency.[36] The bass guitar tends to be
buried under the guitar tones, even non-existent.[37] Drums and even vocals are likewise often
mixed low,[36] with these production techniques resulting in a blurred "wash" of sound.[36] Vocals
are usually high-pitched and raspy shrieks, screams, and snarls,[38] and rarely gutturals and death
growls are also employed.[39] The use of keyboards is also frequent.[40] The influence of
Scandinavian folk music within Norwegian black metal is apparent in the use by some guitarists
belonging to that scene of drones and modal melodies reminiscent of the folk tradition.[41] Terje
Bakken of Windir explained that ancient Nordic folk is easily integrated into metal idiom due to the
"sad atmosphere" the two genres have in common.[41] Production values within black metal are
often raw and lo-fidelity. Originally, this was merely because many early second-wave bands
lacked the resources to record properly,[35] but the practice was continued by successful bands in
order to identify with their genre's underground origins.[42] Though featuring these common traits,
black metal spawned diverse musical approaches and subgenres, with some bands taking more
experimental and avant-garde directions.[43] Other bands, such as Cradle of Filth and Dimmu
Borgir, embraced a more commercial sound and production aesthetic instead.[43]
Precursors to Viking metal[edit]
Manowar (seen here in 2009) is an early example of a band that made use of Viking themes
The use of Viking themes and imagery in hard rock and heavy metal music predates the advent
of Viking metal. For instance, the lyrics to Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (1970) and "No
Quarter" (1973) feature allusions to Viking voyages, violence, and
exploration.[44] The Swedish band Heavy Load often wrote Viking-themed songs, such as the
1978 song "Son of the Northern Light", and Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic claims that the 1983
song "Stronger than Evil" establishes a case for Heavy Load as the first Viking metal
group.[45] Swedish neoclassical metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen sometimes featured themes of
hyper-masculinity, heroic warriors, and Vikings; for example, on his 1985 album Marching
Out.[46] The German band Grave Digger and American band Manowar, both of which formed in
1980, drew upon Norse myth as envisioned in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des
Nibelungen.[47] Faithful Breath which wore fur and horned helmet costumes and TNT also
experimented with Viking themes.[48]Manowar adopted Viking imagery much more heavily than
other bands, and became known as the "champions of the furry loincloth"; they met with ridicule
even within the metal community, but attracted a cult following.[49] Unlike the later Viking metal
bands, Manowar did not bother with the historicity of popular Viking image, and did not in any way
identify with the Vikings, religiously or racially.[50] Trafford and Pluskowski explain that "the
Manowar version of the Vikings owes as much to Conan the Barbarian as it does to history, saga,
or Edda: What matters to Manowar is untamed masculinity, and the Vikings are for them merely
the archetypal barbarian males."[50]
Characteristics[edit]
Musical traits[edit]
Above: Gvern of Wolfchant. Keyboards are commonly used by Viking metal artists, and are often played at
a "swift, galloping pace".
The term "Viking metal" has sometimes been used as a nickname for the 1990s Norwegian black
metal scene, which was "noisy, chaotic, and often augmented by sorrowful keyboard
melodies".[51] It has also been variously described as a subgenre of black metal, albeit one that
abandoned black metal's Satanic imagery,[52] "slow black metal" with influences from Nordic folk
music,[53] straddling black metal and folk metal almost equally,[54] or running the gamut from "folk to
black to death metal".[55] Typically, Viking metal artists rely extensively on keyboards, which are
often played at a "swift, galloping pace".[56] These artists often add "local cultural flourishes" such
as traditional instruments and ethnic melodies.[56] It is similar to folk metal, and is sometimes
categorized as such, but it uses folk instruments less extensively.[57] For vocals, Viking metal
incorporates both singing and the typical black metal screams and growls.[58]
Above: Sami Perttula of Korpiklaani. Viking metal often uses folk instruments, though not as extensively as
the related genre of folk metal.
Overall, Viking metal is hard to define, since, apart from certain elements like anthem-like
choruses, it is not based entirely on musical features and overlaps with other metal genres, with
origins in black and death metal[59] Some bands, such as Unleashed and Amon Amarth Amarth, play
death metal, but incorporate Viking themes and thus are labeled as part part of the genre.[60]Generally,
Viking metal is defined more by its thematic material and imagery than musical qualities. Rather
than being a mock-up of medieval music,music, "it is in the band names, album titles, artwork of album
covers and, especially, in the song lyrics that Viking themes are so evident."[61] Viking metal, and
the closely related style pagan metal,
metal, is more of a term or "etiquette" than a musical
style.[62] Since they are defined chiefly by lyrical focus, any musical categorizations of these two
styles is controversial.[63] Thus, Viking metal is more of a cross-genre
cross genre term than a descriptor of a
certain sound. Ashby and Schofield write that "The term 'Viking metal' is one of many that falls
within a complex web of genres and subgenres, the precise form of which is constantly shifting,
as trends and fads emerge and fade."[64] From its origins in black metal, Viking metal "ha "has
diversified (at least in aural terms), and now covers a range of styles that run the gamut between
black metal and what one might justifiably term classic rock".[64]
"Shores in Flames" by
Bathory
MENU
0:00
"Shores in Flames" by
Bathory, from the
album Hammerheart (1990),
describes a Viking raid and
features the sound of waves
and prayerful singing.[65]
"793 (Slaget Om
Lindisfarne)" by Enslaved
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"793 (Slaget Om
Lindisfarne)" by Enslaved,
from the album Eld (1997),
features "Viking themes,
razor sharp guitars, blastbeat
drums, and an ear for
orchestration resulting in
complex structures,
bountiful harmonies and
time changes".[66]
Cover to Blodhemn (1998) by Enslaved, which features the band as Viking warriors, with their boat
anchored behind them. Images of Viking ships and seascapes are commonly invoked by Viking metal
artists.[72]
Mulvany states that "Viking metal ... is much less concerned with traditional aural materials like
instruments and melodies. Instead, Viking bands limit themselves mainly to the use of Norse
mythology as a textual source, which they often augment with stylized shanty-like melodies that
are meant to evoke apropos images".[73] He elaborates:
Although the majority of Viking metal bands ... limit themselves primarily to textual borrowings,
many others can be additionally classified as musically evocative of the Vikings. Unlike folk metal
bands drawing from other mythologies, bands using Norse mythology as text have no musical-
historical examples to augment their illusion. This has led to the creation of an ahistorical 'Viking
music' that is used in tandem with the metal style to conjure up appropriate images.[74]
According to Mulvany, Viking metal draws heavily on sea shanties and media images
of pirates and Vikings, an influence evident in two basic forms of the genre. The first type "is
largely stepwise in motion with many repeated note figures", is frequently in minor key, and is
primarily sung in unison.[74]The second type uses an "arching ascent-descent structure" and is
less dependent on lyrics, making it "more evocative of rolling waves on the open sea".[74] As
examples of the first type, Mulvany examined the structures of sea shanties such as ""Drunken
Sailor",
", the 1934 and 1996 film soundtrack versions of "Dead
" Man's Chest", Mario Nascimbene
Nascimbene's
"Viking" song for the 1958 film The Vikings,
Vikings, and the chant from Monty Python's ""Spam" sketch,
and found similar structures in compositions by Viking and black metal bands such as
Einherjer, Mithotyn, Naglfar,, and Vargevinter.[75] The second type, that of arching ascent and
descent, Mulvany noticed in compositions by Einherjer and Borknagar.[76]
The shanty influence results from stereotyping in which certain aural
aural associations are equated
with "images of sailors, sea-borne
borne marauders, and Vikings", and "though rooted in traditional sea
shanties, these aural images have been perpetuated through the media of pirate movies and
television shows, and they have been extended
ex by association to Vikings".[77] Ashby and
Schofield agree with Mulvany that musically, Viking metal bands generally are unconnected with
a real Viking
ng past, but instead connote a broader sense of the maritime, presuming that "this
conflation of maritime contexts is a knowing one, but one nonetheless felt to be somehow
evocative."[64]
Keith Fay of the folk metal band Cruachan has also noted the influence of sea shanties on Viking
metal, although disparagingly. In an interview
inte with British magazine Terrorizer
Terrorizer, he said that there
is "no real defined 'Viking music', so all these Nordic bands use 'sea shanty' type tunes to match
their music. A lot of these bands, especially the bigger ones, are called folk metal but they don't
really understand what real folk music is; though I know this is not true for all of them."[78]
Thematic and lyrical focus[edit]
Viking metal makes extensive use of Viking iconography, such as this Mjlnir pendant.
Thematically, Viking metal draws extensively on elements of black metal, but the lyrics and
imagery are pagan and Norse rather than anti-Christian
anti or Satanic.[58] It combines the exaltation of
violence and virility through weapons and battlefields, which is common to many death and black
metal bands, with an interest in ancestral roots, particularly a pre-Christian
pre Christian heritage, which is
expressed through Viking mythology and imagery of northern landscapes.[79] Some bands such as
Sorhin keep the Satanic elements of black metal but musically are influenced by more recent folk
tunes.[80]Visuals such ass album art, band photos, website design, and merchandise all highlight
the dark and violent outlook of Viking metal lyrics and themes.[79] The album m sleeves on works by
Viking metal artists are frequently decorated with Viking Age archeological finds: Thor's
hammers are especially common, but other artifacts such as Oseberg posts and even the Sutton
Hoo helmet have appeared.[79] Some bands incorporate far more ancient, pre-medieval
pre medieval imagery,
such as the Finnish band Moonsorrow's megaliths.[81] Other
Moonsorrow use of prehistoric rock carvings and megaliths
Finnish bands, such as Ensiferum,
Ensiferum Turisas, and Korpiklaani, focus on Sami traditions and
shamanism, further stretching the definition of Viking metal.[82] Not all bands rely on Viking
Viking-related
visuals or other ancestral images to aid their musical character: for instance, the members of Tr
do not wear Viking costumes on stage, and only their folk-influenced music and lyrical themes
distinguish them from other heavy metal bands.[83]
While heavy metal throughout its history has referenced the occult, Viking metal bands use a very
specific mythology, which informs their textual choices, album imagery, and, frequently, musical
compositions.[84] Despite a whole pantheon of Norse gods to choose from, Viking metal bands
typically focus on Odin, the god of war, and on Thor and his hammer, which he wielded against
the Christians.[56] Alcohol, particularly mead, is also a common lyrical focus.[85] Viking metal bands
tend to follow one of two approaches. The first is one of romanticism and escapist ideas, where
bands cultivate an image of strength and barbarism and quote passages from various poems
and sagas.[86] The second approach emphasizes historical accuracy, typically relying on Norse
mythology as the sole focus of lyricism and identity.[86] Many Viking metal bands identify first with
local roots for instance, Moonsorrow with Finland or Einherjer with Norway and perhaps a
northern European identity second.[81]
Many songs are composed in English, but Viking metal bands often write lyrics in other
languages, usually of the North Germanic family Norwegian, Old Norse, Swedish, Danish and,
less commonly, Icelandic and Faroese and also in Finnish, which is non-Germanic.[87] Other
European languages, such as German, Old High German, Latin, Dutch, Sami languages,
or Gaulish are sometimes used.[a] Heavy metal fans around the world sometimes learn languages
such as Norwegian or Finnish in order to understand the lyrics of their favorite bands and improve
their appreciation of the music.[95]
Paganism and opposition to Christianity[edit]
Burial mounds at Gamla Uppsala, the center of religious worship in Sweden until the destruction of its
temple in the late 11th century
The imagery in Viking metal draws from material culture left from Viking Age, but according to
Trafford and Pluskowski it also "encompasses the broad semiotic system favored by many black
and death metal bands, not least of all the exultation of violence and hyper-masculinity expressed
through weapons and battlefields".[79] In Viking metal this semiotic system is melded with an
interest in ancestral roots, specifically a pre-Christian heritage, "expressed visually through Viking
mythology and the aesthetics of northern landscapes".[79] Extreme and obsessive loathing of
Christianity had long been the norm for black and death metal bands, but in the 1990s Bathory
and many other bands began turning away from Satanism as the primary opposition to
Christianity, instead placing their faith in the Vikings and Odin.[96] Many artists claim affiliation to
satr (Germanic neopaganism), treating Christianity as a foreign influence that was forcibly
imposed, and therefore as a wrong to be righted.[96] Some members of the Norwegian black metal
scene were motivated to take violent action against this influence for instance, the church
burnings by black metal musicians Varg Vikernes, Samoth, Faust, and Jrn Inge Tunsberg,
among others.[97] While most bands or individuals did not go that far, an undercurrent of
racism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism continues to permeate parts of the black metal
scene.[98] Many Viking metal artists, however, including bands such as Enslaved and Einherjer,
simply express interest in Vikings and Norse mythology and entirely reject the Satanic inclination
of black metal, writing almost exclusively on Norse themes, without any racist or anti-Semitic
undertones.[99] Whereas black metal during the 1990s took a militant and destructive stance
toward the status quo, Viking metal looked to the past and took a populist, anti-system approach
which eschewed violence.[100] Viking metal is both pre-Christian and post-apocalyptic it looks to
a pre-Christian past and imagines a post-Christian future.[101] While opposition to Christianity
drove the formation of Viking metal, some bands that play, or have played, Viking metal, such
as Slechtvalk, Drottnar, and Holy Blood, subscribe to Christian beliefs.[102]
David Keevill argues that the explicitly anti-Christian attitude of most Viking metal artists is an
anachronistic view of the Viking Age. Keevill explains that "while bands have used [Viking
mythology] as the basis for their musical existence ... the historical reality of the Viking Age (late
8th century to the 11th century) is a chequered backdrop of a multitude of belief systems and
disparate political mechanisms".[103] As an historical example, he cites the raid on Lindisfarne in
793, an event considered the beginning of the Viking Age and celebrated by Enslaved in its song
"793 (Slaget Om Lindisfarne)". He contends that this attack was merely an opportunistic raid, not
a concerted attack on the growing power of Christianity,[103] and that the terms "heathen" and
"pagan" historically did not necessarily mean "anti-Christian", but that the people in question did
not fit under a denominational label.[103] Furthermore, Norse religion and Christianity intermingled
and influenced each other throughout the era, and Christianity was often imposed through
monarchical regimes such as Harald Klak and Harald Bluetooth or conversion movements such
as those initiated by Ansgar. Keevill concludes that, "It's not that bands like Amon Amarth
shouldn't flout their Norse heritage, the bellicose nature of the ancestors or the kind of practices
that would have taken place in far flung tribal societies, it's just that ruling out the presence of an
overbearing Christian influence on the Viking Age is incredibly close-minded."[103]
Relationship to pagan metal[edit]
Viking metal has been considered the progenitor of the pagan metal genre, with
Bathory's Hammerheart as the first pagan metal recording. Weinstein writes that "it is fitting that
pagan metal began with Viking metal, given that the Vikings were Europe's last Pagans,
converted slowly and with reluctance to Christianity".[56] However, there are some key differences,
as Imke von Helden explains: "[Pagan metal] deals mainly with Pagan religions and lies in a
broader context where not only Old Norse mythology is dealt with, but also Celtic
myths and history, fairy tales and other elements of folklore. Traditional instruments like the violin
or flute are used more often in pagan than in Viking metal music."[59] The idea of incorporating and
revering exclusively national or regional myths, stories, and tales first took root in the work of
artists such as Adorned Brood, Falkenbach, Black Messiah, Enslaved or Einherjer, but, as a
musical phenomenon, has grown far beyond Europe into a global trend in which artists express
their affinity with an ethnic heritage.[104] Viking metal, along with pagan and folk metal, forms part
of a trend within cultural heritage movements toward wider acceptance of the heritage of ordinary
and the everyday life, not just nationally significant and the iconic imagery, and also a trend to
explore the outer reaches of heritage, where the definitions of heritage and heritage communities
are stretched and contested.[105]
Masculinity[edit]
Kari Ruesltten, formerly of Storm, and seen here with The Sirens. Women musicians are not common
among Viking metal bands.
The Viking image in popular understanding is that of hyper-masculinity, and thus Viking metal is
inherently patriarchal. While some bands, such as Kivimetsn Druidi, Storm, and Irminsul, have
included female members, and female fans comprise a substantial part of Viking metal's
audience, it is argued that women are subordinated within the VIking metal scene, and are rarely
present in the production of Viking metal music, which can be seen as a form of "nation-building":
while women may participate in the nation building process, it is still controlled by men.[101] Within
Viking metal, themes of war and masculinity predominate.[63]
Some artists, such as Burzum, link manliness with Norse tradition and gender ideals, and thus
see the Viking male as representing traditional masculinity.[106] Most of the Norse references in
black metal are heroic, masculine, and militaristic in theme Mjlnir, Odin, the Iron Cross,
and berserkers and einherjar.[107] Conversely, Jesus, though a male figure, is seen in songs such
as "Jesu dd" by Burzum as cold, dark, and life-extinguishing.[108] Christianity is viewed as
stigmatizing and suppressing the natural "dark" sides of men, and so, from the perspective of
black metal, true masculinity is achieved through exploring the dark sides of man's nature
warfare and killing.[108] Cultural historian Nina Witoszec found that within Norway, images of nature
are often symbolic with cultural affiliation to Norway. Witoszec traces the roots of this ideal
to Tacitus's German-heathen identity narrative which romanticized the Germanic people as
superior through their connection with nature, and whose brutality and belligerence opposed the
apathetic and decadent Roman elite.[109] Within black metal, Norse imagery is used to build a view
of natural and authentic masculinity to counter the oppressive force of the Judeo-Christian
tradition.[110]
History[edit]
Bathory[edit]
Asgrdsreien by Peter Nicolai Arbo was used as the cover for Bathory's Blood Fire Death album,
considered the first example of Viking metal.
The roots of Viking metal are generally found in Scandinavian metal, particularly the death and
black metal scenes of the late 1980s. Inspired by the Viking themes used by Manowar, some
bands identified with the Vikings far more completely than Manowar.[50] At the forefront of this
movement stood the Swedish band Bathory. The band's fourth album Blood Fire Death, released
in 1988, includes two early examples of Viking metal the songs "A Fine Day to Die" and "Blood
Fire Death".[111] The cover to Blood Fire Death even features Asgrdsreien, a painting by
Norwegian artist Peter Nicolai Arbo which depicts the Norse god Odin on a Wild Hunt.[50] Bathory
followed up on this Viking theme in 1990 with the release of Hammerheart, a concept album fully
devoted to Vikings.[50] Like its predecessor, this album features a Viking-themed painting, this
time The Funeral of a Viking by Sir Frank Dicksee.[50] Following up this release were
1991's Twilight of the Gods, titled after Wagner's opera of the same name, and Blood on Ice,
recorded in 19881989 but released in 1996.[50] Hammerheart is considered a landmark that
introduced the metal world to the Viking metal archetype.[112] With this album, Quorthon, the
band's founder, inspired a generation of Nordic teens, and seeded a deep anti-Christian
sentiment which culminated in the violence and hate crimes committed by members of the
Norwegian black metal community in the early 1990s.[112] Quorthon later explained, in the liner
notes to Blood on Ice, that his shift to Viking themes was an intentional move away from
Satanism:
I came to the personal conclusion that this whole Satanic bit was a fake: a hoax created by
another hoax the Christian church, the very institution they were attempting to attack using
Satanic lyrics in the first place. Since I am an avid fan of history, the natural step would be to find
something in history that could replace a thing like the dark side of life. And what could be more
simple and natural than to pick up on the Viking era? Being Swedish and all, having a personal
relation to, and linked by blood to, that era at the same time as it was an internationally infamous
moment in history, I sensed that here I might just have something. Especially well suited was it
since it was an era that reached its peak just before the Christian circus came around northern
Europe and Sweden in the tenth century, establishing itself as the dictatorial way of life and
death. And so that Satan and hell type of soup was changed for proud and strong nordsmen,
shiny blades of broadswords, dragon ships and party-'til-you-puke type of living up there in the
great halls
Bathory's Viking metal features Wagnerian-style epics, ostentatious arrangements, choruses, and
ambient keyboards.[114] Mulvany notes that Bathory's 1990s work marks the beginning of a Viking-
themed trend initially slow, even confusing, in formation.[115] For example, the Austrian black metal
band Abigor incorporated Viking themes and Germanic paganism in "Unleashed Axe-Age", the
first track on its 1994 album Nachthymnen, but said it "should not be seen as a part of the
upcoming Viking trend".[115] According to Mulvany, "The Viking trend presaged by Abigor was
actually taking place around them, and it remains more 'true' to how black metal is often defined
than the folk influenced metal that followed. Its folk elements are predominantly textual or
musically evocative rather than musically-historically accurate."[116]
Enslaved[edit]
Main article: Enslaved (band)
Enslaved, formed in Norway in 1991,[117] has also been cited as the first truly Viking metal
band,[116] with the 1993 EP by the band, Hordanes Land, named as the first true Viking metal
release.[118] A review of Eld (1997) noted that "Among the countless bands who were inspired by
Bathory's seminal Viking metal, arguably none were as true to its gospel as Norway's Enslaved,
whose utmost commitment even extended to donning vintage Norse armor and outfits on-
stage".[66] The band's 1994 debut album Vikingligr Veldi had "many melodies being borrowed from
ethnic Scandinavian folk music to lend additional authenticity to the vicious, fast-paced black
metal".[119] Inspired by Bathory, Enslaved set out to "create Viking metal devoted to retelling
Norway's legends and traditions of old not attacking Christianity by means of its own creation:
Satan."[120] Its second album Frost, also released in 1994, served as "an important release for the
extreme music subgenre of Viking metal".[121] Though the previous recordings by Enslaved all
featured the same thematic material, Frost was the first album that Enslaved described as Viking
metal.[48] This album also defined the band's lyrical approach. Decibel explains that on Frost,
bassist and vocalist Grutle Kjellson "knew it was time to reclaim the gods and goddesses of his
ancestors, especially if it meant his version of things would inevitably clash with the Christianized
fairytales so often associated with Nordic myth."[48]
Burzum[edit]
Besides Bathory, Enslaved, and Burzum, several other artists are credited as pioneers of the
style. The original bassist for Emperor, Hvard Ellefsen, also known as Mortiis, was "an
indispensable force in the genesis of Norway's epic Viking metal sound."[129] Despite Ellefsen's
short tenure in the band, it was his musical interests that catalyzed the band to mix chaotic black
metal with synthesizer melodies based on Norwegian folk music.[129]
Helheim was another major pioneer in the early scene.[130] Helheim emerged on the scene before
other bands such as Einherjer and Thyrfing, when even Enslaved was in its infancy.[131] Not only
was Helheim one of the first bands to meld black metal with Viking themed-music, but one of the
first to include stylistically unconventional instruments such as horns and violins.[131] Robert Mller
of Metal Hammer Germany argues that Viking metal never solidified as a genre, and attributes
this to Jormundgand, Helheim's 1995 debut album.[118] Jormundgand included an ambitious track
"Galder" but that song was considered incompatible with metal, and audiences, looking for a
specific musical style, merged with the pagan metal scene, which had no particular "Viking"
identity.[118]
Other highly influential Viking metal bands are Borknagar,[132] Darkwoods My
Betrothed,[133] Einherjer,[134] Ensiferum,[135] Moonsorrow,[79]Thyrfing,[136] and Windir.[136] Trafford and
Pluskowski regard Einherjer, Moonsorrow, Thyrfing, and Windir as the "most influential" Viking
metal bands, with Einherjer's album covers, which include many images of Viking artifacts, giving
Einherjer the most Viking feel of all bands except Enslaved.[79]Einherjer's artwork spans the full
chronology of Viking art: 8th- and 9th-century Oseberg to 11th- and 12th-century Urnes.[137][c]
Amon Amarth and Unleashed[edit]
Amon Amarth and Unleashed's music could be described as death metal, but it incorporates
Viking lyrical themes and thus the bands are considered to have broadened the scope of Viking
metal. While Norse myths were mostly important for black metal, especially the early 1990s
Norwegian scene, as well as for the younger pagan metal genre, bands as the Swedish
Unleashed started fitting these myths into death metal even before Amon Amarth
appeared.[47] Unleashed set a precedent for many of the coming black metal bands by shying
away from the common death metal theme of gore and instead focusing on pre-Christian
Swedish heathenism, particularly the Viking Age and old Norse religion.[139] Both Amon Amarth
and Unleashed, however, resist the Viking metal label. Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth stated, "It's
weird to label a band after the lyrical content because, in that case, Iron Maiden is a Viking metal
band, Black Sabbath is a Viking metal band, Led Zeppelin is a Viking metal band."[140] Johnny
Hedlund of Unleashed maintains that the band has always played and always will play death
metal, commenting, "The Viking lyrics you will find on about three to five songs on every
Unleashed album from 1991 and on. I don't think that fact alone re-defines our style in some
way."[141]
Spread outside the Nordic countries[edit]
Some members of the Viking metal scene believe that it is impossible for someone to be a Viking
unless they themselves are of northern European descent.[142] According to Trafford and
Pluskowski, the members of practically all Viking metal bands claim Viking ancestry, and after its
inception in Scandinavia, Viking metal spread to areas historically settled by Vikings, including
England, Russia, and Normandy.[143] Viking metal bands have even formed in the United States
and Canada, with their members claiming Viking descent either directly from Scandinavia or
through England.[143] The scene also spread to other parts of Northern Europe in areas united by a
common Germanic heritage, such as Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. For instance, the
Austrian band Valhalla makes extensive use of Viking iconography, including horned
helmets.[143] Another Austrian example is Amestigon, which on the cover of its promotional
album Remembering Ancient Origins depicts a wood carved scene of Sigurd killing Regin, an
image taken from a panel held in Hylestad stave church.[72]
One of the first non-Nordic Viking metal bands was the German project Falkenbach.[144] Formed in
1989 and primarily the work of front-man Vratyas Vakyas, Falkenbach performs a mixture of
black metal and folk music,[145] with lyrics drawing from Western and Northern European
mythologies, religions, and folk traditions.[146] The Dutch bands Heidevolk, Slechtvalk, and Fenris
have also been labeled as Viking metal, though Heidevolk's former vocalist Joris Boghtdrincker
claims that Heidevolk has never tried to "play the Viking card or the Pan-Germanic card", instead
choosing to write about local Dutch history.[147] The Swiss band Eluveitie jokingly calls its music
"the new wave of folk metal", which vocalist Chrigel Glanzmann explains was because the "whole
folk metal thing was still quite new back then, and the scene and the music press was looking for
new labels for that kind of music, so they came up with Forest Metal, Viking Metal, Heathen
Metal, Pagan Metal, blah blah blah, and we just felt like it was really really ridiculous."[148]
Catherine Hoad finds the issue of national and racial identity central to Viking metal. For instance,
she writes that when Trafford and Pluskowski claim that Manowar could not claim religious or
racial identity with the Vikings when the band had a lead singer with the "'less than wholly
Scandinavian name of Joey di Maio', [Trafford and Pluskowski] are approaching a more complex
and racially-charged issue than their offhandedness would suggest."[149] While Viking imagery may
be readily appropriated, according to Hoad the definition of a "true" Viking is quite rigid, a rigidity
which non-Nordic, and especially non-White, musicians must contend with.[149] As an example,
she cites the Brazilian band Viking Throne, which claims legitimacy through European ancestry
and historical references to explorations of South America by Nordic countries,[149] and quotes
their front-man, Count Nidhogg: "Some people understand perfectly that it doesn't matter where
you live, what's really important is your heritage and ancestry. Even living in a South American
country as Brazil we all have European blood."[150] Hoad argues that Viking Throne illustrates the
cultural importance of claiming Viking ancestry, a culture that operates on largely geographic
lines. In contrast to Viking Throne, she cites the band Slechtvalk, which is well known for its brand
of Christian Viking metal, but is rarely criticized as inauthentic by the scene.[151][d] Hoad speculates
that the European ethnicity of the band is enough to compensate for its otherwise counter-
intuitive music.[151]
Influence on pagan metal[edit]
According to Weinstein, "Viking metal has travelled further than any Viking ship. Self-defined
pagan metal bands who describe their music as Viking metal can be found in the United States,
Brazil and Uruguay, among other places."[154] The sensationalism of the early Norwegian black
metal scene might be responsible for some of this popularity, but Weinstein considers the genre's
greatest influence to be "the inspiration it has given to others to explore their own roots".[154] This
impact was particularly strong in the Baltic states, where Viking metal influenced the development
of a distinct pagan metal scene known as "Baltic war metal".[155] The Lithuanian band Obtest,
formed as a black metal band in 1993 with Lithuanian lyrics, birthed the war metal scene with the
1997 album Tkstantmetis.[155] Michael F. Strmiska comments that despite the claim that
Scandinavia was home to the last pagans in Europe, within the scene: "A point of particular pride
is the knowledge that Lithuania was the last country in all of Europe to officially abandon its native
Pagan traditions and convert to Christianity in 1387."[156] Another Baltic band influenced by Viking
metal is the Latvian project Skyforger, which composes its lyrics in the Latvian language.[155] A
third example of the influence of Viking metal on pagan metal is the national socialist black
metal band Graveland from Poland, which on its second album, Thousand Swords, released in
1995, featured a variety of folk styles mixed in with the band's black metal sound, and introduced
lyrics about Polish history and Slavic gods.[155] Viking metal has also influenced the
Russian Rodnoverie movement, particularly the texts of Varg Vikernes, many of which have been
translated into Russian.[157] Though some of his readers within Rodnoverie distance themselves
from the racism and political statements within Vikernes' work, other followers have embraced
racist and National Socialist ideas. [157] Contemporaneous to the rise of Viking metal has been the
emergence of Celtic metal in Ireland, France, and even Germany, a style which sounds
essentially like Viking metal, apart from the addition of harps, but with lyrics celebrating Celtic
gods and myths.[143]
See also[edit]
List of Viking metal bands
Viking rock
Medieval metal
Neo-Medieval music
Norse mythology in popular culture
Neo-medievalism
References[edit]
Further reading[edit]
Aitamurto, Kaarina (2011). "Modern Pagan Warriors: Violence
and Justice in Rodnoverie". In Lewis, James R. Violence and
New Religious Movements. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
pp. 231248. ISBN 978-0-19-973563-1.
Aitamurto, Kaarina (2014). "Russian Rodnoverie: Six Portraits of
a Movement". In Aitamurto, Kaarina; Simpson, Scott. Modern
Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern
Europe. London: Routledge. pp. 146163. ISBN 978-1-317-
54462-3.
Granholm, Kennet (2011). Alles, Gregory D.; Hammer, Olav,
eds. "'Sons of Northern Darkness': Heathen Influences in Black
Metal and Neofolk Music". Numen. Leiden: Brill
Publishers. 58 (4): 514
544. doi:10.1163/156852711X577069. ISSN 1568-
5276. (registration required (help)).
Granholm, Kennet (2012). "Metal and Magic: The Intricate
Relation Between the Metal Band Therion and the Magic
Order Dragon Rouge". In Cusack, Carole; Norman,
Alex. Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production.
Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 553581. ISBN 978-90-04-22187-1.
Haines, John (2013). Music in Films on the Middle Ages:
Authenticity vs. Fantasy. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-
92776-9.
Harding, Stephen E.; Griffiths, David; Royles, Elizabeth, eds.
(2014). In Search of Vikings: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the
Scandinavian Heritage of North-West England. Boca
Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4822-0759-0.
Hecker, Pierre (Autumn 2005). Douwes, Linda Herrera,
ed. "Heavy Metal in a Muslim Context" (PDF). ISIM
Review. Leiden University. 16 (1): 89. ISSN 1388-9788.
Hoad, Catherine (2015). Overell, Rosemary; Wilson, Oli,
eds. "Whiteness With(out) Borders: Translocal narratives of
whiteness in heavy metal scenes in Norway, South Africa and
Australia." (PDF). Medianz: Media Studies Journal of Aotearoa
New Zealand. Open Journal Systems. 15 (1): 17
34. doi:10.11157/medianz-vol15iss1id139. ISSN 2382-218X.
Islander (July 17, 2012). "Viking Metal". No Clean Singing.
Retrieved April 20, 2016. This source includes a discussion of
the "Viking metal" article on the English Wikipedia as the article
stood on July 13, 2012.
Kallioniemi, Kari; Krki, Kimi (2009). Halmari, Helena; Snellman,
Hanna; Kaukonen, Scott; Virtanen, Hilary Joy, eds. "The
Kalevala, Popular Music, and National Culture". Journal of
Finnish Studies. Sam Houston State University. 13 (2): 61
72. ISBN 978-0-615-35688-4 via Academia.edu.
Lundberg, Mats (Director) (September 30, 2008). Black Metal
Satanica (Documentary film). Sweden. ASIN B001CXZ1SA.
Michalewicz, Aleks (2007). "Gods amongst Us/Gods within: The
Black Metal Aesthetic". In Haslem, Wendy; Ndalianis, Angela;
Mackie, C. J. Super/heroes: from Hercules to Superman.
Washington, D. C.: New Academia Publishing. pp. 211
222. ISBN 978-0-9777908-4-5.
Paxson, Diana L. (2006). Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of
Norse Paganism. New York: Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-
2708-6.
Phillips, Williams; Cogan, Brian (2009). Encyclopedia of Heavy
Metal Music. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing
Group. ISBN 978-0-313-34800-6.
Richards, Jeffrey (February 2013). Lay, Paul, ed. "Return of the
Vikings". History Today. Vol. 63 no. 2. ISSN 0018-2753.
Retrieved November 28, 2016.
Sellheim, Nikolas (2016). Stone, Ian R.; Sellheim, Nikolas,
eds. "Black and Viking metal: how two extreme music genres
depict, construct and transfigure the (sub-)Arctic". Polar
Record. Cambridge University Press. 52 (5): 509
517. doi:10.1017/S0032247416000280. ISSN 1475-
3057. (subscription required (help)).
Silva, Daniele Gallindo Gonalves; Albuquerque, Mauricio da
Cunh (2016). da Silva, Leila Rodrigues, ed. "Para uma
Recepo do Medievo: A Temtica Viking No Heavy Metal
(19881990)/For a Reception of the Middle Ages: The Viking
Theme on Heavy Metal (19881990)" (PDF). Revista de Histria
Comparada (in Portuguese). Open Journal Systems. 10 (1):
230261. ISSN 1981-383X.
Spracklan, Karl (2016). "Framing identities and mobilities in
heavy metal music festival events". In Hannam, Kevin;
Mostafanezhad, Mary; Rickly, Jillian. Event Mobilities: Politics,
Place and Performance. Oxon and New York: Routledge.
pp. 4051. ISBN 978-1-317-45047-4.
Strmiska, Michael F. (2012). "Paganism-Inspired Folk Music,
Folk Music-Inspired Paganism and New Cultural Fusions in
Lithuania and Latvia". In Cusack, Carole; Norman,
Alex. Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production.
Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 351398. ISBN 978-90-04-22187-1.
Thomas, Maureen (January 2008). "Digitality and Immaterial
culture: What did Viking Women Think?". International Journal of
Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism. Geneva: Inderscience
Publishers. 1 (23): 177
191. doi:10.1504/IJDCET.2008.021406. ISSN 1753-
5220. (registration required (help)).
Trafford, Simon (February 5, 2016). "'Runar munt u finna': rock
and pop songs in Old Norse" (DOC). Sminaire "Reprsentations
modernes et contemporaines des Nords mdivaux". Lille,
Boulogne-sur-Mer: Alban Gautier. 1e journe : Universit
Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III.
Wallis, Robert J. (March 2010). Deveraux, Paul; Nash, George;
Skeates, Robin, eds. "From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable
History of the Norse Myths". Time and Mind. Oxford: Berg
Publishers. 3 (1): 115
117. doi:10.2752/175169710X12608784601217. ISSN 1751-
6978. (registration required (help)).
Ward, Elizabeth I. (Fall 2001). MacKinnon, Richard; McSween,
Marie, eds. "Viking Pop Culture on Display: The Case of the
Horned Helmets". Material Culture Review. Open Journal
Systems. 54. ISSN 1927-9264.
Wetzel, Richard (2013). The Globalization of Music in History.
London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-62624-1.
Witulski, Maciej (2014). "'Imported' Paganisms in Poland in the
Twenty-First Century: A Sketch of the Developing Landscape".
In Aitamurto, Kaarina; Simpson, Scott. Modern Pagan and
Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe. London:
Routledge. pp. 298314. ISBN 978-1-317-54462-3.
[show]
Heavy metal
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Extreme metal
Categories:
Viking metal
Heavy metal genres
Norse mythology in popular culture
Extreme metal
Music genres with cultural origins in Norway
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