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Viking metal

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Viking metal
Stylistic originsBlack metal, death metal, Nordic folk music, heavy metal
Cultural originsLate 1980s, Scandinavia
Typical instrumentsElectric guitar - Bass guitar - Drums - Keyboards and/or Nordic folk instruments
Other topics
Bands - Norse mythology - Norse paganism - Folk metal

Viking metal is a subgenre of black metal characterized by its chaotic and noisy sound, slow pace, use of keyboards, dark and violent imagery, and lyrical themes of Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. It was developed in the 1980s through the mid-1990s as a rejection of Satanism and the occult, and instead embracing the Vikings and paganism as the leaders of opposition to Christianity. Influenced by Nordic folk music, it is considered a category of folk metal, but it is a separate branch of that style, as there are notable differences between Viking metal and folk metal. Another characteristic of the style is that nearly all bands claim to have Viking ancestry.

Characteristics

Viking metal is "noisy, chaotic, and often augmented by sorrowful keyboard melodies."[1] Described by writer Johannes Jonsson as "slow black metal with influences from Nordic folk music",[2] it has been considered a category of folk metal.[3] Like folk metal bands, Viking metal acts "generally utilize some acoustic and other unusual instruments in addition to the traditional metal instruments",[4] but, unlike folk metal, Viking metal "typically avoids non-standard instruments".[5] Vocal techniques often incorporate clean singing in addition to the typical black metal screams and growls.[6]

Thematically, Viking metal draws extensively on elements of black metal, but uses pagan and Norse lyrics and imagery instead of those of an anti-Christian or Satanic nature.[6] Viking metal combines the symbolism common in black and death metal, especially the exultation of violence and virility through weapons and battlefields, with a common interest in ancestral roots, especially a pre-Christian heritage, expressed through Viking mythology and imagery of northern landscapes.[7] However, some bands such as Sorhin keep the Satanic elements of black metal but are influenced musically by more recent folk tunes.[8] Visual media such as album art, band photos, Web site design, and merchandise all highlight the dark and violent outlook of Viking metal lyrics and themes.[7] In his thesis paper "Reawakening Pride Once Lost": Indigeneity and European Folk Metal, Aaron Patrick Mulvany says that while much of the thematic history of heavy metal uses parodies of the occult in an incongruous fashion, Viking metal bands use "a very specific mythology which controls not only textual choices, but also the imagery used on albums and frequently the kind of music composed."[9]

Paganism and opposition to Christianity

According to author David W. Marshall, extreme and obsessive loathing of Christianity had long been the norm of black and death metal bands, but in the 1990s Bathory and many other bands began turning away from Satan as the primary opposition to Christianity, instead placing their faith in Vikings and Odin.[10] Many claim affiliation to Ásatrú, except that the version of that religion as promoted by black metal adherents is seen as militant and fiercely patriotic or racist,[10] treating Christianity as a foreign influence that was forcibly imposed, and therefore is a wrong to be righted. Marshall states that some members of the scene have been motivated to act, citing the church burnings by Varg Vikernes as an example.[10] He admits that while most bands or individuals have not gone that far, there is an undercurrent of racism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism that continues to permeate parts of the black metal scene.[11] However, there are a number of bands, such as Enslaved and Einherjer, who are simply interested in Vikings and Norse mythology, and who entirely reject Satanism and write almost exclusively on Norse themes.[11]

Aaron Patrick Mulvany has stated 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."[12] Mulvany elaborated to say that "[a]lthough 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."[13] According to Mulvany, Viking metal draws heavily on sea shanties and media images of pirates and Vikings, and can be split into two types. The first type "is largely stepwise in motion with many repeated note figures," is frequently in minor key, and is "primarily sung in unison."[13] 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."[13] Mulvany explains that the heavy sea shanty influence is a result of media stereotyping in which certain aural associations are equated with "images of sailors, sea-borne marauders, and Vikings",[14] and that "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 - by association - to Vikings."[14]

History

Though the 1983 song "Stronger Than Evil" by Swedish band Heavy Load establishes a case for this band as the first Viking metal group,[15] the roots of Viking metal are generally cited to be later in the Scandinavian metal scene, particularly the death and black metal scenes of the late 1980s. Inspired by the Viking themes used by the American band Manowar, some bands identified with the Vikings with far more totality than Manowar.[16] Pioneering this field were the Swedish band Bathory. Their first album Bathory was released in 1984 and is "regarded by many as the first black metal record."[17] The band's fourth album Blood Fire Death was released in 1988 and includes two early examples of Viking metal – the songs "A Fine Day to Die" and "Blood Fire Death". Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic describes this as "possibly the first true example" of Viking metal.[18] It was followed in 1990 with the release of Hammerheart, a concept album fully devoted to Vikings.[16] It is considered a landmark album that "formally introduced" to the metal world the "archetypical Viking metal album."[19] By then the band had completely departed from "the Satanic mould" and was "squarely in Viking mythology."[20] Bathory founder Quorthon has said that this move was intentional, stating:

... 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?

— Quorthon, Liner notes of Blood on Ice[21]

The Viking metal music of Bathory was characterised by Wagnerian "lengthy epics, ostentatious arrangements, chorused vocals, and ambient keyboards."[22] Mulvany notes that the 90's releases by Bathory were the beginnings of a Viking-themed trend that initially was slow in forming, and even confusing.[23] For example, the black metal band Abigor incorporated Viking themes on their album Nachthymnen, but stated about the first track on the album that "this vision should not be seen as a part of the upcoming Viking trend."[23] 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."[24]

The year 1991 saw the formation of the Norwegian group Enslaved,[25] who Mulvany states was "probably the first truly 'Viking' metal band".[24] Their debut album Vikingligr Veldi arrived in 1994 with "many melodies being borrowed from ethnic Scandinavian folk music to lend additional authenticity to the vicious, fast-paced black metal."[26] Inspired by Bathory,[27] 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."[26] Their second album Frost, also from 1994, was "an important release for the extreme music subgenre of Viking metal."[28] With "Viking themes, razor sharp guitars, blastbeat drums, and an ear for orchestration resulting in complex structures, bountiful harmonies and time changes,"[27] Enslaved has since been acclaimed as "probably the foremost exponents" of the genre.[29]

Besides Bathory and Enslaved, several other bands are credited as pioneers of the style. Mortiis, originally a one-man project by the former Emperor bassist Håvard Ellefsen, has been called "an indispensable force in the genesis of Norway's epic Viking metal sound."[30] Ideologically, the one-man project Burzum by Varg Vikernes helped inspire the Viking metal scene through Vikernes' strong racist, nationalistic, and anti-Judeo-Christian beliefs and longing to return to paganism.[31] Other highly influential Viking metal bands are Einherjer,[7][32] Moonsorrow,[7] Thyrfing,[7] Windir,[7] and Darkwoods My Betrothed.[33]

Non-Scandinavian scenes

Practically all Viking metal bands claim that they are descendants of Vikings, and the Viking metal scene has spread from Scandinavia to areas that historically were settled by Vikings, including England, Russia, and Normandy.[34] The scene has also spread to other parts of Northern Europe in areas that are united by a common Germanic heritage, such as Austria. There are even Viking metal bands in the United States and Canada who claim Viking descent either directly from Scandinavia or through England.[34]

One of the first non-Scandinavian Viking Metal bands is the German project Falkenbach, which exist since 1989. [35]

See also

References

  • Freeborn, Robert (2010). "A Selective Discography Of Scandinavian Heavy Metal Music" (PDF). Sound Recording Reviews. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Marshall, David W. (2007). Mass Market Medieval: Essays on the Middle Ages in Popular Culture. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2922-6.
  • Mulvany, Aaron Patrick (2000). ""Reawakening Pride Once Lost": Indigeneity and European Folk Metal". Wesleyan University. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Notes

  1. ^ "Scandinavian Metal". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  2. ^ Jonsson, Johannes (13 November 2011). "VARDOGER - Whitefrozen". Metal for Jesus!. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  3. ^ Mulvany, pg.46.
  4. ^ Bowar, Chad. "Folk Metal Artists". About.com. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  5. ^ Mulvany, pg.47.
  6. ^ a b Freeborn, pg.843
  7. ^ a b c d e f Marshall, pg.65.
  8. ^ Mulvany, pg.42.
  9. ^ Mulvany, pg.42-43.
  10. ^ a b c Marshall, pg.63.
  11. ^ a b Marshall, pg.64.
  12. ^ Mulvany, pg.iv.
  13. ^ a b c Mulvany, pg.36.
  14. ^ a b Mulvany, pg.39.
  15. ^ Eduardo, Rivadavia. "Stronger Than Evil". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  16. ^ a b Marshall, pg.62.
  17. ^ Ferrier, Rob. "Bathory review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  18. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Blood Fire Death review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  19. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Hammerheart review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  20. ^ Sharpe-Young, Garry. "Bathory". MusicMight. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  21. ^ Mulvany, pg.30.
  22. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Requiem review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  23. ^ a b Mulvany, pg.32.
  24. ^ a b Mulvany, pg. 33.
  25. ^ Huey, Steve. "Enslaved". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  26. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Vikingligr Veldi". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  27. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Eld review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  28. ^ Jeffries, Vincent. "Frost review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  29. ^ Sharpe-Young, Garry. "Enslaved". MusicMight. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  30. ^ Huey, Steve. "Mortiis". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  31. ^ Huey, Steve. "Burzum". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  32. ^ DaRonco, Mike. "Einherjer". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  33. ^ Harris, Craig. "Darkwoods My Betrothed". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  34. ^ a b Marshall, pg.70.
  35. ^ Frank Stöver: FALKENBACH. In: Voices from the Darkside, Nr. 10, 1997, S. 48f.
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