Folk Metal

Gather around, metalheads! This week we are going to be discussing folk metal, which is a subgenre that I personally adore. Some of the best metal concerts that I have ever been to involved folk metal bands. So, without further ado, let’s discuss the specific characteristics of folk metal!

Folk metal is essentially the combination of traditional folk music with heavy metal music. The subgenre of heavy metal that traditional folk music is combined with varies by band. Folk metal is therefore a very diverse subgenre. The style, tone and instrumentation of each folk metal band usually depend on its specific ethnic background. For example, if a band is from Ireland, it may include some influences from Celtic folk music. Similarly, if a folk metal band comes from the Middle East, then it is bound to have some Middle Eastern folksy themes within its music.  

The atmosphere of folk metal acts varies greatly. Many traditional folk metal bands have a cheerful and festive atmosphere to their music, encouraging a combination of joyous dancing, cheering and headbanging. Some bands prefer to utilize black metal and ambient influences, which usually brings down the mood of the music, making it darker and more depressing. Unless bands are fusing folk metal with another subgenre, the mood is bound to be merry and high spirited. 

Instrumentally, folk metal bands utilize the usual instruments found in heavy metal alongside a plethora of instruments that aren’t usually associated with metal. Many bands have been known to play instruments that are native to their specific country. Flutes, violins and cellos are also fairly common to find in folk metal groups. Keyboards are also an essential part of folk metal music, with many bands using them to simulate the sounds of other instruments. 

The vocals of folk metal are limitless from the standpoint that vocalists are free to use whatever style of vocals that they want. Extreme vocals are just as common within folk metal as clean, soaring vocals. Usually, folk metal bands will choose to use multiple vocal styles, with some bands even containing more than one singer. The lyrics of folk metal cover a range of topics including paganism, nature, fantasy, mythology and history.

The first folk metal band was a British group called Skyclad. The group started as a thrash metal band with a fiddle player, however by the time their second album was released in the early 1990s, they had transformed into a more traditional folk metal group. Folk metal wasn’t a subgenre that gained rapid popularity. Beyond Skyclad, only a few bands, such as Amorphis and Moonspell, played around with the subgenre during the early 1990s. 

Around the mid-1990s, folk metal began to stir up a slightly stronger underground following. Irish bands such as Cruachan and Primordial began to pioneer a Celtic style of folk metal. Meanwhile, the German band Subway to Sally started to pioneer medieval folk metal, and the Israeli band Orphaned Land began to pioneer folk metal with Middle Eastern influences. Folk metal was catching on, but during the 1990s, not many of these bands received much success.

In the early 2000s, folk metal exploded in Europe. Finland spawned most of the subgenre’s most popular acts such as Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Wintersun and Turisas. Scandinavian countries also gave birth to other major acts such as Windir, Kampfar, Vintersong, Tyr and Trollfest.  Other popular European folk metal acts include Eluveitie, Arkona and Skyforger. 

The aforementioned European folk metal acts really are the heart of the subgenre today, and can be credited with giving birth to the first widespread folk metal scene. Today, many of these acts frequently visit the United States and travel around the world, sharing their music with whoever is willing to embrace the cultures of these foreign metal bands. 

Grindcore

WARNING: Before proceeding to read this blog post, beware that this week we will be talking about one of the most extreme subgenres of heavy metal. If your mind can’t wrap itself around the idea of music metaphorically ripping off your limbs or stabbing your eyes out, please don’t read this entry and continue on with your weak and pathetic life. However, if you are daring enough to keep reading, then prepare to become absorbed in my discussion of one of the most brutal subgenres around: grindcore! 

Grindcore is essentially a complex mixture of death metal, industrial metal, noise rock and hardcore punk. Musically speaking, guitars are usually down-tuned and heavily distorted. Basses are down-tuned as well. The drumming of grindcore frequently involves blast beats and is very rapid. Grindcore in general makes use of fast tempos in order to emphasize its aggressive nature. 

The vocals of grindcore almost always consist of deep, incomprehensible growling (which in many cases sounds more like barking), as well as intense shrieking. Vocals in grindcore are often used more as a sound effect than they are to carry a melody or rhythm. Lyrically, grindcore is often politically motivated, but sometimes the subgenre meddles with gory themes. There are a few grindcore acts that also have more comedic lyrics, along the lines of black humor and satire.

Grindcore is notable for having short song lengths. The specific term to describe these songs is “microsong.” Many grindcore albums will have a large amount of tracks because each microsong is so short. 

The origins of grindcore music can be traced back to the UK with the group Napalm Death. Initially, the group was associated with the crust punk music scene, but when blips of thrash metal and industrial metal started to appear in its music, the band adapted to the new style and began to call it grindcore. Upon pioneering this style of music, Napalm Death received universal critical acclaim. With its invention of the subgenre, Napalm Death has influenced a countless number of metal acts, and the band still contains a strong, passionate and devoted underground following today.

Last week we talked about the British band Carcass, who helped to pioneer melodic death metal with the album Heartwork. Before Heartwork was released Carcass was a significant grindcore act. The band's 1988 debut album, Reek of Putrefaction, was an aggressive grindcore record. With each later release, Carcass began to incorporate more elements of death metal until the band finally made the switch to melodic death metal with Heartwork. 

Outside of the UK, other metal groups started to play grindcore, too. In the United States, bands such as Anal Cunt, Brutal Truth and Pig Destroyer rose to prominence in the 1990s. Meanwhile, grindcore also started to spread through the rest of Europe, with the most successful of these acts being Sweden’s Nasum. Overall, the most popular grindcore bands are definitely British groups.

Today, grindcore is still a very popular underground genre, though not as many new grindcore acts have been sprouting up and achieving prominence in the last decade. Still, groups such as Napalm Death and Carcass continue to have devoted followings and grindcore is alive and well today. 

Melodic Death Metal

Hello, metalheads! During the past few weeks we have been talking about mainstream heavy metal subgenres. This week, we are going to dig back into underground heavy metal territory and talk about a variation of death metal known as melodic death metal. There are plenty of variations of death metal, but melodic death metal is more fleshed out and distinguished than most other types of death metal. 

Musically speaking, melodic death metal has the melodic qualities of bands that were a part of the NWOBHM, but the aggression of traditional death metal acts. The harmonic guitar lines and fast riffing of melodic death metal came specifically from the NWOBHM. Death metal influences are apparent through the intense drumming and heavily distorted guitars that are signature qualities of melodic death metal. The vocals of melodic death metal consist of death growls, clean vocals and harsh screaming. Some bands have been known to mix all of these styles together, but most melodic death metal groups only choose one or two of these vocal styles to incorporate into their music.  

Melodic death metal was pioneered in England and Scandinavia during the 1990s. The most notable band in this genre to come from England was, without a doubt, Carcass. Carcass started off as a grindcore group, but its legendary 1993 album Heartwork saw the group musically evolve into a melodic death metal band. Carcass only released one more album after Heartwork before breaking up. One of Carcass’s guitarists, Michael Amott, formed the band Arch Enemy after Carcass’s demise and has continued to evolve Carcass’s melodic death metal style through Arch Enemy’s records. 

In Scandinavia, the most famous melodic death metal bands came from Gothenburg, Sweden. Gothenburg was the area of the world where melodic death metal really thrived and gained popularity. At the Gates’ Slaughter of the Soul, In Flames’ The Jester Race and Dark Tranquillity’s The Gallery were the three most important albums associated with this scene, and are the foundation from which Scandinavian melodic death metal developed.

In Flames is arguably the most successful melodic death metal band to come from Gothenburg. The group changed its style in the early 2000s to incorporate strong alternative metal influences, and has reached an international mainstream audience. Many longtime fans have accused the band of selling out  due to this stylistic change. 

At the Gates broke up after the release of Slaughter of the Soul. Since then, the group’s members have gone on to perform with other metal groups, most notably The Haunted, Nightrage, Cradle of Filth and Paradise Lost. At the Gates recently reformed and has been playing reunion shows for the past couple of years.

Dark Tranquillity continued its underground success after The Gallery was released and is still around today. Dark Tranquillity has always been considered the least popular of the three major Gothenburg bands. However, the group has a very loyal fanbase that keeps it going. Stylistically, Dark Traunqillity’s music has changed, but this change is viewed by melodic death metal fans as more of an evolution, unlike In Flames’ recent musical endeavors.  

Today, melodic death metal has become more internationally practiced and the US now has a thriving melodic death metal scene. Nevertheless, the most iconic melodic death metal bands are still the ones who pioneered the subgenre. 

Glam Metal

Now that we’ve talked about current heavy metal trends for the past few weeks, it’s time to take a step way back in time to talk about what very well might have been the most commercial form of heavy metal to ever exist. It’s time to discuss glam metal.

The most distinctive aspect of the glam metal subgenre is the image associated with it. Glam metal musicians usually have long, backcombed hair and very tight clothing. Denim and leather clothing are commonly worn, along with spandex and occasionally headbands. Makeup is common for male musicians in the glam metal scene, and they are rarely found without it. A picture of the glam metal band Mötley Crüe can be found below wearing stereotypical glam metal clothing. 

Musically speaking, glam metal is a hybrid of hard rock and heavy metal that also contains many punk and pop rock sensibilities. Glam metal is reliant on catchy guitar riffs and most songs usually contain a shredding guitar solo. Power ballads are also not uncommon in glam metal, with many of the subgenre's most successful songs being categorized as such. The lyrics of glam metal usually focus on love and sex, though other topics may be explored as well.

Glam metal’s origins can be traced back to bands of the 1970s such as Aerosmith, Kiss, Alice Cooper and The New York Dolls. It wasn’t until the 1980s when glam metal started to really take shape. Def Leppard’s High ‘n Dry, released in 1981, was arguably the first glam metal record. The band's follow-up album, Pyromania, gave this new style mainstream exposure, allowing a new wave of bands to take influence from them.

Major glam metal bands that formed following Def Leppard’s success were Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P. and Ratt. Quiet Riot’s debut album, Metal Health, was the first metal record to reach number one on the Billboard music charts, and was proof that the subgenre was clearly reaching fans of mainstream rock. 

Of course, out of all of these bands in the first wave of glam metal, Mötley Crüe became the most successful. Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, Girls, Girls, Girls and Dr. Feelgood would all become phenomenally successful records and establish them as a major rock act. 

In the mid-1980s, more glam metal bands began to form, establishing a second wave of the scene. Poison, Cinderella and Stryper were among this second wave, with Poison receiving the most success. Poison is particularly well-known for its first three albums, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Open Up and Say…Ahh! and Flesh & Blood.

In the late 1980s, glam metal took another huge step forward, gaining even more mainstream attention with Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. Up until this point, glam metal appealed primarily to men, but Slippery When Wet was the first glam metal record to appeal to women, too. Slippery When Wet has sold over 28 million copies worldwide, and is without a doubt the most successful glam metal record of all time.

When the 1990s came around, glam metal experienced a sharp decline. Grunge took the mainstream spot of glam metal, and many famous glam metal acts either broke up or released a series of lackluster and unoriginal records. 

Since then, glam metal has seen a resurgence in the 2000s. Older bands such as Mötley Crüe, Poison and Bon Jovi have seen renewed popularity. Meanwhile, new glam metal acts have formed such as Black Veil Brides, The Darkness and Buckcherry. All of these new groups have brought new life to the subgenre, but glam metal will never be nearly as popular as it was in the 1980s.