The difference, by ear
Pagan black metal shares the subject matter and keeps black metal's production and shriek. Folk metal is comparatively cheerful and comparatively clean.
Pagan / Viking black metal is growled or screamed where folk metal is part sung, part screamed, at much the same pace, around 120 to 190 bpm. Songs run longer in Pagan / Viking black metal: usually 6 to 12 minutes, against 4 to 7 minutes in folk metal. To hear the difference, play Skyclad next to Bathory. They share a root in heavy metal, and Pagan / Viking black metal came first, by three years.
In figures
Folk metal
Where it sits
In short
Traditional instruments and folk melodies built into metal. Every region has written its own version.
How it sounds
- Real traditional instruments - fiddle, pipes, flute, accordion - not just synthesizer patches.
- Modal melodies from local folk music used as the main riff.
- Folk dance rhythms adapted to a metal drum kit.
Key acts
- Skyclad
- Korpiklaani
- Eluveitie
- Finntroll
Start here
The pickFinntroll - Nattfödd. Black metal at Finnish polka tempo, and it works.
Full page →Pagan / Viking black metal
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Black metal › Pagan / Viking black metal
In short
Black metal with Norse mythology and folk melodies. Bathory's later albums are the starting point.
How it sounds
- Modal melodies drawn from Nordic folk music, played on distorted guitars.
- Male choirs and marching drum patterns.
- Epic structures with long songs and dynamics running from silence to storm.
Key acts
- Bathory
- Enslaved
- Windir
Start here
The pickBathory - Hammerheart. Quorthon played nearly all of it himself.
Full page →