Melodigging logoMelodigging name
folk black metal

Folk Black Metal

Norway · 1990s
EpicDarkIntenseSadSentimental

Your digging level

For this genre
0/8
🏆
Sign in, then listen to this genre to level up

Description

Folk black metal is a fusion style that combines the harsh, fast, and atmospheric characteristics of black metal with folk music elements drawn from regional and traditional sources.

It typically retains black metal’s core traits—tremolo-picked guitar riffs, blast beats, shrieked vocals, and dark or epic atmospheres—while adding folk instrumentation (such as flutes, fiddles, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, or mouth harps), folk-derived melodies, and lyrical themes rooted in mythology, paganism, nature, history, or cultural identity.

The result can range from raw and aggressive music with subtle folk scales to grand, melodic, and “anthemic” material where folk themes dominate the hooks and arrangements.


Sources: Spotify, Wikipedia, Discogs, Rate Your Music, MusicBrainz, and other online sources

History

Roots (Late 1980s–Early 1990s)

Folk black metal grows out of early black metal and its second-wave explosion, especially in Scandinavia, where artists increasingly emphasized atmosphere, nature, and pre-Christian mythology.

Emergence (Mid–Late 1990s)

During the 1990s, bands began integrating clearly identifiable traditional melodies, instruments, and rhythmic gestures into black metal. Some approached it through pagan/heritage themes and modal folk tunes, while others used folk instruments primarily for intros and interludes.

Consolidation and International Spread (2000s)

In the 2000s, the style diversified and spread widely across Europe and beyond. Production values ranged from raw underground releases to polished, symphonic-leaning epics. Regional scenes (Nordic, Slavic, Celtic, and other local traditions) became stronger points of identity.

Modern Directions (2010s–Present)

Contemporary folk black metal often focuses on immersive atmosphere and storytelling, sometimes blending in post-metal or blackgaze-like expansiveness, while other artists pursue historically informed folk instrumentation or more extreme, raw approaches.

How to make a track in this genre

Core Instrumentation
•   Start with a black metal foundation: distorted electric guitars (tremolo picking), electric bass (often following root movement), and a drum kit capable of blast beats and fast double-kick. •   Add folk color thoughtfully: choose instruments that fit a specific tradition (e.g., fiddle, tin whistle, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, nyckelharpa, jaw harp, frame drums) rather than “generic folk.”
Harmony and Melody
•   Use minor keys and modal writing common in folk traditions (Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian) to create an archaic or traditional feel. •   Write memorable folk-derived lead melodies, then harmonize them with black metal riff textures (tremolo lines, open-string drones, and pedal tones). •   Layer guitars: one guitar can carry a tremolo riff while another doubles or answers with a folk-style melody.
Rhythm and Groove
•   Alternate intensity: blast beat passages for aggression, then switch to mid-tempo “march” or “dance-like” folk pulses (e.g., 6/8 or swinging 3/4 feels) for an epic, processional character. •   Consider using folk percussion (frame drum, bodhrán-style patterns) in quieter sections or as an underlayer to reinforce regional rhythm signatures.
Song Structure
•   A common approach is: atmospheric intro (folk instrument) → fast black metal verse → melodic/folk-driven chorus → instrumental interlude → climactic reprise. •   Keep transitions musical: bridge sections can modulate by shifting mode (e.g., Aeolian to Dorian) or by changing rhythmic feel (straight blast to a riding mid-tempo pulse).
Vocals and Lyrics
•   Vocals are usually harsh shrieks or rasps; clean chants or choral lines can emphasize ritualistic or communal themes. •   Lyrics often reference landscape, seasons, folklore, pagan mythology, historical memory, or cultural identity. Write in a narrative or poetic voice with vivid natural imagery.
Production and Atmosphere
•   Decide on an aesthetic: raw and distant (lo-fi) for authenticity and menace, or broader and clearer for epic grandeur. •   Use reverb and layered ambience to create “outdoor” space, but avoid washing out the folk instruments; they should remain intelligible as thematic material.
Performance Notes
•   If using acoustic folk instruments live, ensure monitoring and microphones are robust; otherwise consider high-quality sampled layers triggered reliably. •   Arrange parts so folk instruments carry thematic identity while guitars and drums provide momentum and intensity.

Best playlists

The Sound of Folk Black Metal
The Sound of Folk Black Metal
Every Noise at Once
Folk Black Metal
Folk Black Metal
Chosic
Folk Black Metal Mix
Folk Black Metal Mix
Spotify
Best user-generated playlists
Best user-generated playlists

Main artists

Related labels

Pest Productions
Pest Productions
Northern Silence Productions
Northern Silence Productions
Eisenwald
Eisenwald
Bindrune Recordings
Bindrune Recordings
Naturmacht Productions
Naturmacht Productions

Top tracks

Locked
Share your favorite track to unlock other users’ top tracks
Influenced by
Black Metal
Black metal is a form of extreme metal defined by fast tempos, tremolo‑picked guitar lines, blast‑beat drumming, shrieked or rasped vocals, and a deliberately raw, icy production aesthetic. Harmonically, it favors minor and modal collections (especially Aeolian and Phrygian), open-string drones, parallel fifths and fourths, tritones, and sparse or suspended chord voicings over blues-derived harmony. Arrangements often employ layered guitars, long-form song structures, and enveloping reverb to create a bleak, otherworldly atmosphere. The genre’s visual and thematic language is equally distinctive: corpse paint, monochrome artwork, and lyrics exploring anti-dogma, nature, pagan myth, cosmic nihilism, and misanthropy. While some scenes have been associated with controversy and extremism, the musical identity centers on sound, atmosphere, and aesthetics rather than any single ideology.
Folk
Folk is a song-centered acoustic tradition rooted in community storytelling, everyday life, and social history. It emphasizes clear melodies, simple harmonies, and lyrics that foreground narrative, protest, and personal testimony. As a modern recorded genre, folk coalesced in the early-to-mid 20th century in the United States out of older ballad, work song, and rural dance traditions. It typically features acoustic instruments (guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica), strophic song forms, and participatory singing (choruses, call-and-response).
Folk Metal
Folk metal blends the power and riff-driven intensity of heavy metal with melodies, instruments, scales, and storytelling traditions from regional folk music. Typical arrangements combine distorted guitars, bass, and drums with fiddles, flutes, whistles, bagpipes, accordions, hurdy-gurdies, bouzoukis, and other traditional instruments. Bands often draw on myth, history, and local folklore for lyrical themes, ranging from epic sagas and battle hymns to drinking songs and pastoral ballads. The style spans a spectrum from aggressive and blackened approaches to upbeat, danceable, and festive moods, making it one of metal’s most diverse and regionally distinctive subgenres.
Pagan Folk
Pagan folk is a contemporary folk style that draws on pre‑Christian European traditions, mythologies, and seasonal rites. It emphasizes acoustic, hand‑crafted instruments, trance‑like percussion, and communal chanting to evoke a ritual, nature‑centric atmosphere. Musically it is modal (often Aeolian, Dorian, and pentatonic), drone‑friendly, and rhythmically driven by frame drums, stomps, and simple ostinatos. Timbres from hurdy‑gurdy, lyres, tagelharpa, nyckelharpa, flutes, and bagpipes are common, with layered vocals ranging from intimate laments to massed, call‑and‑response chants. Aesthetically it sits between neo‑medieval revivalism, dark/ritual folk, and world/ethereal traditions, but unlike folk metal it avoids heavy guitars and drum kits, favoring earthy, organic production and a strong sense of ceremony.
Viking Metal
Viking metal is a Scandinavian-born metal style that fuses the harsh timbres and riffing of black and heavy metal with epic, saga-like songwriting and Norse mythological themes. Compared to second‑wave black metal, it tends toward slower to mid‑tempo pacing, chanted or heroic clean vocals alongside growls, and grand, choir‑like arrangements. Folk instruments (fiddle, flute, nyckelharpa, tagelharpa, etc.) and modal melodies drawn from Nordic folk idioms are common, creating a windswept, seafaring atmosphere. Lyrically it focuses on pre‑Christian history, sagas, battle, nature, and pagan spirituality, favoring narrative storytelling and anthemic refrains over blasphemous or satanic topics typical of early black metal.
Has influenced
Nordic Folk Metal
Nordic folk metal is a style of heavy metal that fuses metal riffing and song structures with Nordic traditional/folk musical elements. It commonly blends distorted guitars, bass, and punchy drums with folk melodies, dance rhythms, and timbres associated with Scandinavia (such as fiddles, flutes, and sometimes nyckelharpa or tagelharpa-like bowed lyres). Lyrically and aesthetically, it often draws on Norse mythology, pre-Christian history, nature imagery, seasonal rituals, and regional folklore, while musically ranging from upbeat, dance-like energy to grand, epic atmosphere. Compared with broader folk metal, the “Nordic” emphasis usually means Scandinavian melodic language, rhythms reminiscent of regional dances, and themes rooted in Norse/Scandinavian cultural memory rather than pan-European folk references.
Challenges
Digger Battle
Let's see who can find the best track in this genre
© 2026 Melodigging
Legal
Melodding was created as a tribute to Every Noise at Once, which inspired us to help curious minds keep digging into music's ever-evolving genres.
Buy me a coffee for Melodigging