List of Viking metal bands

Enslaved performing live at Roadburn Festival, April 2015

This is a list of Viking metal bands. Viking metal is a style of heavy metal music with origins in black metal and Nordic folk 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 genre, but it is typically manifested as black metal with influences from Nordic folk music. Common traits include a slow-paced and heavy riffing style, anthemic choruses, use of both clean and harsh vocals, a reliance on folk instrumentation, and often the use of keyboards for atmospheric effect.

Viking metal emerged during the late-1980s through the mid-1990s as a rejection of Satanism and the occult, instead embracing the Vikings and paganism as the leaders of opposition to Christianity. 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.

Though artists such as Led Zeppelin, Yngwie Malmsteen, Heavy Load, and Manowar have 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 through mid-1990s. Through the work of artists such as the German project Falkenbach, Viking metal soon spread 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.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Band Formed Origin Notes
Adorned Brood 1993 Germany [1]
Ingeborg Anna Baumgärtel of Adorned Brood, 2007
Amon Amarth 1992 Sweden [2][3][4]
Ted Lundström of Amon Amarth
Ancient Rites 1988 Belgium [5]
Ásmegin 1998 Norway [6][7]
Barbariön 2007 Australia [8]
Barbariön, 2010
Bathory 1983 Sweden [9]
Black Messiah 1992 Germany [1]
Black Messiah, 2016
Borknagar 1995 Norway [10][11]
Brothers of Metal 2012 Sweden
A photo of seven people on a stage, all dressed as Vikings, holding instruments like microphones and guitars, with drums in the back. There is a poster of their album Emblas Saga in the background.
Brothers of Metal, 2022
Burzum 1988 Norway [12]
Varg Vikernes of Burzum
Claim the Throne 2004 Australia [13]
Claim the Throne
Darkwoods My Betrothed 1992 Finland [14]
Destroy Destroy Destroy 2003 United States [15]
Doomsword 1997 Italy [16]
Drottnar 1996 Norway [17][18]
Sven-Erik Lind of Drottnar
Einherjer 1993 Norway [3]
Einherjer
Elexorien 2004 Netherlands [19]
Eluveitie 2002 Switzerland [20]
Eluveitie, 2012
Emperor 1991 Norway [21]
Ensiferum 1995 Finland [22]
Ensiferum, 2016
Enslaved 1991 Norway [3][23]
Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved
Equilibrium 2001 Germany [24]
Jen Majura of Equilibrium
Falkenbach 1989 Germany [25]
Fejd 2001 Sweden [26]
Fejd, 2013
Finntroll 1997 Finland
Finntroll
Finntroll Rockharz 2016
Finsterforst 2004 Germany [27]
Finsterforst
Folkearth 2003 International [28]
Folkodia 2007 International [29]
Forefather 1997 England [30]
Glittertind 2001 Norway [31]
Torbjørn Sandvik of Glittertind
Grand Magus 1996 Sweden [32]
Janne Christoffersson of Grand Magus
Heidevolk 2002 Netherlands [33]
Heidevolk
Heilung 2014 Germany, Denmark, Norway [34]
Heilung
Hel 1999 Sweden [35]
Helheim 1992 Norway [36]
Helheim
Holy Blood 1999 Ukraine [37]
Isengard 1989 Norway [38]
Fenriz of Isengard, seen here in 2007
Ithilien 2005 Belgium [39]
Ithilien in 2016
Kampfar 1994 Norway [40]
Kampfar
King of Asgard 2008 Sweden [41]
Kivimetsän Druidi 2002 Finland [42]
Korpiklaani 2003 Finland [40]
Tuomas Rounakari of Korpiklaani
Leaves' Eyes 2003 Germany
Norway 		[43]
Liv Kristine of Leaves' Eyes
Månegarm 1995 Sweden [44]
Månegarm
Metsatöll 1999 Estonia [45]
Lauri Õunapuu of Metsatöll
Mithotyn 1993 Sweden [46]
Myrkgrav 2003 Norway [47]
Lars Jensen of Myrkgrav
Moonsorrow 1995 Finland [48][49]
Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow
Obscurity 1997 Germany [50]
Agalaz of Obscurity
Primordial 1987 Ireland [51]
Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill of Primordial
Satyricon 1991 Norway [38]
Sigurd Wongraven "Satyr" of Satyricon, 2008
Skálmöld 2009 Iceland [52]
Björgvin Sigurðsson of Skálmöld
Skeletonwitch 2003 United States [53]
Scott Hendrick of Skeletonwitch
Slechtvalk 1999 Netherlands [37][54]
Slechtvalk
Solefald 1995 Norway [55]
Storm 1994 Norway [56]
Kari Rueslåtten of Storm, seen here with The Sirens, 2015
Svartsot 2005 Denmark [57]
Svartsot
The Sword 2003 United States [58]
J. D. Cronise of The Sword
Thyrfing 1995 Sweden [59][60][61]
Thyrfing
Trollech 1999 Czech Republic [62]
Turisas 1997 Finland [63]
Warlord Nygård of Turisas
Týr 1998 Faroe Islands [64][65]
Heri Joensen of Týr
Ulver 1993 Norway [38]
Kristoffer Rygg of Ulver, 2007
Unleashed 1989 Sweden [2][3][66]
Johnny Hedlund of Unleashed
Vardøger 1994 Norway [67]
Vintersorg 1994 Sweden [68]
Windir 1994 Norway [69]
Wintersun 2003 Finland [70]
Wintersun
Wolfchant 2003 Germany [71]
Gvern of Wolfchant

See also

References

  • Freeborn, Robert (June 2010). Anderson, Rick (ed.). "A Selective Discography of Scandinavian Heavy Metal Music". Sound Recording Reviews. 66 (4): 840–850.
  • Hoad, Catherine (2013). Wilson, Oli; Attfield, Sarah (eds.). "'Hold the Heathen Hammer High' - Viking Metal from the Local to the Global". Shifting Sounds: Musical Flow - A Collection of Papers from the 2012 IASPM Australia/New Zealand Conference. Dunedin: International Association for the Study of Popular Music: 62–70. ISBN 9780975774793.
  • Kahn-Harris, Keith (2007). Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge. Oxford: Berg Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84520-399-3.
  • Weinstein, Deena (2014). Weston, Donna; Bennett, Andy (eds.). "Pagan Metal". Pop Pagans: Paganism and Popular Music. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781317546658.

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