Is there any Folk Metal that isn't shit?

I have been trying find some with little success. I hear lots of songs which have pretty good intros then suddenly turn into the same comedy twaddle.

I know what you mean.
I used to love a bunch of folk metal bands, and now I'm stuck with uhm.... one. (The other one probably doesn't count as they stopped making folk metal band).

So yeah: Eluveitie. I think they are pretty amazing.
You might have heard them already, and rejected them even.... but I'll post a few videos here just in case.

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[youtube]iijKLHCQw5o[/youtube]

Some Lumsk:
[youtube]6hHUqMiFfqU[/youtube]

As far as it's Folk Metal, Alestorm is very enjoyable. Easily the most 'fun' band around, because they don't take themself too seriously like all those weird viking shit.

The only Folk Metal band I know that's not ridiculous is T

Forefather
Widdly as fuck
[youtube]TpDpegtlSkY[/youtube]
[youtube]f_ANbJTTInw[/youtube]

Yes both of those (Tyr and Elephanty) were in my very small 'like' pile.

The Alestorm point is a very good one - I quite enjoy Alestorm because, as you say, it is intentionally cheesy, and a lot of fun. What I don't get is all the other bands who are apparently not being humourous, who have beautiful folky intros and intricate harmonies and shit and then... in comes Alestorm's rhythm section... I simply don't get it. Celtic/folk/medieval music combines so well with dance music, say - Afro Celt Sound System or Shooglenifty as examples, and just sounds huge and powerful and not at all cheesey. Bathory and opeth and all sorts of people used folk elements in Black Metal with reasonable success. There are proper folk bands like Schelmish that sound like metal... so why is so much folk metal and 'Viking Metal' such utter toss? The same applies to symphonic metal - so much potential, so much cheese.

Like those Forefather songs too. Thanks Mika.

Well, you guys just mention mine and Mika's mate Chris' band so we'll start with them

[youtube]RtoTxzxK230[/youtube]

In Extremo-

[youtube]YaS9kDZddfQ[/youtube]

Mago de Oz (fucking amazing btw)

[youtube]IGEskjk2hCo[/youtube]

Breed77 (well...it's flamenco, which is a KIND of folk...)

[youtube]MZGywMVDbC8[/youtube]

[youtube]gX9Tz2sMvoU[/youtube]

not so much folksy as they are doomy, but still you get some sweet chilean folk tunes


btw, theyre called Uaral

[EphelDuath666]

I sort of like Moonsorrow

[youtube]9NxE7IjW-ls[/youtube]

and Primordial

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Ensiferum. They are probably my favorite folk metal band alongside T

I love Moonsorrow, although I had never really thought of them as Folk Metal - but I suppose there is an element of that in there.

Didn't know Primordial before now - sounds interesting. The Ensiferum track was good until the bloke started gargling.

Turisas, I'm afraid, epitomise much of what I despair of in Folk Metal.

Maybe Orphaned Land's worth adding, they're from Israel and use a lot of local folk sounds. Doesn't turn into drinking music too.

[youtube]AbCliCQnBUo[/youtube]

I recall discussing exotic music on Usenet once and learning about some really wacky instrumental Chinese (yep) black metal. Will try to search my posting history there, I think some of those were kinda cool.

That's kinda okay. i heard something else by them on a Metal hammer CD and it sounded like The Hava Nagila song being performed by Manowar. Which sounds better than it was.

Enslaved ought to incorporate folkier elements. That would be cool.

On a simlar note, is tehre any Symphonic Black Metal (or Symphonic Metal at all) that isn't shit? Or is 'Symphonic' a euphemism for shit in the context of metal?