Flag Waiving and Folk Metal Tales

 Symphonic Metal Rocks My World: 

Let Some Folk Metal take you on a Journey

songs 92-94   I HAVE RETURNED

  As I research my back links into a cohesive timeline, one that tells the story of how I arrived to this point in time in which I chronicle my journey of discovery through the sub genres of metal, I do on occasion come across a stumbling block. I had taken a 4 month break from writing my blog, mostly to spend more time researching and falling in love with newer material. But another reason why I took the time off was because the songs that fall next into my timeline weren't songs that really were in playlists anymore. The main reason is rarity, some songs disappear from resources like youtube and even some bands become stagnant on last.fm. So I had a little restructuring to do to my list, and even strengthen the list for my upcoming year. So my list will continue to become even better. I do promise that after song 100 I will continually bring outstanding songs to share.
  Now approaching songs 92-94, I discovered a large amount of Folk Metal in my lists, mostly due to the fact I had buried myself deep into researching Metal from Finland, and keeping bands like Enisferum and Elluvietie in my listings, and even on my Pandora Player, I kept bumping into very notable Folk Metal entries. Folk metal takes you on a journey to other worlds, just as Gothic and Symphonic Metal do. The main difference is there is regionalism attached to it. In some cases, the regionalism is fiction. If a band sings about conquering worlds on the high seas, there is very little chance the band are actually viking nomads, who play in a metal band just for kicks. Or if a band seems a little obsessed with the world of Tolkien, and write about Orcs, Faeries and Elves, its not that the band comes from a land where these things exist. But through listening and immersing yourself into the bands' mythos and folk-stories, you in turn become a part of it and can attach yourself to, as if a member of, this regional tribe.
  The next 3 songs are illustrations of that, and work for me in this sense. There is plenty of Metal bands I dont get into, there are plenty that for me, just rehash whats been done. I do try my best to focus on bands that truly take on the position of a band that does things the way they want to, with a sense of originality and true-ness. I feel my selections, song by song, are examples of excellence, no matter how well known, or unknown the band is.
  So lets hoist up our flags, our spears, and keep hold tight of our women and drink, for we are about to embark on a journey, one filled with the unknown, as we cast aside our fear, as we rise above our tears, as we chase the wind, we shall claim that which awaits us. The Riches of Treasure, The Spoils of Victory and Epic WIN!


Battlelore - Doombound (Finland, Power Metal, Symphonic Folk 2011)
   No surprise that some of my favorite Folk Metal comes from Finland... Battlelore is one of those great examples of bands that I like simply on the fact that they are unique in their approach, or what I see and can feel as conscience intent. They truly try to bring about a world to you as if it actually exists, being that all of Battlelore’s lyrics specifically revolve around people and events in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. For most fantasy and sci-fi lovers its an appeal that is self-contained.
  This is the title song from their 2011 release. It contains a slow, doomy progression with symphonic transitions and a mellow break down. A mixture of Male Growls (Tomi Mykkanen) and the nearly ethereal vocals of Kaisa Jouhki. They have toyed around with the line-up a few times, most Battlelore fans consider this the best one. The folk melodies run throughout and dont ever dominate the pace. Keeping their unique ambiance intact. After having this and some older songs from them in my playlist, this one - though at first listen is a bit mild, is actually well conceived and does give that feeling of embarking on an adventure. Question, does anyone have a broadsword?


Crimfall - The Writ of The Sword (Finland, Symphonic Folk / Viking 2011)
   Speaking of swords.... Coming again from Finland, and another title track, Crimfall falls into the category of Viking Metal with only a select few, mixing Folk Metal sections with Symphonic choruses, led by the clear vocals of Helena Haaparanta, a touch of Power Metal and probably some blood. This song definitely goes through these paces, complete with some deathly howls in the background.
  As for the musical folk sections, I hear some Amorphis influence as they alternate melodies between a variety of instruments. Another song i like from them, Son of North, also from the same release (The Writ of the Sword) There is alot of layers going on here, some straight passages also to help as breaks from all that is being thrown at you. But it is the sections with the different instruments that stand out for me, where the Folk melodies come into play, and doing so again, in a manner not like Ive heard from most of the Folk Metal genre.


Ancient Bards - Four Magic Elements (Italy, Symphonic/Power/Folk Metal 2010)
This Power Metal band hails from Italy and the 2010 release "The Alliance of The Kings" had given them quite a boost in popularity, as is easy to tell why. More leaning towards Power Metal, the quick paced guitars of Ancient Bards are brought very much to the forefront. The clear vocal lines of Sara Squadrani, are at times multi-layered and carry for the most part the folk-melodies. Allowing the band and those heavy guitars to rifle through. There are some folk instrumentation, this song for me was a great representation of how this band and the others above do a good job, if not better than others, of keeping their sound, their direction and intent within a general focus that doesnt seem to waive or wander. There is no head-scratching going on.
   I like the mixture of instrumentation, some foreign elements, the stop-and go breaks and how each instrument takes its turn in telling the story. As Sara's vocals climb higher, the band takes you along the conquest, with victorious horns and and a recalling melody breakdown starting at the center 2:34 point. It is clear the band is composed of highly talented musicians and songwriters. A furious build up, one which you probably could slay a dragon to, before the final chorus is sung, still continues with the stop and go feel. As far as Folk Metal excellence goes, this is a bit difficult to top, specially in the more PowerMetal side so its safe to have Ancient Bards at the ready, in case you would need Fire, Flames and Brimstone to defeat some Ancient Barbarians.

Next Update: New Emerging Female Voices

A Fantasic Four

A Fantastic Four Favorites

My Favorite 4 Songs I've Learned from Pandora - so far

  This is one Epic update I would say. I could spread these 4 songs across various postings, but in truth I discovered them almost all at the same time. I so far have listed in this second season, songs from bands I already knew of and loved, songs from bands Ive never heard of and now these 4 share 1 thing in common, I had crossed paths with each in some way or another, but never heard these selections and I really pretty much fell in love with them right away. First a quick over-view of the bands in this update and the links will follow below.

Todesbonden (Symphonic/Progressive Metal, USA)

 This is a band that located me on myspace at least 2 years ago. I remember when I was first adding bands from my early links, on my myspace page, like Velcra, Silentium, Epica and After Forever when I had a few bands find me like Katra, Diabulus in Musica, Edenbridge when this band from the USA asked me to add them. I remember playing a few songs which seemed to me like demos- really good demos. But my curiosity had stopped there. My only guess was they werent on youtube at the time and their "station" on last.fm didnt include their music (which happens when bands pull their listings from databases sometimes) Whatever the case I completely forgot about them. Luckily, one day my Pandora player reminded me and the first link below "Battle of Kadesh" came through and I went crazy... All the "Who The bleep" and "Where they come from" questions came and then boom a few days later "Surrender to the Sea" came on my player, which I instantly recognized as "its them- that band from my Myspace... are you kidding me?" I clicked thumbs-up and to my delight found some links on youtube. To this day I still revel in these 2 songs as if hearing them for the first time. Absolute gold here.

 Ensiferum (Folk Metal, Finland) I came across these guys during my "I must check every band from Finland" phase. I found them to be rather interesting mix of folk metal with some death and blackened influences but at times it all just didnt totally work for me at the time. Its my only explanation for how stumbled through their catalog without much success. Until Pandora played this song for me. I have a heavy influence of Finnish bands in my song seeds and band seeds, and Pandora correctly picked this one for me. It's a medley of Finnish National Songs sung beautifully and contrasted against quite heavy Folk Metal backing music. Maybe its my Finnish heritage coming through when I play this song I somehow feel maybe my Father is smiling down on me from somewhere.  

 Luca Turilli (Progressive Symphonic Power, Italy) I have found that most of my Metal friends don't know the vast majority of the bands I have put into my blog but its when I don't know something, only to find out that like everybody knows them is when I get a bit miffed. In sheer delightful ignorance, let me "tell" you about this band called Rhapsody. They are this power metal band with like a gazillion fans and they were once called Rhapsody of Fire, but had to change it and there is a vocalist guy who's superb, and this guitarist guy who's like a genius or something. What does this have to do with this Luca guy you ask? He's the virtuoso genius guy, who does solo projects and this one breaks away from his more typical speed injected power metal fare and bridges more towards the gap of symphonic metal-ish. When this song came up on my Pandora player, I was quite blown away by it within in the first minute and then I read the bio and go "Oh Yeah THAT guy from that Rhapsody band". I had no clue. I just knew I had come across a bunch of links from that band and never knew where to start, but much of it all sounded pretty much the same to me. But Not this song.

So here is my very favorite songs my Pandora player introduced me to, my Fantastic Four:

Todesbonden- Battle Of Kadesh (USA, Symphonic Folk Metal, 2008)

One of the more unusual songs I have in my listings, in that Laurie Ann Haus (Ephemeral Sun, Rain Fell Within, Autumn Tears) mostly just sings long wailing cries for the majority of the song. The intro is a slow build, with distant cries and what sounds to me a lute guitar, then duplicated by maybe a hurdy-gurdy and then symphonics as the whole band joins in. Its a very epic sounding progressive passage which allows for Laurie to vocalize all over. It stops just to rebuild again. The overall feel of building and breaking down shows some thrash-metal influences. Then there is a quiet passage which leads to powerful section at 5:20 and still no vocals yet, as the guitars rip in for dual tracked solos. All very inspired and they deserve kudos for thinking and writing so far outside of the box. It actually feels they are taking you off to foreign lands. After a short breakdown, she sings the few lines of lyrics as the song comes to a finale phrasing. I simply love this section and the song as a whole.

Todesbonden- Surrender to The Sea  (USA, Symphonic Folk Metal, 2008)

The first time I heard this song the ascending arpeggio piano intro was just about all I needed to raise my eyebrows then Laurie sings a beautiful and instantly memorable melody, on top. Then wham! Just as the band bangs in a heavy rhythm - I am sold! Letting and her show off her full range, climbing to such heights and quickly dropping back down. In the following section the powerful rhythms grind down as she turns up the emotion. These types of dynamics with near-impossible vocal delivery reminds me of a few songs Ive included in my postings so far (see below). Its apparently a formula which I embrace fully, its just a hard one to follow. The climbing and falling vocal melody is a great contrast to breakdown section with chords seemingly just hanging out there. Add in a guitar solo at 3:35 and its easy to see why this is truly one of my very favorite songs I've included so far. Love it!

Songs with similar style, with dramatic arrangements and near impossible vocals that this song reminds me of:

After Forever - Beautiful Emptiness
The Gathering - Strange Machines
Epica - Beyond Belief
Stream of Passion - Embrace the Storm

Ensiferum - Finnish Medley (Finland, Symphonic Folk Metal 2006)

  A song built out of 3 Finnish Anthems, which I wont list here. Right off the first intro riff, the first of the three pieces is beautifully sung, yes its in Finnish and is so melodic and sweet sounding to my ears. Like many National songs, it does sound a bit like a drinking song but is simply about seeing the natural beauty of the Finnish Landscape. The building guitars lead away into the 2nd song at 2:00, another quite beautiful melody, no lyrics but a nice segway to the next portion of the melody at 3:00 which is about a woodsman, the forest and fighting a bear. My Father was Finnish and I do wish he had taught me things about the rich culture from which he came and some of the language, I unfortunately did not have enough time with him in this world and sometimes I feel as I am listening to bands, like these who sing in Finnish, is my way of celebrating the time we did get to spend.

  Another part of this song I enjoy tremendously is the extended super multi-climatic and most epic ending they put on this song. Obviously it's a heavy stamp on a otherwise rather light fare for a band which is really quite heavy, a stamp which shows much heraldry and pride. Long Live Finland.

Luca Turillis' Dreamquest- Shades Of Eternity (Italy, Symphonic Metal 2006)
I am so excited as I bring in this next entry, because it instantly reminds me that these are 4 awesome songs and this one, by Rhapsody's Luca Turilli, has brought me so much joy. I remember playing it several times repetitively till I picked up on the melody. The unnamed vocalist (Listed as "Mystic", but rumored to be Bridget Fogle) delivers a spectacular performance, full of depth, range and ridiculous delivery that it simply blows my mind how it is that singers of this genre are not more well known. Which further is a point in question, why would Luca hide this vocalist's identity? Because her voice is so special, he wants her all for his own apparently. The song is put together in A/B format. The first section includes the main melody, and a start/stop response style where the vocals have an effect on them and the B section section has more a dancing sway to it, with the vocals being more clear and her range is on full display. The rather quick bridge jumps back to the B section before the main melody ends the song. Luca is considered a musical genius in some aspects for his work in Rhapsody(of Fire). This solo project he is playing the keys and this song in particular is in truth rather simple. Doesn't matter because it is such a stand-out and one of my Fantastic Four, and thanks to Pandora I now listen to many songs from these amazing bands.

Next Update: Pandora in The Dark