Best Viking Metal Bands
Bathory was a Swedish Black/Viking Metal band formed in 1983 by Quorthon and Jonas Åkerlund. Bathory's first 4 albums layed the blueprint for Scandinavian Black Metal. Quorthon is often credited with creating the "shrieking" vocal style of Black Metal. Their 5th album, Hammerheart (1990) displayed old school Heavy Metal with a Nordic folk twist, creating Viking Metal. Majority of their work was Viking Metal , but Bathory is most well known for their first 4 , which proved influential to many future Black Metal bands. Bathory ended in 2004 when Quorthon died of heart failure. Contrary to popular belief, viking metal is not defined by lyrical content. Amon Amarth is not viking metal because their sound is pure melodeath. There is a sound to it, and this band epitomizes the sound.
Bathory invented viking metal and created some of the best songs in the genre: Shores In Flames, Blood Fire Death, A Fine Day to Die, Valhalla, One Rode to Asa Bay, Twilight of The Gods, Under the Runes, The Lake, Lake of Fire, Nordland, Ring of Gold, Forever Dark Woods, Death and Resurrection of a Northern Son, The Wheel of Sun, and many more. There would be even more had Quorthon not been taken from us too soon. If you want to get into this genre then check out this band along with Ensiferum, TYR, and Enslaved.
My favorite Black Metal and Viking metal band! The music that Quorthon Created, is just so epic and beautiful that you can just close your eyes and travel to a whole another world. Just go check out some stuff like twilight of the gods / through blood by thunder, ring of god, a fine day to die, father to son, and they're so many masterpieces that I can't count. Just go check it out if you haven't yet.
Bathory wrote songs on daily life of the vikings. What other band could write epic masterpieces even without referring to epic battles? Bathory is undisputably the innovators and forerunners of this genre. Many other good bands too though!
I love Amon Amarth but they're not Viking Metal! Neither are Tyr or Manowar! Viking Metal is a subgenre of Black Metal! It's not just any Norse Mythology themed Metal. Bathory deserve to be first!
Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom. I love this band! Usually, I'm not a big fan of growling, but Hegg does something that makes it interesting and almost melodic. The ridiculous speeds of their songs is incomparably epic. If your going to go Viking Metal, Amon Amarth is a versatile band that almost any lover of metal can enjoy.
People argue that Amon Amarth is melodic death metal and not viking metal but come on guys all they sing about is vikings... They're viking metal. And just because Bathory was the first viking metal band doesn't mean they're the best. Amon Amarth does viking metal the best
The instruments and the vocals are melodic death metal. Viking metal is all really just a lyrical style and these guys only sing about Viking mythology and Vikings pillaging villages.
Ok, this will be a handfull... Amon Amarth is not viking metal. Altough their lyrical themes have to do with vikings and such their music sounds nothing like the epicness of the genre known as Viking Metal (Which is slowed down black metal with clean vocals) One could argue that Johnny Cash is Metal because he sings about hell n' stuff but it's incorrect. Amon Amarth is Death Metal. Not bad Death Metal. But DEFINITELY NOT Viking Metal
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal." Maybe the best viking metal band now.
The best of vikings obviously.
From Afar is pure genius!
Týr is a Faroese heavy metal band. Their subject matter revolves almost entirely around Viking lore, mythology, and history, taking their name from the Norse god of law and justice. Tyr are the KINGS of the Faroe Islands. Not only do they have viking metal classics like Blood of Heroes or By The Sword in My Hand, but they have also provided heavy metal spins on Faroese traditional ballads, my personal favorites being Turið Torkilsdottir and Ragnars KvæðI. Best form of Faroese cultural exchange EVER!
Enslaved is a Norwegian extreme metal band formed in Haugesund in June 1991. They are currently based in Bergen, Norway. Very good band, I love how they mix Progressive Metal in Black/Viking Metal.
As fire swept clean the earth is one of the greatest songs in all of metal.
Falkenbach is a pagan black metal group from Germany that is signed to Prophecy Productions. The name means "Falconbrook" in German. The one permanent member is Vratyas Vakyas. They are one of the very first Viking metal bands, starting in 1989, with their first release that same year.
Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish God of war. Turisas is very overlooked. Their album The Varangian Way is what got me into Death Metal with Folk Influences 'Viking' Metal. definitely should be higher up this list. m/
Finntroll is a folk metal band from Helsinki, Finland. They combine elements of black metal and folk metal.
Equilibrium is a German folk metal band. The band's music combines elements of folk music, power metal, black metal and symphonic metal with various other influences. Everything they put out is amazing. Should be much higher on this list.
If you are new to this band, check out the album "Sagas".
Absolutely the purest form of Viking Metal!
Amon Amarth is my favorite death melodic band. Simply the best
They just sound beautiful and the lyrics are in Icelandic which always sounds great
In my opinion, we have power, melody and viking esencial things on this band.
Windir was a black metal band from Sogndal, Norway. The band combined black metal with folk music and mythology. Windir is most famous for its brutal black and viking metal songs mixed with melodic intervals and both harsh and clean singing in English, Bokmål (standard Norwegian), and Sognamål dialect (native to the origins of the Windir band members). This is known as Sognametal by many fans, and bands from the same area like Sigtyr, Feign, Mistur, and Cor Scorpii continue to play this style to this day. Windir would undoubtedly be a legendary band today if frontman Valfar died in a snowstorm. When band members formed another memorable band known as Vreid, they were very good but lost the Sognametal/viking spark that Valfar had given them. If you've never heard of them, listen to their final 3 albums, considered masterpieces today.
Windir is in my opinion one of THE best bands of all time, the first two albums were composed and made by a single person. Terje Bakken was a great composer, he made the perfect mic of harsh vocals, and simply beutiful guitar riffs. It's a shame he died at the age of 25.
Was a great band but now disbanded.
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from New York City, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy and mythology.
They're so promising.
Amazing band. One of my favorites.
The best jerry, the best
Moonsorrow is a pagan metal band formed in Helsinki, Finland, in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound. If you haven't heard this band, check them out now!
Amon Amarth definitely at the top of Viking metal closely followed by king of asgard
Burzum is an influential black metal solo project of Norwegian musician and writer Varg Vikernes. Burzum came to prominence at the beginning of the Norwegian Black Metal scene in the early 1990s. Vikernes was imprisoned for 21 years for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Euronymous, and charges of church ...read more.
They are better than all others period.