Viking metal is a type of heavy metal music that focuses on themes from Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. This style of music is very varied, with some people thinking of it as a term that includes many different music styles, not just one genre. It is most often black metal, but it also includes sounds from Nordic folk music. Common features of Viking metal include slow and heavy guitar riffs, powerful group singing parts, both singing and harsh vocal styles, the use of traditional musical instruments, and the use of keyboards to create a special atmosphere.
Viking metal began in the late 1980s and early 1990s as part of black metal. Like black metal, it opposes Christianity, but it does not include Satanism or occult themes. Instead, it focuses on Viking history and paganism. Viking metal is similar to pagan metal in its lyrics, sound, and use of images, but pagan metal includes a wider range of myths and uses traditional instruments more often. Most Viking metal bands come from Nordic countries, and nearly all claim that their members have Viking ancestors. Many scholars see Viking metal and related genres like black metal, pagan metal, and folk metal as part of modern Pagan movements and a global effort to celebrate local and regional cultures.
Before Viking metal became popular, artists like Led Zeppelin, Yngwie Malmsteen, Heavy Load, and Manowar used Viking themes in their music. However, the Swedish band Bathory is usually credited with starting the Viking metal style through their albums Blood Fire Death (1988) and Hammerheart (1990), which sparked new interest in Viking history among metal musicians. The Norwegian band Enslaved continued this trend with their albums Hordanes Land (1993) and Vikingligr Veldi (1994). Other bands, such as Burzum, Emperor, Einherjer, and Helheim, helped develop the genre in the early and mid-1990s. In 1989, the German band Falkenbach started the spread of Viking metal beyond Nordic countries to other places with Viking or Germanic history. Later, death metal bands like Unleashed, Amon Amarth, and Ensiferum also used Viking themes, expanding the style beyond its black metal roots.
Background
Viking metal music focuses on the Vikings and uses images that remind people of their history. The Vikings were explorers and adventurers from Northern Europe who lived during the Middle Ages. They used special boats like longships, knerrirs, and karvis to travel, raid, trade, and settle in places like the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and rivers in Eastern Europe. The Viking Age usually starts in 793, when Vikings attacked Lindisfarne, and ends in 1066, when Harald Hardrada died and the Normans took over England. During this time, Vikings traveled as far west as Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland in North America, as far south as Morocco, Italy, Sicily, and Constantinople, and as far east as Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Baghdad.
The Vikings came from Nordic countries and the Baltic region, mostly from Scandinavia, but some Finns, Estonians, and Curonians also joined their voyages. The Sámi people, who lived in northern Europe, traded with the Vikings. At first, the Vikings were not considered "civilized" and did not follow Christianity. Instead, they practiced their own Nordic and Finnic religions. Later, they often adopted Christianity when they settled in new areas, mixing it with their old beliefs. By the end of the Viking Age, all Scandinavian kingdoms had become Christian, and Viking traditions were absorbed into Christian Europe.
Nordic folk music includes traditions from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Åland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland, as well as nearby areas. Instruments used vary by region but include the lur, säckpipa, Hardanger fiddle, keyed fiddle, willow flute, harp, mouth harp, and animal horns. Common music styles include ballads, herding songs, and dance music, which have roots in the medieval era. Many Nordic melodies use the notes C, B, and G.
In Sweden, folk songs are often simple, serious, and calm, though work songs and festival songs may be more lively. Danish songs usually have a major key. In Iceland, a type of epic poem called rímur is important. Faroese music includes dances based on medieval ballads and poems, often using unusual time signatures. Norwegian folk ballads often follow a four-stanza structure called stev, which alternates between two different rhythms and rhymes in an ABCB pattern. Finnish folk music is based on Karelian traditions and the Kalevala, which includes themes like magic, Viking voyages, and Christian stories. Older songs use meters like 4 or 8, while newer songs use a 4 or 4 rhythm. Sámi music includes joiking, which is unique singing that often uses a drum for accompaniment.
Black metal is a very intense type of heavy metal music that began in Europe in the 1980s, influenced by speed metal and thrash metal. The first wave started in the early 1980s with bands like Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate, and Bathory. The name "black metal" comes from a 1982 album by Venom, and Bathory’s 1984 album is considered the first true black metal record. The second wave began in the 1990s as a reaction to death metal and was led by Norwegian bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, Emperor, and others. This group became known for violent acts like church burnings. Black metal songs often focus on Satan and Satanism, with early bands using it humorously and later bands taking it more seriously and opposing Christianity.
Musically, early black metal bands played heavier forms of metal, but the genre became more defined during the second wave. Guitarists used fast, unmuted picking styles called "buzz picking," high-pitched tones, and heavy distortion. Solos and low guitar tunings are rare, and the sound is often described as "thin and brittle" compared to other metal styles. Bass and drums are usually mixed low, creating a "blurred" sound. Vocals are high-pitched screams or shrieks, and some bands use guttural growls. Keyboards are also used often.
Norwegian black metal musicians sometimes use sounds and melodies from Nordic folk music, like drones and old folk tunes, because both genres share a "sad" atmosphere. Black metal recordings are often raw and low-quality, partly because early bands lacked resources, but successful bands kept this style to stay connected to the genre’s underground roots. While black metal has common traits, it has many different styles, with some bands being experimental and others having more commercial sounds.
Viking themes and images in rock and metal music began before Viking metal became a genre. For example, Led Zeppelin’s songs "Immigrant Song" (1970) and "No Quarter" (1973) mention Viking voyages and battles. The Swedish band Heavy Load wrote songs about Vikings, like "Son of the Northern Light" (1978) and "Singing Swords" (1983). Some music journalists say Heavy Load might be the first Viking metal band. Another Swedish group, Silver Mountain, also included Viking themes in their music.
Characteristics
The term "Viking metal" is sometimes used to describe the 1990s Norwegian black metal scene, which was known for being loud, messy, and often included sad keyboard music. It is also considered a type of black metal that does not use the evil or Satanic images common in black metal. Some describe it as a slow form of black metal influenced by Nordic folk music, blending black metal and folk metal equally, or ranging from folk to black to death metal. Viking metal artists often use keyboards played in a fast, rhythmic way. They also include local traditions, such as traditional instruments and ethnic melodies. It is similar to folk metal but uses fewer folk instruments. For singing, Viking metal uses both regular singing and the loud screams and growls typical of black metal.
Viking metal is hard to define because, besides having anthem-like chorus sections, it is not based only on musical features and overlaps with other metal styles, including black and death metal. Some bands, like Unleashed and Amon Amarth, play death metal but include Viking themes and are labeled as part of the genre. Generally, Viking metal is defined more by its themes and images than by musical style. Viking themes are most visible in band names, album titles, artwork, and song lyrics, not in music that sounds like medieval songs. Viking metal and the related style pagan metal are more terms or "rules" than specific musical styles. Because these styles are defined mainly by their lyrics, classifying them into music categories is debated. Viking metal is more of a term that crosses over between genres than a description of a single sound. Ashby and Schofield note that "The term 'Viking metal' is one of many that fits into a complex web of genres and subgenres, which changes as trends come and go." From its start in black metal, Viking metal has grown to include many styles, ranging from black metal to classic rock. Christopher McIntosh writes that Viking metal, Viking rock, pagan metal, folk metal, neofolk, and others could all fall under a larger category called "neo-Nordic."
Starting with the album Blood Fire Death, one of the first clear examples of Viking metal, the band Bathory used many different musical elements. While keeping the loud and chaotic sound from earlier recordings, the band became more emotional and melodic, using ballads based on Germanic and Norse folklore, shanty-like melodies, ambient sounds, choral introductions, acoustic instruments, anthemic sections, and folk music elements like bourdon sounds, Jew's harps, and fifes. Bathory added natural sounds, such as ocean waves, thunder, and animal noises, in a style similar to musique concrète. Instruments sometimes created sounds that imitated thunder or a sledgehammer. Songs often had complex structures, with three instrumental sections—introduction, bridge, and finale—and two vocal sections—stanza and refrain.
Enslaved, a key band in Viking metal, mainly plays black metal but has become more progressive over time. Eduardo Rivadavia describes Enslaved's style as including Viking themes, fast guitar riffs, fast drum beats, and complex musical arrangements with rich harmonies and changing rhythms. The band changed a lot with each album since Mardraum – Beyond the Within (2000).
The Faroese band Týr has a standard rock band setup with electric instruments but uses traditional Faroese music in its songs. Faroese ballads often use unusual time signatures, such as 4, 8, or 8. To copy these rhythms, Týr often emphasizes the weaker beats in a musical measure. In songs based on old Faroese ballads, Týr uses harmonic or melodic minor scales or the mixolydian mode.
Mulvany states that Viking metal focuses less on traditional music elements like instruments and melodies. Instead, Viking bands mainly use Norse mythology as a source for their lyrics, adding stylized shanty-like melodies to create Viking imagery. He explains that Viking metal draws heavily on sea shanties and media images of pirates and Vikings. This influence shows in two types of music: one with simple, repeated notes and minor keys, often sung in unison; and another with rising and falling melodies that focus less on lyrics and more on evoking the sound of ocean waves. Mulvany found these patterns in songs by Viking and black metal bands like Einherjer, Mithotyn, Naglfar, and Vargevinter.
The influence of sea shanties comes from stereotypes that link certain sounds to sailors, pirates, and Vikings. These sounds are often repeated in pirate movies and TV shows and are then connected to Vikings. Ashby and Schofield agree that Viking metal bands are not connected to real Viking history but instead use these sounds to create a general sense of the sea.
Keith Fay of the folk metal band Cruachan has noted the influence of sea shanties on Viking metal, though he is critical of it. He said in an interview that "there is no real 'Viking music,' so many Nordic bands use 'sea shanty' tunes to match their music. Many of these bands, especially the bigger ones, are called folk metal but do not understand what real folk music is."
Thematically, Viking metal uses ideas from black metal but focuses on pagan and Norse themes instead of anti-Christian or Satanic ideas. It mixes the celebration of violence and strength through weapons and battlefields, common in death and black metal, with an interest in ancestral roots, especially pre-Christian traditions. These roots are shown through Viking mythology and images of northern landscapes. Some bands, like Sorhin, keep the Satanic elements of black metal but use modern folk music in their sound.
Visuals like album art, band photos, website designs, and merchandise show the dark and violent themes of Viking metal. Seascapes and Viking ships are often used by Viking metal artists. For example, the cover of Blodhemn (1998) by Enslaved shows the band as Viking warriors with a boat behind them, and the cover of Dödsfärd (2003) by Månegarm shows a typical Viking funeral. Album art by Viking metal artists often includes Viking Age artifacts, like Thor's hammers, and other items from that time.
History
The roots of Viking metal are often linked to Scandinavian metal, especially the death and black metal scenes from the late 1980s. Bands inspired by Viking themes used in Manowar's music began to focus more fully on Viking culture. A key band in this movement was Bathory, a Swedish group that influenced the creation of Viking metal, as well as folk metal, medieval folk, and neofolk. Their 1988 album Blood Fire Death includes early examples of Viking metal, such as the songs "A Fine Day to Die" and "Blood Fire Death." The album's cover features The Wild Hunt of Odin, a painting by Norwegian artist Peter Nicolai Arbo, which shows Odin leading a hunt. Vlad Nichols noted that while parts of the album had more in common with Wagner's dramatic style than Nordic music, it still captured the essence of Viking music better than earlier works. In 1990, Bathory released Hammerheart, a concept album fully focused on Viking themes. The cover art for this album is The Funeral of a Viking by Sir Frank Dicksee. Other albums by Bathory include Twilight of the Gods (1991), named after an opera by Wagner, and Blood on Ice (1996). Hammerheart is considered a landmark album that introduced Viking metal to the music world. The album's creator, Quorthon, inspired many young people in Nordic countries and promoted anti-Christian ideas that later influenced violent actions by members of the Norwegian black metal community in the 1990s. Quorthon's work included elements that emphasized a return to pre-Christian Europe rather than embracing Christianity. In the liner notes of Blood on Ice, Quorthon explained that his shift to Viking themes was a deliberate move away from Satanism.
Bathory's Viking metal style includes dramatic, Wagner-inspired music, grand arrangements, choirs, and keyboard sounds. Mulvany noted that Bathory's 1990s work began a Viking-themed trend that was initially slow to develop. For example, the Austrian band Abigor included Viking themes and Germanic pagan ideas in their 1994 album Nachthymnen, but they said it was not part of the Viking trend. Mulvany explained that the Viking trend, though slow to form, was more aligned with black metal's traditional style than the folk-influenced metal that followed. The folk elements in later music were more about storytelling or mood than historical accuracy.
Enslaved, a Norwegian band formed in 1991, is also considered one of the first true Viking metal bands. Their 1993 EP Hordanes Land is seen as the first true Viking metal release. A review of their 1997 album Eld said that Enslaved was one of the most faithful to Bathory's Viking metal style. The band's 1994 debut album Vikingligr Veldi used melodies from Scandinavian folk music to add authenticity to their fast-paced black metal. Inspired by Bathory, Enslaved aimed to create music that celebrated Norway's old legends and traditions, not to attack Christianity through Satanism. Their 1994 album Frost was described as an important release for Viking metal. This album marked the first time Enslaved officially called their music Viking metal. It also shaped the band's lyrical style. Decibel magazine noted that on Frost, bassist and vocalist Grutle Kjellson wanted to reclaim the gods and goddesses of his ancestors, even if it meant challenging Christian versions of Nordic myths.
Ideologically, Varg Vikernes's project Burzum influenced Viking metal through his racist, nationalist, and anti-Christian beliefs, as well as his desire to return to paganism. Trafford and Pluskowski noted that Vikernes's actions, such as burning churches like the Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen, showed confusion about Viking ideas in the Norwegian black metal scene. They pointed out that Vikernes was more inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien than by medieval history, using names like "Count Grishnackh" (from The Lord of the Rings) and naming his project "Burzum" after a Tolkienian word for "darkness." Vikernes later claimed his church burnings were linked to a return to Viking paganism, even though the first burning on June 6, 1992, was seen as a reference to the "Number of the Beast" (666). Vikernes argued the date was chosen because the first Viking raid on Lindisfarne happened on June 6, 793. Quorthon acknowledged that nationalist ideas were always present in Viking metal, but they became more extreme in the 1990s, especially among Heathen followers. By the late 1990s, Viking metal moved away from neo-Nazi influences after many musicians in the Oslo scene were jailed or died.
Other pioneers of Viking metal include Håvard Ellefsen, known as Mortiis, who helped shape Norway's epic Viking metal sound with his musical ideas. Helheim, another early band, blended black metal with Viking themes and used unusual instruments like horns and violins. Robert Müller of Metal Hammer Germany said Viking metal never fully became a defined genre, partly because of Helheim's 1995 album Jormundgand, which included a song called "Galder" that was not considered metal. This led some fans to join the pagan metal scene instead. Other influential Viking metal bands include Borknagar and Darkwoods My Betrothed, as well as Einherjer.