Folk metal can hardly – or fairly – be called a genre: it spans such a wide variety of styles, sounds and themes that it’s a far safer bet to call it a collection of genres than to bundle it all under an umbrella term. You’ve got the drunken and dreadlocked Korpiklaani, for instance, who sound absolutely nothing like Swiss long-timers Eluveitie who so seamlessly blend Celtic sounds, ancient Gaulish vocals and melodic death metal structures. Somewhere between all that, acts emerge like the Faroese Týr whose sound borders on power metal, given its epic scale, while Ensiferum’s folk melody infused war metal is a stirring foil to the gentler pop sensibilities of fellow Finns, Turisas. And then, just to really upset matters, there is Finntroll. While this Finnish collective’s output...
