Medieval Metal
| Medieval metal | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Folk metal, neo-medieval music |
| Cultural origins | Mid 1990s Germany |
| Typical instruments | Electric guitar, bass, synthesizer, percussion, woodwinds, strings, vocals, bagpipes, lute, harp, hurdy-gurdy, shawm |
| Regional scenes | |
| Germany | |
| Other topics | |
| Medieval folk rock - Neo-medieval music | |
Medieval metal or medieval rock is a subgenre of folk metal that blends hard rock or heavy metal music with medieval folk music. Medieval metal is mostly restricted to Germany where it is known as Mittelalter-Metal or Mittelalter-Rock. The genre emerged from the middle of the 1990s with contributions from Subway to Sally, In Extremo and Schandmaul. The style is characterised by the prominent use of a wide variety of traditional folk and medieval instruments.
The medieval folk band Corvus Corax, was formed in 1989 and released a debut album in the same year. The group relies on period instruments that include the cister, hurdy-gurdy, biniou, buccina, davul, riq and cornetto curvo with the most prominent being the shawm and bagpipes. They are also known for their use of source material, adopting melodies from medieval literature written in an old system of notation called neumes but otherwise using their own interpretations for arrangements and the rhythm. They describe their approach as "louder, dirtier and more powerful than any interpretation of medieval music before." The result has been associated more with medieval taverns and pubs rather than the royal courts or church.
While medieval metal is a German phenomenon, one of the inspirations for the genre is the English folk metal band Skyclad. Formed in 1990 as a thrash metal band, they added violins from session musician Mike Evans on several tracks from their debut album, The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth, with the song "The Widdershins Jig" acclaimed as "particularly significant" and "a certain first in the realms of Metal". The band added a full time violinist to their ranks and has since been credited not only as the originators and pioneers of folk metal but also as a direct inspiration for medieval metal bands.
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