Skyforger

Skyforger
Background information
Origin	Riga, Latvia
Genres	Folk metal Black metal
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Metal Blade Records Folter Records Mascot Records
Website	www.skyforger.lv/
Members	Pēteris Kvetkovskis Edgars Grabovskis Alvis Bernāns Artūrs
Past members	Edgars Krūmiņš Imants Vovers Rihards Skudrītis Kaspars Bārbals Mārtiņš Pētersons Ģirts Kļaviņš Egons Kronbergs

Skyforger is a heavy metal band from Latvia which was formed in 1995 out of the remains of doom metal band Grindmaster Dead.

Most of their songs are about pagan gods and warfare; they also play traditional Latvian folk songs and metal covers. Although Skyforger is known for their folk metal, their style on their demo Semigalls' Warchant is essentially black metal. The band also has performed and recorded a number of folk songs, including the entirety of their fourth album Zobena Dziesma (Sword Song), released in 2003. Folk elements can be found on all of their albums. In December 2005, during the presentation of their latest album, Semigalls' Warchant (2005), the band announced their next album would be an experimentation with thrash metal. They later pointed out that Latvian history still has enough untold stories, meaning their lyrics will probably retain their folk/pagan fashion.

In 2010 Skyforger signed with American label Metal Blade Records and released a new studio album Kurbads.

Skyforger were involved in a minor scandal with one of their former producers who believed they were affiliated with Neo-Nazism. The reason for this was the cover of their album Thunderforge, which depicts a pagan god striking an anvil while bearing a pendant resembling depictions of Nazi "ancient Aryans", as well as the swastika, or sun cross, incorporated in Skyforger's logo. Some websites have therefore listed Skyforger as a Neo-Nazi band. The band denies any such claims and doesn't display any Nazistic tendencies in their lyrics. The first two Skyforger albums even had "No Nazi stuff here" written on their back sleeves.

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Wikipedia