Medieval metal is a subgenre of folk metal that blends 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.
Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night. Their lineup has seen many changes over the years; Blackmore and Night have been the only two constant members. They have released eleven studio albums. Their early releases were mostly acoustic and imitated early music, but eventually Blackmore's Night started using more electric guitars and other modern instruments, as well as performing folk-rearranged cover versions of pop and rock songs.
Stemming from Sweden, the nyckelharpa, meaning "keyed fiddle" or "key harp"(lit.), is a bowed chordophone, similar in appearance to a fiddle or violin but larger, which employs key-actuated tangents along the neck to change the pitch during play, much like a hurdy-gurdy. The keys slide under the strings, with the tangents set perpendicularly to the keys, reaching above the strings. Upon key-actuation, the tangent is pressed to meet the corresponding string, much like a fret, shortening its vibrating length to that point, changing the pitch of the string. It is primarily played underarm, suspended from the shoulder using a sling, with the bow in the overhanging arm.
In Extremo is a German Medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with Medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments. Versions of well-known traditional/Medieval ballads make up the main part of their repertoire, but the band has written an increasing share of original material in recent years. Their own material is written in German, whilst the traditional songs and cover songs are in a variety of languages.
Hedningarna is a Swedish, and for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of song.
Stille Volk is a folk band from the Pyrenees area of France. The band formed in 1994, and draws inspiration from Celtic and medieval music.
Omnia is a self-described "neoceltic pagan folk" band based in the Netherlands, whose members over the years have had Irish, Dutch, Cornish, Belgian, Indonesian, and Persian backgrounds. Their music takes the form of various cultural routes, from places such as Ireland, England, Cornwall, and Iran. The name of the band is a Latin word that means "everything".
Oni Wytars is an early music ensemble that was founded in 1983 by Marco Ambrosini and Peter Rabanser.
Schandmaul is a German medieval folk rock band from the Munich area.
Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion is the third studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. It was released on 17 April 2009 through Nuclear Blast. Contrary to their previous works, this album is almost entirely acoustic. The vocals are primarily handled by hurdy-gurdy player Anna Murphy. The album cover represents Cernunnos, a Celtic deity of nature. The lyrics are partly based on Gaulish inscriptions, e.g. "A Girl's Oath" uses the text of the Larzac tablet, and "Dessumiis Luge" that of the Chamalières tablet.
Everything Remains (As It Never Was) is the fourth studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. The album was produced by Colin Richardson, and released on 19 February 2010 through Nuclear Blast.
Fejd is a Swedish folk band formed in 2001.
Helvetios is the fifth studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. The album was released 10 February 2012 through Nuclear Blast. The CD was recorded at New Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli. It was the last album to include violinist Meri Tadić and guitarist Simeon Koch.
Terra Celta is a Brazilian Celtic comedy rock band formed in 2005, and based in Londrina, Paraná. They are noted for making Celtic rock in Portuguese language, with often humorous lyrics. The group performs live with traditional Celtic/Irish clothing. Besides performing Irish music, the members also research the subject, by attending Celtic music festivals in Europe.
Midgard is the ninth studio album by the German band Faun, released on 19 August 2016 via Electrola. It is the final album to feature Katja Moslehner before her departure in 2017.
Evocation II: Pantheon is the seventh studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. The album was released on 18 August 2017 through Nuclear Blast. It was the first album to include Matteo Sisti, Michalina Malisz, Alain Ackermann, Jonas Wolf and Fabienne Erni as band members.
Ithilien is a Belgian folk metal band from Brussels using traditional folk instruments such as a hurdy gurdy, a bagpipe, a violin, a nyckelharpa, flutes and a bouzouki. They combine elements of metal (death/metalcore) and traditional folk music.
Cesair is a Dutch band formed in 2008 who make pagan folk, world fusion and world music. They are the main representatives of the pagan folk music scene in the Netherlands, alongside pagan folk band Omnia. The band refer to their genre as "Epic Folk & Mythic Music". They perform on a variety of modern and traditional instruments, including accordion, hurdy-gurdy, hammered dulcimer, Irish bouzouki, violin, cello, bodhrán and many others. Their songs are performed in a variety of languages ranging from Arabic, medieval Celtic languages, English, Latin, Greek, to Middle Dutch, Old Norse and more.
Märchen & Mythen is the tenth studio album by German band Faun, released on 15 November 2019 through We Love Music, Electrola and Universal Music Group. It is the first full length studio album to feature member Laura Fella, and the last to feature founding member Fiona Frewert.
Patricia Büchler, known professionally as Patty Gurdy, is a German hurdy-gurdy musician, singer, songwriter and YouTuber.
