Nordic popular music, also referred to as Scandinavian popular music, includes pop and rock music of the Nordic countries. The musical scene is known for its biggest bands like ABBA, Roxette, A-ha, Michael Learns to Rock, Ace of Base, and Aqua. These are by far the biggest non-metal acts to come out of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
The popular music of the Nordic countries exhibits great diversity. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden [1] have all had successful domestic record industries for many years. Because the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were under Soviet control for much of the 20th century, when recording technology and popular music spread around the world, those three countries have a more tenuous connection with the popular industries of Finland, Sweden and the rest. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union, Western popular music in general has gained audiences in the Baltic states; this includes popular music from the other Nordic nations, as well as the United Kingdom, United States and elsewhere.
The Nordic metal scene is highly visible compared to other genres from the region. Many big names such as Dimmu Borgir, Lordi, Mercyful Fate, Blind Channel, Skálmöld, Hamferð, Mnemic, Opeth, Meshuggah, Children of Bodom, Amon Amarth, Lamori from Åland and to an extent Estonia's Metsatöll—if considering Estonia as Nordic, hail from Nordic nations. Nordic or Scandinavian metal bands have had a long and lasting influence on the metal subculture alongside their counterparts in Great Britain and The United States.
Year | Artist | Song | Country |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Blue Swede | "Hooked on a Feeling" | Sweden |
1977 | ABBA | "Dancing Queen" | |
1985 | A-ha | "Take On Me" | Norway |
1989 | Roxette | "The Look" | Sweden |
"Listen to Your Heart" | |||
1990 | "It Must Have Been Love" | ||
1991 | "Joyride" | ||
1994 | Ace of Base | "The Sign" |
By 2016, Norway had the 20th largest global music market. [2] [3] Currently four Norwegian artists have achieved a Top 10 placement on the Billboard Hot 100, including A-ha's "Take On Me" which went to 1st place in 1985, Ylvis' "The Fox" which went to 6th place in 2013, Nico & Vinz's "Am I Wrong" which went to 4th place in 2014, and Kygo's "It Ain't Me" which went to 10th place in 2017.
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The band has been through numerous lineup changes over the years; vocalist Shagrath and rhythm guitarist Silenoz are the only original members who still remain.
The music of Sweden shares roots with its neighbouring countries in Scandinavia, as well as Eastern Europe, including polka, schottische, waltz, polska and mazurka. The Swedish fiddle and nyckelharpa are among the most common Swedish folk instruments. The instrumental genre is the biggest one in Sweden. In the 1960s, Swedish youth sparked a roots revival in Swedish folk culture. Many joined Spelmanslag and performed on mainstream radio and TV. They focused on instrumental polska music, with vocals and influences from other traditional genres becoming more prominent since the 1990s. By 1970, the "dansband" culture also began. Music in Sweden is a vital part of Swedish culture, as evidenced by the national success of musical shows like Allsång på Skansen and Melodifestivalen.
Amon Amarth are a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band take its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been sometimes erroneously labeled "Viking metal", although the band prefers the term melodic death metal.
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles (BW&BK) is a Canadian heavy metal website and former magazine. Although based in Toronto, Canada, BW&BK features writers from the US, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal music from an international prospective.
Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, commonly shortened to Tuska, is a Finnish heavy metal festival taking place annually in Helsinki. The first Tuska took place in 1998 and the festival has since grown larger every year. The location of the festival has been in Kaisaniemi park in the middle of the city from 2001. However, since 2011, Tuska has taken place at the Suvilahti event field in the Kalasatama neighbourhood of the Sörnäinen district. The festival dates have always been in either June or July.
Alf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain in which he is the only member. He is also the owner of The Abyss recording studio and the co-founder of Lindemann, a music project between Tägtgren and Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann. Tägtgren left Lindemann in 2020.
The Metaltown Festival was a three-day festival featuring heavy metal bands, held in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was arranged annually from 2004 to 2016.
Inferno Metal Festival is an annual extreme metal festival that takes place every year during Easter in Oslo, Norway. The festival was founded by Borknagar guitarist Jens F. Ryland in cooperation with Radar Booking in 2001 and takes place at Rockefeller Music Hall.
Studio Fredman is a well-known recording studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, owned and operated by producer Fredrik Nordström.
Sauna Open Air Metal Festival, shortly Sauna Open Air or just Sauna, was one of the largest music festivals dedicated only to heavy metal and related styles of rock music in the Nordic countries. It was first arranged in 2004 and takes place in the Ratinanniemi park in Tampere, Finland. From 8 June to 10 June 2006, over 20,000 people arrived to watch such bands as Cradle of Filth, Finntroll, Iggy & The Stooges, Lordi, Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal music in the year 1998.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal music in the year 1999.
MetalDays is a heavy metal music festival held annually in Lake Velenje, Velenje, Slovenia. The festival has been more popular every year with more media coverage, and has seen bands like Megadeth, Slayer, Amon Amarth, Volbeat and Sabaton and many more play at the festival. MetalDays is also known for its sustainability and ecology initiatives and has won a greener future award 5 years in a row.
Engel is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are currently signed to Gain Records/Sony.
The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland; and the autonomous region of Åland.
Jens Peter Daniel Bogren is a Swedish record producer, mixer and recording engineer specializing in heavy metal music. He has worked on albums by Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Katatonia, Babymetal, Soilwork, James LaBrie, Moonspell, God Forbid, Kreator, Devin Townsend, Ihsahn, Dark Tranquillity, Paradise Lost, Amon Amarth, DragonForce, The Ocean, Haken, Between the Buried and Me, Rotting Christ, Symphony X, Myrath, Angra, Dir En Grey, and Powerwolf, amongst others. Bogren lives in Örebro, Sweden and runs both Fascination Street Studios and Bogren Digital.
Copenhell is a heavy metal festival held annually at Refshaleøen in Copenhagen, Denmark, since 2010. It was one of the first open-air heavy metal festivals in Denmark.
"Am I Wrong" is a song by Norwegian musical duo Nico & Vinz. It was written by group members Nico Sereba and Vincent Dery, Abdoulie Jallow, and William Wiik Larsen. The song was initially released as a digital download single in Norway on 12 April 2013, credited to the duo's previous name Envy, and became a hit in various Nordic countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
Midgardsblot is an annual extreme metal and folk music festival in Borre, Norway. The festival has been organised since 2015 and takes place at Midgard Viking Centre, museum in a former Viking settlement and largest burial mound site in Northern Europe. The programme of Midgardsblot includes tours of the area, battle reenactments, documentary screenings, lectures and panel discussions, as well as a Viking village, a Viking market and a games arena for archery, axe-throwing, and other activities.