Viking metal
| Heavy metal music | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Psychedelic rock, European classical music and British blues |
| Cultural origins: | Late 1960s United Kingdom |
| Typical instruments: | Guitar - Bass - Drums |
| Mainstream popularity: | Extensively followed by dedicated fans throughout the world. |
| Derivative forms: | |
| Subgenres | |
| Avant garde metal - Black metal - Celtic Metal - Christian metal - Classic metal - Death metal - Doom metal - Folk metal - Funk metal - Goth metal - Groove metal - Hair metal - Neo-Classical metal - NSBM - Oriental metal - Power metal - Progressive metal - Speed metal - Tech metal - Thrash metal - Vedic metal - Viking metal | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Alternative metal - Grindcore - Industrial metal - Metalcore - Nu metal - Stoner metal - Rap metal | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Gothenburg metal - New Wave of British Heavy Metal - Bay Area thrash metal - Norwegian black metal | |
| Other topics | |
| Fashion - History - Bands - Musicians - Umlaut | |
Viking metal is a sub-genre of black metal music. A lot of people mistake Viking metal for any metal with lyrical themes about Viking or Scandinavian mythology, heathenism, etc. However, this is a completely different musical style. Arrangements are usually more complex than the somewhat simple early black metal that originated in Norway in the early 1990s. The most prominent Viking metal bands are Enslaved, midperiod Bathory, Thyrfing and Moonsorrow.
Lyrically, viking metal is often epic, depicting great battles between viking warlords and their Christian counter-parts.