| Folk metal developed in England during the 1990s as musicians incorporated folk instruments, folk tunes, folklore, and indigenous languages into heavy metal music. Folk metal is now found in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America. This thesis examines folk metal music, lyrics and visual images, utilizing the Finnish band, Korpiklaani, as a case study.;The first chapter discusses current folk metal research and outlines the need for and contributions of this current work. Chapter two introduces the influence of other genres, e.g. the blues, on the formation of heavy metal and addresses the emergence of metal subgenres as a result of changes made to the heavy metal sound. This leads to the next chapter, which discusses the history of folk metal and its characteristics as a heavy metal subgenre. Chapter four introduces music and culture found in Finland while the fifth chapter examines these elements in performances by the Finnish band, Korpiklaani. Chapter six discusses folk metal's function as a mechanism to preserve and perpetuate national identities in reaction to hegemony in Europe. This work addresses folk metal as a heavy metal subgenre that reaffirms folk music, culture and national identities in resistance to Europeanization. |
