Alestorm

If you've ever wondered what a day in the life of a pirate would be like, let Alestorm take you on a pirate metally adventure with sailing tempestuous seas, fighting sea monsters, making traitors walk the plank, and enjoying themselves some meade and wenches. Hailing from Scotland and Ireland, Alestorm's music can be described as power metal meets folk metal, with gruff piratey vocals and violin, accordion, horn, and flute.
The violin parts feature folk melodies, I don't know what national origin the typical Hollywood piratey/seafaring music from the 18th century was from, but it sounds exactly as you would imagine pirate music to sound like. It's played on an acoustic violin by session musicians only, and they do not have a live violinist.

Official Site: alestorm.net/
Facebook: facebook.com/alestormband

Recommended Songs: "Keelhauled," "Back Through Time"

"Keelhauled" :
 

"Back Through Time":
 

Picture from: [1]

A -Anonymous Confederate Ensemble- - "Black Butterfly"

I randomly found this video while browsing on Youtube today, and thought I'd share it with you guys, and also apologize for my lack of posts recently ^_^*

This song is by the band A -Anonymous Confederate Ensemble- (Also known as "A(ACE)," or "A(エース)") from Japan, a group that is part of the visual kei scene. 

They combine so many genres in their music it's hard to narrow them down to one genre - I've heard them combine jazz fusion, gothic symphonic, hard rock, and classic metal influences all in one song before - but as far as a description of this song goes, it's heavy, features rock vocals, both guitar and violin solos, and their violin player, Rookie, is playing an electric violin and is INCREDIBLY talented!
This song "Black Butterfly" is their newest single.

Hope you enjoy!

 

Official site: http://a-rock.jp/


~~~~Edit: So I guess "Black Butterfly" is a semi-cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and their other song, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis," is a cover of the Evangelion Theme song. They're not a cover band, but let's face it, covers are awesome and a good way to get publicity. Yeah!

News - Embers Viola Player Passes Away

Nine Katechis, former violist for ambient black metal band Embers, passed away in July due to medical complications associated with a relapse into a heroin addiction.

The band is releasing a remixed and remastered version of the song "Awakening," that she had recorded with them, as a bonus track on their newest album.

Our condolences go out to her family, friends, and the band.

Embers: http://embers-music.com

Tengwar

Who doesn't love a good Tolkien band? Tengwar, named after the Elvish alphabet, is an excellent folk metal band from Argentina that combines lyrics about Lord of the Rings with intricate celtic fiddle playing, obscure medieval instruments, and metal. When I listened to the song "A Long Expected Fading" and heard the grunting vocals belt out "My precious..." I knew I was hooked. Their lyrics are mostly in English, but some songs are sung in what I believe is one of the Elvish languages. The music features a male singer, guitars, bass, drum, violin, Galician bagpipes, recorders, mandolin, bodhran, Iberian lute, hurdy-gurdy, flute, and crumhorn. Crumhorn! (If you've never heard of a crumhorn before, watch this video). Tengwar is an excellent band, with sophisticated song writing and great musicianship, but what stood out to me the most was the violin playing - they have possibly the best celtic fiddling I've ever heard featured in folk metal!

As I said, the violin playing in this band is spectacular. The violinist goes by the name of Feredur, and plays an acoustic violin both in studio and live. What I like about his playing is his attention to details and subtleties. He incorporates celtic fiddle techniques such as cuts and slides into his playing, that give it a distinctive folk music sound and prove that he is a knowledgable celtic fiddle player. The violin is mixed very much up front, making it easy to hear these subtleties. The violin also has a very raw and antiquated sound, appropriate, I think, for framing tales of Middle Earth. I am very impressed by Feredur's playing, he definitely stands out in the realm of folk metal violinists.
Tengwar's first 2 albums are available for free download on their official site, so go give them a listen!

Official Site: tengwar.com.ar

Myspace: myspace.com/tengwarfolkspace

Reverbnation: reverbnation.com/tengwarofficial

Recommended Songs: "In the Land of the Golden Trees," "Snow and Defeat," "Namarie," "A Long Expected Fading," "The Pilgrim's Gone"

"Snow and Defeat":

"Namarie":

Moi Dix Mois

Moi Dix Mois is a solo project of Mana, the iconic Japanese guitarist and fashion designer. He became legendary for the theatric nature of his former band, Malice Mizer, and his feminine gothic aesthetic. The music of Moi Dix Mois strives to defy categorization, but can loosely be described as symphonic gothic black metal. The signature Moi Dix Mois sound is the harpsichord and church organ keyboard patches, and operatic baritone voices blended with harsh grunting.

They feature violins on the album Nocturnal Opera, and the violins are played by session musicians Yuichiro Goto on "Monophobia" and "Vestige," and Yuki Ishimaru on "Shadows Temple." I love the way these violins sound - they have a sweet and very expressive feel, with crescendos, lots of vibrato, and glissandos.

Recommended Songs: "Shadows Temple," "Metaphysical" (no violin), "Monophobia," "Vestige"

Official Site: http://moidixmois.net/


"Shadows Temple" :


Resources: [1]
Picture scanned by: http://moidixmois.altervista.org/

Rhapsody

Rhapsody of Fire (formerly Rhapsody) is a world-renown symphonic power metal band from Trieste, Italy. Led by guitarist and compositional mastermind Lucca Turilli, these mighty warriors bring you tales of dragons, heroes, and magic steel through powerful and inspiring epic compositions based around an original story contained in their lyrics and album booklets, complete with world maps and all. Their music is intricate, uplifting and mighty, fusing neo-classical guitar runs with operatic singing, metal guitar riffs, recorders, tambourines, and harpsichord. Their lyrics are incredibly cheesy, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Rhapsody is without a doubt one of the finest power metal bands in the scene today.

Although Rhapsody has never had a full-time violin player, they have used session violinists numerous times on their albums. Recently, their use of violins has been strictly orchestral, but in their earlier albums Symphony of Enchanted Lands and Dawn of Victory (both released when they were just "Rhapsody") they also featured solo and ensemble violin parts - on Symphony of Enchanted Lands it sounded more like an ensemble, while on Dawn of Victory there were more distinct solo violins. The violin parts are classical in nature, sometimes having solos, sometimes doubling with a neo-classical guitar part, and sometimes playing a melody in the background. The violins are acoustic, and Rhapsody has not had violinists play with them live that I know of.

Songs with Prominent Violin Parts: "The Dark Tower of Abyss," "Wisdom of the Kings," "Triumph for my Magic Steel," "Emerald Sword," "Riding the Winds of Eternity," "Eternal Glory," "Symphony of Enchanted Lands," "Holy Thunderforce," "The Last Winged Unicorn," "Sacred Power of Raging Winds," "The Bloody Rage of the Titans,"

Official Site: rhapsodyoffire.com
Myspace: myspace.com/rhapsodyoffire

"The Dark Tower of Abyss" (Symphony of Enchanted Lands):

"Triumph for My Magic Steel" (Dawn of Victory):

How to Play Violin in a Metal Band - Types of Violins

What kind of violin should you get if you want to play violin in a metal band, acoustic or electric?
Preferably, both.
Electric violins are great for achieving the volume needed while practicing with the band or playing live shows, but when it comes to recordings, nothing beats the sound of an acoustic violin.
If I had to choose one? I would say electric. But it also depends on your priorities, and most importantly, your budget.
Here's a little comparison that may be helpful, but also keep in mind I'm not an expert on the technicalities of electric violins or violins in general, this is based on experience and observation