Crimfall

Crimfall is folk metal band from Helsinki, Finland. Their music is very epic - can I emphasize that again? Very. Epic. Finland doesn't disappoint when it comes to folk metal, and Crimfall is no exception. Their music generally features melodies reminiscent of Finnish folk music and lyrics about vikings, but sometimes their music can even have an ethnic middle-eastern feel to it. Their dense keyboard orchestration and heavy guitars provide for a powerful sound, and the male and female vocalists provide for a nice contrast. Although the male/female singer lineup occurs quite frequently in metal, I feel like their male grunter/female operatic singer offset is exceptionally well done and stands out from the rest.
The official band consists of the two singers, a guitarist/keyboardist, drums and bass, while their session musicians on the album include violin, cello, and accordion. The guitarist also plays "other weird instruments," and I'm not entirely sure what that entails, but I do know it includes the jaw harp!
Crimfall is still a fairly new band - they only have one album out right now, As the Path Unfolds..., which was released in 2009. They have a new album coming out in March of 2011, and they posted a new song on their Myspace, "Frost Upon Their Graves." Check it out, it's a great song!
Their session violinist was Maija Arvaja, but they are actually going to have Olli, the violinist from Turisas, be a guest musician on their next album! So, I'm officially really excited for this new album, and I'll be writing about it when it comes out!

Recommended Songs: "Wildfire Season," "Ascension Pyre," "The Crown of Treason"

Official Site: www.crimfall.com/
Myspace: www.myspace.com/crimfall

"Ascension Pyre" :


"Wildfire Season" :

Chthonic (erhu)

The first time I heard of Chthonic was when I saw them at Ozzfest in 2007. After seeing that they had an erhu (a Chinese 2-string violin), that they were from Taipei, Taiwan, and that they fought for human rights and Taiwanese independence from China, I have never forgotten them. They are a driven and impressive group - they were the first asian metal band ever to play at Ozzfest, they have been banned in parts of China for their political views, and they have also met with the Dalai Lama as a part of their human rights endeavors. Even though their music is more brutal than stuff I normally listen to, I am a sucker for bands with political motives, girl musicians, and ethnic instruments. It didn't hurt, too, that I am half-Taiwanese. They have very interesting corpse paint, which they call "ghost paint," (not pictured above) which actually corresponds to symbols and curses in Chinese mythology. They are a band which has a deep concept behind their musics, which is something I really appreciate.
They consider themselves an extreme metal band because their lyrics don't really fit into the black metal scene, but musically they have a very black metal sound. They utilize high screams, low grunts, fast tempos, eerie keyboard sounds and sometimes haunting choirs and female vocals. They even incorporate some thrash influences on their newest album, Mirror of Retribution. As far as lyrics go, they sing about oriental mythology of the underworld, ghost stories, tragedies, and the oppression and colonialism of Taiwan. (A word of warning, their lyrics can be very brutal)
Now, I don't know much about the erhu except that it's awesome. Chthonic used to have an erhu player named Su-Nung (pictured), but he left in 2009 and now the erhu is played by singer Freddy Lim. In their music, the erhu plays mournful melodies behind the heavy guitars and screaming, and sometimes plays traditional folk tunes.
While this is not a violin, I feel like the erhu melodies could be easily adapted on the violin. It's also a unique style of playing, and a good reference for metal violinists who are looking to add an asian feel to their music.


Recommended Songs: "Progeny of Rmdax Tasing," "Enthrone," "Blooming Blades," "49 Theurgy Chains," "Bloody Gaya Fulfilled"

Official Site: http://chthonic.org/en/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/chthonictw

"Progeny of Rmdax Tasing," great song! :


"Blooming Blades," listen @ 0:21 !! :


Resources:
[1]

UnexpecT

UnexpecT is an avant-garde extreme metal band from Montreal, Canada. I think the band puts it best when they describe themselves as "Cirque du Soleil goes black metal amidst an acid-trip version of The Dark Crystal." With their seamless incorporation of the organized chaos progressive metal sound, beastly growls, carnival-like strings, hints of electronica, and haunting female vocals, it's no surprise that many of the band members have had previous conservatory experience. The vocals are very theatrical, and the lyrics are a fantastical and imaginative smattering of words that reflects the chaos of their music. Their female singer, Leilindel, is a professional contemporary dancer, and the dreadlocked bassist plays a 9-string bass.
Intruiged yet?
The female vocals were what won me over with UnexpecT. I think the band was right when they said her "angelic voice could melt the will of the most vile politician."
(By the way, whoever does the PR for this band is a genius. I suggest reading their band bio and subscribing to their newsletter purely for the entertainment value.)
The violins are very avant-garde sounding, utilizing many non-conventional techniques. The violin playing comprises of harmonics, tremolos, double-stops, and slides, and is usually used as an embellishment to the music rather than a strong melodic force. They sound very gypsy-like, and are reminiscent of carnivals and circuses.
For the first ten years, the violins were played by a man by the pseudonym Le Bateleur, and he is also the one featured on all their recordings to date. But he left the band a few years ago, and has since been replaced by Blaise Borboën-Léonard in 2007. Blaise (seen in the picture) plays an acoustic violin, both in the studio and live. He's studied at the Montreal Conservatory, and has played the instrument since he was 8. Blaise cites among his influences Estradasphere, John Cage, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Bela Bartok, and Radiohead.

Recommended Songs: "Megalomaniac Trees", "Desert Urbania", "Feasting Fools" (no violin, but my favorite!), "Summoning Scenes", "Chromatic Chimera", "Psychic Juggle", "In Velvet Coffins We Slept"

Official Site: http://www.unexpect.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/unexpect
Blaise Borboën-Léonard's Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/blaisebl

"Megalomaniac Trees":



A live performance of "Desert Urbania":


Resources: [1]

Valkyre

Valkyre is a symphonic gothic metal band from Belgium and France. They are still unsigned, with only 2 demos out: "Consolamentum" and "On Both Sides We Pray." Unfortunately, it is hard to find most their music, as there are only three recordings available on their Myspace.
I was really struck by their song, "A Good Day to Die," which combines celtic folk elements with symphonic keyboard patches and violin-guitar harmonies.
The violin parts are very melodic, provide great harmonies and a folky magical feel to their music. Their music is very energetic and enchanting, with a powerful female singer and intriguing synth sounds.
The violinist is Cid Jimenez, who joined the band in 2007 and worked on "Consolamentum" with them. Before him, the violinist was Joris Derder. They have both used an acoustic live at one point, but Cid also has an electric S-shaped violin (Shar?). They have consistent violins, they are on all three of the songs on their myspace. Give them a listen!
Great sound, and great potential!

Recommended Songs: "A Good Day to Die," "Faidit"

Official Site: http://www.valkyremusic.com/valkyremain.html
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/valkyresounds


"A Good Day to Die":

Naio Ssaion

Putting their violinist and female singer on their album cover for "Out Loud" was a good marketing move for Naio Ssaion. These two elements definitely grabbed my attention right from the start, and a good indication of what sets their band apart from others. Classified as nu-metal or gothic metal, this band from Slovenia has great consistent use of the violin. I almost want to say they're a rock band, however, since their metal influence is very light, and they have very strong pop influences. They don't update their websites very often, so I have no idea what they are up to now, but hopefully we will hear more from them in the future!
Their violinist is Rok Kolar. Between banging his head and shaking his dreads, Rok plays a mean violin, writes very interesting parts, and makes the most extensive use of pizzicato and double-stops I've heard so far in metal. A lot of the violin parts are very fast paced, rhythmic, and provide good texture for the music. The soloing is very rock guitar-like, artistic, and fits very well into the music. Also impressive is the fact that the violin is in every song on their album, "Out Loud." Rok plays a Zeta Strados electric violin live, probably plays it in the studio as well. These violin parts are definitely unique, and worth checking out!

Recommended Songs: "Blah Blah," "The Mirror" (solo near end), "Can't You Hear" (semi-solo @ end), "Shut Up" (solo, pizz), "Bow Link in E Minor" (instr.), "Blind Date," "Yours Faithfully" (pizz.)

Official Site: http://www.naiossaion.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/naiossaion

"Blah Blah":



"Can't You Hear" live (some pitch issues, but still interesting to watch!):


Resources: [1] [2]

Turisas

These blood drenched warriors of metal are barbarians only in terms of their clothing. On the contrary, the Finnish folk metal band Turisas is very sophisticated in terms of their musicality. Epic sagas and symphonic compositions are coupled with tales of battles and voyages to foreign lands. Incredibly entertaining and great musicians, Turisas can be summed up in one word - epic.

Turisas' music is symphonic in nature, bordering on filmscore. They use rough vocals, have the traditional instrumental line-up as well as a violinist and accordion player. They sing about history, specifically about vikings and battle. One of my favorite things about them is their versatility and spontaneity. I've had the opportunity to see them live twice, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the violinist would play some of the keyboard parts from off the albums. He does an amazing job, too! They are great entertainers, when I saw them in the Sacramento, CA area in '08, they sang happy birthday to a girl in the crowd and played a "gay ballad" version of "Battle Metal" and started dancing with each other on stage in honor of their show in San Francisco the next day (oh, stereotypes... XD; it was still very awesome though!) Very fun, and one of the best bands I've seen live!

Their violinist is one of my favorite metal violinists, and is also a big proponent of the violin metal underground. Olli Vänskä has been an official member of the band since 2007, and has played on the albums Battle Metal and The Varangian Way. He plays electric violins both live and on their albums, and has three different violins: a Yamaha SV120, Yamaha SV-200, and Yamaha EV-204. He uses distortion on his solos, and uses a BOSS GT-6 multifx pedal. I really love his violin tone! The violins aren't in every song, and they aren't always given a prominent role either, so I have included a list below for your convenience :) The violins usually play folky leads or dramatic texture parts, or sometimes plays fast paced parts doubling with the accordion. He has really incredible solos, I highly recommend giving them a listen!

Recommended songs: "One More" (Battle Metal), "Dnieper Rapids" (distorted solo, Varangian Way),"Land of Hope and Glory" (Battle Metal), "Miklagard Overture" (distorted solo, Varangian Way), "Rex Regi Rebellis" (solo, Battle Metal), "Midnight Sunrise" (Battle Metal), "Sahti Waari" (Battle Metal), "In the Court of Jarislef" (Varangian Way), "Rasputin" (cover, Varangian Way)

Official Site: http://www.turisas.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/turisasofficial
Olli's Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/geigeistkrieg

"One More":


"Dnieper Rapids" live:


Resources: [1]

Elvenking

Elvenking is a power metal band hailing from Sacile, Italy. They are heavily influenced by the folk metal pioneers Skyclad, and as expected, their music also exhibits some folk metal influences.

They have 5 albums out: the first 3, Heathenreel, Wyrd, and The Winter Wake, are heavily folk influenced, while their later album, The Scythe, is darker and more pop sounding. Their latest release is a "mostly" acoustic album, Two Tragedy Poets which is even more folk influenced than their earlier albums, but also retains the pop influence of their previous album. It contains some acoustic versions of their earlier songs, and questionable songs such as their cover of the pop hit "Heaven is a Place on Earth." O_o

Elvenking has had various different violinists contribute to their band. On Heathenreel they had a guest violinist, Paolo Polesel. Then they had Elyghen, who seems to be their main violinist, who played on Wyrd and The Winter Wake. When Elyghen temporarily left the band, Lethien came in to fill his place. They also had a tour violinist named Eleonora. (The picture to the left is of Elyghen)

The Winter Wake is a good representation of their overall style, and the violins play a very prominent role in the music. They play usually fast, moving fiddle-like parts, and often double with the guitars or vocals on the main melody of the song. The violins are in almost every song and they are usually mixed very high. The violin definitely gets treated like an important instrument and an important component of the band, which is a rare find in metal. It sounds like they use acoustic violins on their albums, but they use electric violins live. Elyghen uses a Yamaha EV-204.

Recommended songs: "Pagan Purity" (Heathenreel), "Seasonspeech" (Heathenreel), "The Silk Dilemma" (Wyrd), "Neverending Nights" (The Winter Wake), "Another Awful Hobs Tale" (Two Tragedy Poets)

Official site: http://www.elvenking.net/

Here's a song with prominent violins, representative of their overall style:


And here's a song with intricate violin playing, off their acoustic album:



Resources: [1]