Samizdat #3: Mixtape (Side A)

This is from the last (third) issue of our zine. My co-editor and I each came up with one side of a mix tape, his was folk-metal themed, and mine was reggae covers. Enjoy.

MIX TAPE (SIDE A)

"Making a mix tape of folk-metal is harder than I thought. Since the genre boomed in the 1990s, the folk music larder of almost every country has been ravaged by metal bands who were sick of hitting power chords and trying to come up with meaningful lyrics. Despite the stereotype, however, there is still a bunch of folk-metal bands throughout the world comprised of seriously talented musicians who are very much aware of their respective musical and cultural histories.
The following list could have stretched on and on, but I’ve tried to give you a small sample of bands who play some amazing music and a broad taste of the genre. It includes distorted pan pipes from Peru, lap-harps played like metal guitars from Latvia, pirate metal sea shanties from Scotland, hurdy-gurdys, mandolins, drums, flutes, bag-pipes, melodic harmonies and death growl battle screams.
Whilst I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of metal, there is something that definitely draws me to many of these songs. Perhaps it’s because lots of the melodies and instruments from which the songs are created have stood the test of time. In some cases, they’re songs that in one form or another have been played for many hundreds of years. So... revolutionary twist or sacrilegious rubbish? Look up some of these tracks on YouTube (they might not be at your local mu-sic shop!) and decide for yourself. - KS"

Heidevolk (Netherlands) - Het Gelders Volkslied




Ch’aska (Peru) - Nymph Of The Lake




Korpiklaani (Finland) - Tuli Kokko




Equilibrium (Germany) - Blut Im Auge




Månegarm (Sweden) — Hemfärd




Metsatöll (Estonia) — Ma Laulaks Seda Luguda




Eluveitie (Switzerland) - Uis Elveti




Alestorm (Scotland) — Keelhauled




Skyforger (Latvia) - Migla Migla, Rasa Rasa