Metal Music in the Age of the Vikings
Viking Metal is a subset of the metal music scene. This sound is an amalgamation of death metal, folk, and black metal. In the metal genre, Viking isn't exactly a hot trend. This is likely because this style of heavy metal is relatively recent. The lyrical theme of Viking is dominated by the keyboard, moves at a faster tempo, and places a focus on drama. Their songs are filled with fantastical themes and images of Viking conflicts. The demonic label placed on Vikings is completely false. The tracks' hateful yet melodic tone will convey the intended message to listeners. Viking warriors and epic fights are common themes in Viking music.
The Scandinavian nations of Finland and Norway are among Viking's most successful markets. Norse music draws heavily from other musical traditions, particularly the panflute, harp, and accordion. Vocal Vikings use low grunts and roars to communicate. These elements are central to the music of Viking heavy metal, which employs it to convey a sense of dark and evil. Black metal is rife with this kind of music, but its fans can still gaze on the bright side of life.
The majority of Norse thought centers on military conflicts. Led Zeppelin was one of the early bands to exhibit characteristics of Viking heavy metal. Some Led Zeppelin tracks focused on Norse gods and other well-known deities. The sound of the Viking heavy metal genre features choral singing. Black Sabbath tried out different singing techniques. Yngwie J. Malmsteen and the Rising Force were the first metal band to write a song that incorporated all of the distinctive components of Viking heavy metal. In 1985, Yngwie J. Malmsteen released "I am a Viking," the next known full-length Viking composition. Bathory was the pioneering Viking heavy metal outfit. Blood Fire Annihilation was released by Bathory in 1988. This record combined Viking music with Black metal. Later, they issued an album titled "Hammerheart," which was influenced by Viking music and featured traditional instruments. One of the finest examples of Viking metal, this Bathory record deserves high praise.
The Vikings' allusions to paganism. Northern European nations are the traditional homelands of Viking bands. Black metal is frequently cited in Norse works. Viking metal aspires to a more grandiose, dramatic, and mythological sound. Other types of metal, such as Country and Traditional, can be found as well. The members of this Norse metal band have decided to primarily use the English language in their songs.
Listen to these recommended Viking metal acts. Most of these groups who play Norse heavy metal come from outside the metal scene. Among these bands are Enslaved, Equilibrium, Bathory, Vanaheim, Amon Amarth, Manowar, and Ensiferum.
Vikings were renowned for assimilation, too. However, their ideology ran counter to that of the Borg. The Norse who colonized other countries adopted many of the practices common there. For instance, William was fluent in French. Kyiv was founded by the Vikings, and the ancestors of the first 'royal' line there were Vikings. Their offspring adopted native customs and languages, including Slavic ones. However, as I mentioned before, the Norse legacy endured. There was only one Viking kingdom, which consisted of King Knut's 30-year rule over Scandinavia and the British Isles, but horn cup can be found all over Europe.
Norse heavy metal has been around for 20 years, so it's not exactly new. Even 20 years after its introduction, this style remains a hidden gem. Despite the genre's relative obscurity, excellent albums have been released by bands like Bathory and Amon Amarth. There is a sizable Viking metal subgenre fan group. It's safe to assume that the popularity of Norse heavy metal will only increase in the years to come.
Viking Trekkies
Many different threads of historical significance permeate today's popular society...
There are many peculiar influences on Star Trek, but the Viking impact on The Next Generation stands out.
I've always pondered, ever since that show first aired if one or more of the writers were related to the people who suffered through raids from the North and used this show as their form of vengeance.
I've always been curious about the Vikings because of the profound impact they had on the development of Western culture. Here are just a few instances of this:
1. The Vikings established the world's first representative democracy in the form of a parliament, from which the English tongue took its name.
2. At least in Europe, trials under Viking law were the first to involve a committee composed of the accused's contemporaries.
3. It took almost 500 years for another civilization to build a ship as fast as a Viking dragon ship (and don't forget, the Vikings reached North America 500 years before Columbus did).
4. In the English language, four of the seven days of the week are called after Viking gods:
a. On Tuesday, in honor of Tyr, the deity of candor,
b. Odin, the 'Allfather' of the Norse gods, has his day on Wednesday.
c. On Thursday, honor Thor, the deity of thunder, and
d. On Fridays, we honor Odin's first bride, Frigg.
(Some scholars contend that the latter is named after Frey, the god of fertility; however, I prefer the Oxford Dictionary's attribution of this name to Frigg.)
5. To say that William the Conqueror had Norse ancestry is superfluous.
Since the Norse ruled England for three centuries, their language had a significant impact on the English language. Rugby and Grimsby, to mention just two examples, both have the '-by' suffix, which means 'village' in Viking. Shrewsbury, Queensbury, and Shaftsbury are all place names that allude to nearby mountains because their names end in the Anglicized form of the Viking word for mountain, berg (pr: 'berry').
When the Vikings dominated the river systems of what is now Russia, the locals there called them "Rus," which means "rowing men." King Charles the Simple of France gave up territory to the Vikings in exchange for an end to Viking raids on Paris. French for Norse is "Norman," so the annexed territory was called Normandy. William the Conqueror can trace his lineage back to the Viking chieftain who agreed to these conditions, the renowned Rolf the Walker (so-called because no horse was large enough to transport him).
You get the picture. Although the Vikings are no longer with us, their influence can still be felt today.
It is still a little unexpected to see the Viking brand on one of the most-watched of shows in recent memory. As might be expected, the bad guys end up personifying their "presence."
Imagine you're a Klingon. Their interstellar warriors' highest honor was to die valiantly and loudly in battle, and they were the scourge of that galactic quadrant that bordered "ours" until they became uneasy allies of the Federation. That was the pinnacle of achievement for a Viking back in the day. Only the most courageous would be granted eternal life in Valhalla, Odin's castle of the "chosen" slain, where they would spend their days battling and their nights feasting and drinking. I can't remember the show, but it seems the Klingons agreed that it was a wonderful way to pass the time in the afterlife.
Since those characters had been around since the original Star Trek, the Next Generation authors couldn't give them any more sinister motivations. Therefore, they ventured further into space in search of two additional Norse stereotypes.
The Ferengi were one group. The uninitiated Trekkie might assume they were influenced by the archetypal "Shylock" from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, but the knowledgeable Viking historian will recognize a more significant link between the names. The Vikings had a reputation for being tough negotiators in all aspects of commerce and conflict. King Basil II of Byzantium (later Constantinople, now Istanbul) took advantage of these two characteristics when he recruited a squadron of Viking soldiers to serve as his personal Varangian Guard. The name comes from the Norse word for a "sharer of spoils," and the Varangians were the highest-paid soldiers of their era. Most of them succeeded in attaining their ultimate objective of immense wealth.
Harald Hardraada, the last of the great Vikings and a great Norwegian king, was a Varangian for a period. His physical size was such that he truly did tower over his opponents, lending credence to the legend that he was seven feet tall. This was a "stretch" of the truth, but he looked more like a normal Varangian than the Trek race they supposedly influenced.
Although the similarities between Varangians and Ferengi are not immediately obvious, they are there. However, the Borg, the Trek authors' subsequent and most menacing version of Viking stereotypes, was anything but subtle.
The word itself is indicative of a Nordic origin. The name "Borg," from the Old Norse for "fortress," conjures up an exact image of their spaceship.
The Vikings always battled as a team. One notable incident occurred when the French king of the time attempted to negotiate an end to the city's annual siege. He reportedly asked, "Who is your leader?" to which the legendary "We're all equal!" was proclaimed.
Attention, Star Trek fans!
While I'm not sure if Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) and her planet (they were among the Borg's conquests) prayed, "Deliver us, O Lord, from the wrath of the Northmen," was part of every mass prayer in a European church during the Viking period. It was hopeless to put up a fight until the Enterprise figured out a means to do it late in the series.
That's certainly more than the Trek authors were able to convey. Taking creative license with Norse mythology was inevitable, and they gave in to the temptation. Despite their best efforts, the most heroic of Viking exploits is still celebrated at the beginning of every Star Trek episode. Perhaps the greatest irony is that the Vikings, as demonstrated by their voyages to the New World around the year 1000 A.D., boldly ventured where no man had gone before at a time when other cultures feared to venture beyond the view of their coastlines.