Dark trip into a medieval land of kidnapings, wicked stepmothers, and transformed beasts

When most Americans think of Scandinavia and pop music, we think of sun-kissed, saccharine tunes like those of ABBA, Roxette, or Ace of Base. Never do we think of dark fairy tales such as this:

My father traveled the country round,
An ill stepmother to me he found. ...
A grey wolf then she made of me,
And said no good would come of me.
...
Under this curse I was to suffer
Till I drank the blood of my own brother.
...
So then I lay in hiding
Till my stepmother came riding.
...
In vengeance cruel and bloody
I took the child from her body.
And when I had drunk my brother's blood,
I became a knight, gallant and good.

- "Vengeance" by Garmarna

From such lyrics, you would expect mournful death rockers, perhaps, but the singer from Garmarna, Emma Hardelin, has the sweetest voice, letting you forget that you don't understand the language she's singing in. Most of the musicians play traditional instruments such as the fiddle and hurdy gurdy, adding in samplers, electric violin and guitar as needed. The lyrics themselves are from a traditional Swedish folk tale. And when classified, they fall into a category of folk music even though you would never guess it. More often than not, this is the music to accompany complex pagan rites or a late night ren fest trip. Not really Joan Baez folk -- not from a band who's name translates to the dog the guards the gates of the Norse Hell.

From another group with a name that translates to the Heathens, we get more twisted tales:

Red lips hide your teeth
and your tongue is so coarse
In your eyes are fire and white frost
Are you a woman or a fox?
Cunningly and wild, hunting in the night
Long sleeves hiding your claws
Playing lasciviously with your prey,
your mouth is red from blood
You're wild and dangerously beautiful
Your skirt can hardly hide your tail
Coaxing deeper into the mire
with your crazy predatory dance
Just as soon as your cloak has fallen
and your naked body I've seen
you laugh and bare your teeth
and give me love bites deep

- "The Fox", Hedningarna

Hedningarna's work has spanned 15 years, producing music that is both beautiful and terrible. They have even taken traditional music one step further by constructing ancient instruments that had not been in use for hundreds of years. They use these alongside modern instruments to create a truly unique and haunting sound. Hedningarna's vocals are alternately handled by a group of harmonizing or a spooky, deep male vocalist, adding to the swirling barrage of aural intensity.

Varttina, more in line with a traditional idea of folk, is a mostly choral group of women and men, but they have slowly started to adapt to the new sound of Nordic folk. From their new album, Il Matar:

The Goddess of Pain has a kettle, the Daughter of Evil a pot;
and in it she's cooking a mess of pain, stirring a bothersome broth.
Kivutar, the devious maiden of Woeville sits there on Hurt Hill,
on top of a boulder in Woeville.
Wearing a burning shift, she gathers grief, picks out pains,
picking and choosing among them, out in the wrathful rain.

- "Kivutar," Varttina

The impressive vocal work is a mass of harpies circling in for the kill, they make you feel exhausted and stimulated all at once. Their lyrics are less gruesome, almost exclusively using traditional stories as their subject matter. However the vocal style these Finnish women use makes the listener feel disturbed enough. Their voices beautiful and deadly like a black widow entangling its prey.

These are but a few of a crop of a new genre of Nordic Roots music. Other artists which cannot be ignored are Hoven Droven, Sorten Muld and Triakel. Most of these bands work through a label in Minnesota, Northside, which has been tirelessly promoting the musicianship of these fine artists through selling low-cost samplers and organizing festivals. Get one of the Nordic Roots samplers for $5, as they say, cheaper than food, at Northside Records' website: http://www.noside.com. You can also download MP3s and get links to the official artist websites (also linked within this article) from there.