Pagan Black Metal

Pagan black metal fuses black metal’s aggression with folk melodies and pre-Christian, heathen themes — European mythology, nature worship, ancestry, and heroism. It grew from Bathory’s Viking-era albums and the Norwegian scene, and bands often weave in folk instruments, chants, and epic, mid-paced passages. Poland’s Graveland and many Eastern and Northern European acts shaped its identity. It shares much ground with Viking and folk metal, distinguished mainly by its black-metal core and pagan worldview.