My Neofolk Journey
Albums That Enticed Me Into the Genre
When I was first discovering metal, a huge aspect that lured me in was acoustic interludes. Bands incorporating folk-like acoustic passages in otherwise heavier material seemed so ideal. Naturally, I thought, there must be bands out there that are strictly this folk sound that I enjoy so much. Of course there were — I just needed to know where to find them. This is my journey of the most important and influential albums that helped me discover “neofolk” or “folk-noir.”
What is Neofolk?
Neofolk can be a somewhat broad term. Its origins date back to the 1980s England punk rock community. The style started out as somewhat of a mix between folk and industrial music. It also can be somewhat related to post-punk, neoclassical, or darkwave. “Apocalyptic folk,” “folk-noir,” or “dark folk” are also sometimes used, as well as “martial industrial.” I’m not sure if these are well-defined sub-sub-genres or if they all just kind of blend together. Most of the well-known neofolk artists had a very industrial sound early on — mostly in the ’80s — only for it to fade into a purely “folk” sound. I personally consider almost any “folk” sounding music post-1980 or so to be Neofolk. This differentiates it from the psychedelic or pop-folk of the 1960s and ’70s. Many neofolk artists are quite experimental anyway, making…
