A little post about (for normal people) unusual music, inspired by my own ramble about the world and how it needs more singing and by Michael’s posts about cover versions of songs. This my small ramble about unusual music in Swedish language which is nevertheless pleasant to listen to. Unfortunately the sample songs are not always my personal favorites, but most of them are good anyway. To listen to the sample, just click on the small arrow!

  • Dia Psalma – Balladen om lilla Elsa
    Best of Album: Psalmade Psalmer
    Dia Psalma are a Folk Punk band – their music is sometimes very mediaval folky, sometimes more punky, but always enjoyable (and not as annoying as some speed-punk bands). Their vocals are pretty rough, but incredibly easy to understand compared to some other bands. They also have great lyrics – some are just fun, others address serious issues like child abuse or even child murder.
  • Finntroll – Den Sista Runans Dans
    Best Album: Visor om slutet
    Finntroll are, as the name suggests, from Finland, but since they were founded by a Finlandswede (there is a minority of Swedish speaking people in Finland), their lyrics have always been in Swedish. Usually Finntroll do a mixture of Black Metal, Folk Metal and traditional Finnish polka (Humppa), but in my humble opinion Finntroll are no good as a metal band. Their acoustic songs and the acoustic album “Visor om slutet” are the only good stuff they have. I used to listen to their first albums a lot a few years ago, but those got boring after a while (well, metal, too noisy).
  • Kent – 400 slag
    Best Album: Du & Jag Döden
    Kent make music which is suitable for elevators – even though most people call them Alternative Rock or Indie, I think they are mostly easy-listening and very good for chilling out.
  • Månegarm – Hemfard
    Best Album: Urminnes Havd and Dödsfärd
    Månegarm are one of the few better Folk Metal / Viking Metal / Pagan Metal bands – their music definitely has more Metal than Folk in it, but it’s still a mixture that rocks your socks. I’m guilty that I should listen to them more often.
  • Otyg – I trollberg och skog
    Best Album: Sagovinders Boning
    Otyg are probably still my favorite Swedish language band. Their music is usually categorized as Folk Metal, but I see more Folk than Metal in them, heavily influenced by Scandinavian tradation and medieval music. Otyg is an early project of Swedish singer Vintersorg. Unfortunately they don’t really exist anymore.

Those are the artists I listen to more regularly. I’m sure there are tons of more great Swedish language artists, I just don’t know about them yet 😉