Check this out — Jelonek. Great song despite the reference to vampires in the title.
Maybe it’s not as ass-kicking as some of the viking metal, but it is damn good. Bonus: prog metal without crummy singing. (If you can’t belt like Bruce Dickinson or do a death metal growl, I’d pretty much rather have no singing in my metal. I should like stuff like Rhapsody of Fire but I can’t get past the operatic vocals.)
One of the cool things about working at a library is working with librarians. A music librarian sends me the occasional link to stuff like this (also this, Eluvite). Broadens my horizons.
I still think this (Hawkwind’s “Motorhead”) is probably my favorite use of a violin in metal though.
Swords & Dorkery 
Worst/best (circle one depending on preference) pun of the day. 😀
Hey dude, random blogger here stumbling here from the tag surfer thingy.
Great song, I dig it. Have you ever checked out Korpiklaani or Turisas. Both are great bands that make great use of violins, albeit different to the song that you posted. Korpiklaani is more happy drink some beers and dance folk metal and Turisas is like the soundtrack the the most epic battle scene in a film. and Eluvietie is a great band!!!
Thanks for stopping in!
Yeah, I’ve heard some Korpiklaani but will have to check out Turisas … sounds like it is up my alley/down my street.
Need to pest my library about getting more folk metal. Still waiting for Finntroll.
Ahh, Finntroll is awesome!! If you enjoy epic sounding folk metal allow me to make one more suggestion. Moonsorrow. They are one of my all time favorite bands. They use a synthesizer in lieu of real instruments, but they do it with great effect. Here’s a post I wrote some time ago about folk metal(that I really need to do a follow up on) that you may find interesting. http://metalstate.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/theme-thursday-folk-metal/
And since you seem to be one who is big into fantasy, have you ever gotten into Blind Guardian (my 2nd all time favorite band). The vast majority of their songs are based off of fantasy literature, games, and culture. They have an entire concept album about the Silmarillion, and their biggest hit “The Bard’s Song” is about the game The Bards Tale(PC Version). The singer Hansi Kursch has a great voice that is as great as Bruce Dickinson’s(well at that level at about the 3rd album), albeit quite different. Here’s a retrospective I did on them if you have a few minutes to kill. http://metalstate.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/theme-thursday-blind-guardian/
The one Blind Guardian album I listened to (not sure which it was, it was borrowed from thel ibrary) was not my cuppa tea but I’ll give them another shot.
BG’s earlier albums were more speed metal based, and compared to their later material, not as good, especially if you don’t like speed or thrash metal. I always recommend “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” and if you like more “epic” sounding music and ballads, their latest “At the Edge of Time” is an excellent album, especially if you enjoy George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series(first half is covered on the album, thank God the second half isn’t, but that’s a rant for another time).