Forest metal - Definition

Forest metal is metal music that mainly talks about nature and wildlife. It also promotes going back into ancient ways instead of going along with the evolution of industrial and urban living. Most prominent among the forest metal scene would probably be the Norwegian second-wave black metal band Ulver (meaning 'wolves'), who used forest imagery and themes extensively. They dedicated an entire album, entitled Nattens Madrigal, to werewolves.

The band Finntroll are arguably the band that uses the most forest related imagery and lyrics. On their EP Visor om Slutet the band included several long samples of sounds heard in the forest, such as frogs croaking, birds singing and things more related to Troll Metal, like trolls eating food.

It should be noted that forest metal is not exclusively produced in Scandinavia, as evidenced by the Czech Republic group Trollech.