and so we continue...

Hey people, sorry that it's been a while since my last post. I believe that last time, I left you off with Folk Metal and Shoegaze. Now, to start with folk metal. First, let me clarify that folk metal as a whole can only barely be considered a genre, as folk metal is just a metal genre with the presence of folk influences, which leaves room for thousands of different variations. Usually folk metal is influenced by European folk, but I have seen instances of middle eastern folk as well (see Orphaned Land). Some great examples of European folk metal would be Ensiferum (from Finland, lyrics in English), Moonsorrow (from Finland, lyrics in Finnish), Korpiklaani (from Finland, lyrics in Finnish), Finntroll (from Finland, lyrics in Swedish), and many others which I don't feel like listing at the moment. As you can see, these bands have varied styles, yet they are considered to be under the folk metal genre (though it is more than possible to be more specific when it comes to their genres). Next, for shoegaze. Odd name right? The genre picked up the name in the UK in the late 80's when a critic noted that the musicians stood very still when they were playing, as if they were gazing at their shoes. A good example of a shoegaze song would be Ecailles De Lune (part 1) by Alcest. I would list more examples, but they would be from the same band. I honestly have only just started to listen to shoegaze, and do not really have any favorite bands besides Alcest (and even then, I discovered them because of their black metal side, not shoegaze). Well, I think I'll wrap it up for now. Happy listening!
EDIT: I forgot to mention the now defunct band Amesouers. I wish they hadn't broke up. They only had one full length album, but it was a great album.