Finland, the land of hockey pucks and folk metal. Many of Finland's music is heavy metal and mostly folk metal music or melodic death metal music. Being born out of a Swedish empire during the viking age it does make sense why such genres thrive there. Today i will be counting down my favorite bands from this land of folk music. I will do best to mention bands the nation is known for as well. So let's go.

10, Lordi(Industrial Metal), not to be confused with Lorde, Lordi is what made Finnish metal becom more mainstream with songs like Would You Love a Monster Man? or anything of the sort. Much like Slipknot, they like to use costume designs but to hide their identity. This "gimmick" is what makes this band a bit more of an anonomyus band. If you've heard of Gwar, you'll love this band.

9, Ensiferum(Folk Metal), one of the gods of Finnish metal, Ensiferum is one of the most well known Folk Metal bands in this time. Having released around 5-10 albums since there formation in the mid-90's. They then began to span other bands such as Eluveitie and Equilibrium. They have a nice epic viking sound to them and have a unique style to them, as with many other bands. One band for the ages.

8, Insomnium(Prog/Death Metal), more notably being labeled as Melodic Death Metal, pick your poison, they have been around for a while as well. They have nice heavy riffs, usually slowed down, and have brutal sounding vocals similar to that of Sweden's Amon Amarth. They have released a new album in 2014 called "Shadows of the Dying Sun" I believe. Check it out, it is amazing.

7, Turmion Katilot(Ind. Metal), the only band on the list that speaks nothing but Finnish. Some of the usual things you can expect in any industrial band. Albums like Perstecnique and there newest one ElectroDiktator, or something like that. If you can stand non-english speaking in music, I highly recommend this band.

6, Norther(Melodic Death), our second melodeath metal band. Norther have made a name for themselves when they hit. They sound like a cross between Children of Bodom and Ensiferum might I add because the have the vocal and catchy style of CoB and the epicness of Ensiferum, which works quite well. The album N is a good example of this including songs like Always and Never, Forever and Ever, and Self Rightous F**k. They even covered The Beastie Boys in the special edision of the album.

5, Wintersun(Folk Metal), spanning from Ensiferum, Wintersun has a space metal element that fits well with them very well. Sure, they only have two albums under their belt(with a third one on the way), but they can pack a punch like no other. I would especially recommend Time 1, their most recent, because it truely represents what they can do in just five songs as well. The only thing keeping them here is that they are reletively new to the scene.

4, Amorphis(Prog Metal), Opeth fans, get ready to be amazed. Amorphis started out much like Opeth being a Prog death metal band but in later years they left that in the dust when they got a new singer. With albums like Silent Waters and Circle, they can drive you to tears in just mere minutes from their sound. I can't say they have any epics that I have found but check them out.

3, Children of Bodom(Melodeath), if you've seen my death metal countdown, you know how much I love these guys here. I was first introduced to them thanks to Are You Dead Yet? and If You Want Peace, Prepare For War. I have later decided to check out BloodDrunk, Follow the Reaper, and Halo of Blood, all of which I've heard good reviews of. If you like screaming vocals and/or catchy but heavy songs I highly recommend them.

2, Sonata Arctica(Symphonic Metal), once again, in my symphonic list I have mentioned this band. I love them quite alot and when you take a listen, you can see why pretty soon. Albums like Pariah's Child and their debut are such examples. Also, unlike the common symphonic metal band, they have a male vocalist.

1, Nightwish(Symphonic Metal), you knew this was coming. Nightwish is a phenominal band no matter what way you shake it. Whether you like the Tarja age better or the Annette age, you can't deny that the musical and symphonic capablities are all decent at worst. Albums like Dark Passion Play, Imaginarium, Once, and Wishmaster are the best examples of their musicianship. They even have a movie for Imaginarium as well. They also have a plan to release a new album known as Endless Forms Most Beautiful to be released in March 27th in the U.S. I also have chance to see them in concert in May so I will look forward to that. With their new album, the also have a new singer known as Floor Jansen, previously from After Forever, and the record label Nuclear Blast Records is hyping the crap out of it. I will check out the album myself and compare it to their previous releases.

That's all for now, I hope you have some good findings and I'll see you next time.