Metal Wyrd

How this site came to be called Metal Wyrd is a story both fascinating and a trifle spooky.

As a genre, Folk-Metal is steeped in ancient Pagan and Celtic lore - combined, of course, with the growling/grunting “Cookie Monster” vocal style popularized by Black-Metal bands. This much is known to anyone even halfway aware of the music. (The Wiki entry on Folk-Metal is a good place to start for anyone interested in discovering the origins of Folk-Metal music.)

But I wanted to know more. So I researched folk legends, runes, paganism, druids, magick, and mythology. Fascinating reading. But none of those terms lent themselves to the imagery and depth I wanted the name of this site to convey.

The word “wyrd” came to me somewhere during my journey. So I followed that rabbit down its hole until I found the Wiki entry on Wyrd, part of which says this:

Old English Wyrd is…related to the Old English verb weorpan, meaning “to grow into, to become” (compare to German werden). In its literal sense, it refers to “that which turns out, that which comes to pass.”

And this:

In a simple sense, Wyrd refers to how past actions continually affect and condition the future, but also how the future affects the past…The Wyrd also foregrounds the interconnected nature of all actions and how they influence each other.

Another helpful site - which, oddly, doesn’t exist any more - was wyrdwords.com. The page titled “What is Wyrd?” offered a great explanation of the concept of wyrd:

Wyrd literally means “that which has turned” or “that which has become.” It carries the idea of “turned into” in both the sense of becoming something new and the sense of turning back to an original starting point. In metaphysical terms, wyrd embodies the concept that everything is turning into something else while both being drawn in toward and moving out from its own origins. Thus, we can think of wyrd as a process that continually works the patterns of the past into the patterns of the present.

I was stunned. What better explanation for a genre of music with roots both in the past and in the present and future, a style of music that owes as much to the harshness of modern life as it does to the freshness of days gone by? And what better concept to explain a style of music that is in the process of becoming?

As I contemplated calling this site Metal Wyrd, I glanced over my left shoulder to see Elvenking’s Wyrd CD propped up against the cherry-wood entertainment center. I had been listening to wyrd music the whole time I spent researching the idea behind the word!

And so Metal Wyrd was born - partly out of research and partly by happenstance.

THE FUTURE OF METAL WYRD

I know there are other sites out there that cater to Folk-Metal music. But what I bring to the table is a passion for this genre of music, combined with nearly two decades as a professional writer.

In other words, what you can expect from Metal Wyrd is a site that delivers the very best, most interesting interviews, reviews, and news. I will return to Folk-Metal’s roots, and examine its present and future. Metal Wyrd is a journey, not a destination. It’s a gateway to a fascinating world of music that literally knows no boundaries. You can find Folk-Metal in Russia as well as the United States, in Ireland as well as Finland, in Brazil as well as Germany.

So, in true wyrd fashion, expect the unexpected!

Hails! And welcome to the world of Metal Wyrd.