Skyforger
Skyforger is a heavy metal band from Latvia which was formed in 1995 out of the remains of doom metal band Grindmaster Dead. Musical style and lyrical themes. Most of their songs are about Baltic mythology and warfare; they also play traditional Latvian folk songs and their metal arrangements. Although Skyforger is known for their folk metal, their style on their demo "Semigalls' Warchant" is essentially black metal. The band also has performed and recorded a number of folk songs, including the entirety of their fourth album "Zobena Dziesma" ("Sword Song"), released in 2003. Folk elements can be found  on all of their albums. In December 2005, during the presentation of their album, "Semigalls' Warchant" (2005), the band announced their next album would be experimentation with thrash metal. They later pointed out that Latvian history still has enough untold stories, meaning their lyrics will probably retain their folk/pagan fashion. History. In 2010 Skyforger signed with American label Metal Blade Records and released their 5th studio album "Kurbads" about the deeds of mythical Latvian warrior Kurbads, son of mare. Skyforger was also featured on BBC's series "Close-Up" episode on Latvian folk music. In 2015 the band released  their 6th studio album titled "" dedicated to the now extinct Baltic people Old Prussians. Two of the album's songs are sung in Old Prussian ("Ei skīja, skīja" and "Rāmava"), while the rest are in Latvian. When writing the album Skyforger recruited historian Agris Dzenis, who is noted in the credits as the historical consultant. After releasing the album the band embarked on a European tour on April 8. In 2016 "Senprūsija" received the Latvian Gold Microphone award as the best hard rock/heavy metal album of 2015. In 2016 Skyforger also re-issued their 2003 album "Zobena dziesma" with  2 additional songs. On June 3, 2017, Skyforger performed a one-time multi-media concert – metal opera "Kurbads. The Son of The Mare" – at Lielezers open-air stage in Limbaži as a part of the programme for 100th Anniversary of the Latvian Republic. On February 14, 2018, the performance was awarded Kilogram of Culture award as the "Surprise of the Year". On June 17, 2018, Skyforger played a special concert at the festival "Zobens un Lemess" commemorating the 20th anniversary since the release of their first full-length album "Kauja pie Saules" in 1998. Controversy. Skyforger was involved in some  controversy with one of their former producers who believed they were affiliated with Neo-Nazism. The reason for this was the cover of their album "Thunderforge", which depicts Baltic god of thunder Pērkons wearing a belt buckle adorned with a swastika and striking an anvil, as well as the swastika incorporated in Skyforger's logo. Some websites had therefore listed Skyforger as a Neo-Nazi band. The band addressed the controversy on their website, writing: