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This thesis focuses on the adaptation and appropriation of the Kalevala (1849) – Finland’s national epic –, and other Finnish folk poetry in metal music lyrics from Finland.

After the data collection of the lyrics, I proposed a taxonomy based on the types of reworkings found. This taxonomy exists of four categories: transposition, commentary, analogous transformation, and stylistic imitation. The taxonomy represents lyrics from allusions to the folk poetry through e.g., a place name, through to familiar stories retold in a different time or lyrics that are written in the traditional Kalevala-metre.

From the taxonomy I chose eight lyrics to interpret with ethnopoetic analysis. This method was exceptionally suitable as it allowed for comparison between different texts and to take the social, cultural, and historic context of the texts into account. The lyrics’ analysis showed that the lyrics make different connections to the Kalevala but also to other sources important for Finnishness, such as classic novels or historic events.

After the lyrics analysis, I conducted interviews with (most of) the lyricists. These interviews were aimed at better understanding the legitimations for reworking Finnish folk poetry, their views of Finnish national identity and the place of their lyrics within that identity. From the interviews, I established four markers of Finnish national identity: art, history, nature, language.

During the final step of my research, I contextualised the findings of my thesis so far and it became clear that the four markers of Finnishness were apparent across the different lyrics analysed.

My main research findings were that artists often have detailed knowledge of the epic and that the lyrics are embedded within Finnish national identity through the myriad connections made with the Kalevala, other folk poetry, works of art important for Finnishness and their referrals to the four markers identified during the interviews.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...17
1.1 THE KALEVALA, ORIGINS, AND LASTING INFLUENCE ...22
1.1.1 CREATING AN EPIC FOR FINLAND ...22
1.1.2 THE KALEVALA IN ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ...29
CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ...39
2.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...40
2.2 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH AND DATA ...46
2.2.1 TAXONOMY TO CATEGORISE ADAPTATIONS AND APPROPRIATIONS OF FINNISH FOLK POETRY IN METAL MUSIC …48
2.2.2 REPRESENTATIVE LYRICS FOR EACH CATEGORY ...58
2.2.3 INTERPRETING THE LYRICS: ETHNOPOETIC ANALYSIS ...63
2.2.4 INTERPRETING THE INTERVIEWS: NARRATIVE ANALYSIS ...67
CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE REVIEW ...73
3.1 NATIONAL IDENTITY ...74
3.2 FINNISH NATIONAL IDENTITY ...82
3.3 POPULAR CULTURE ...88
3.4 FINNISH POPULAR CULTURE...93
3.5 THE GLOBAL METAL SCENE ...97
3.6 FINNISH METAL ...101
3.7 CONCLUSIONS ...106
CHAPTER 4 INTERVIEW ANALYSIS ...108
4.1 “SOMETHING VERY OLD, SOMETHING VERY ORIGINAL” – FINNISH NATIONAL IDENTITY ...109
4.2 “THE LANGUAGE SEEMED ANCIENT AND EVEN SILLY” – HOW PERSPECTIVES ON THE KALEVALA HAVE CHANGED
OVER TIME ACCORDING TO THE ARTISTS ...116
4.3 “THE SPIRIT OF VÄINÄMÖINEN” – FINNISH FOLK POETRY IN THE LYRICS ...122
4.4 CONCLUSIONS ...129
CHAPTER 5 TRANSPOSITION ...132
5.1 A CAREFUL TESTING OF THE ICY WATERS ...132
5.1.1 THE LAND IN THE NORTH - POHJOLA ...133
5.1.2 POHJOLA AS FINLAND? – ADAPTATIONS AND APPROPRIATIONS OF THE LAND IN THE NORTH ...136
5.1.3 SENTENCED – AWAITING THE WINTER FROST ...144
5.2 A STORY BEYOND RECOGNITION...151
5.2.1 THE HAPLESS KULLERVO ...152
5.2.2 PAAVO HAAVIKKO – KULLERVON TARINA ’THE STORY OF KULLERVO’ ...156
5.2.3 AMORPHIS - HOUSE OF SLEEP ...158
5.3 THE SHAMAN AND THE HUNTER ...164
5.3.1 THE LAND OF DEATH – TUONELA & MANALA ...164
5.3.2 VAELTAA TUONELASSA ‘TO WANDER IN TUONELA’ – ADAPTATIONS AND APPROPRIATIONS OF TUONELA AND MANALA ...167
5.3.3 STAM1NA – METSÄSTÄJÄ, I METSÄSTÄJÄ ‘THE HUNTER, I THE HUNTER’ ...179
5.4 CONCLUSIONS ...189
CHAPTER 6 COMMENTARY ...190
6.1 THE FORGOTTEN PAGAN HERO REIMAGINED ...190
6.1.1 KIRMU-KARMU, A LOCAL LEGEND FROM VESILAHTI ...191
6.1.2 KORPIKLAANI - VESILAHDEN VERÄJILLÄ ‘AT THE GATES OF VESILAHTI’ ...194
6.2 THE MIRACLE OF THE SAMPO ...206
6.2.1 ILMARINEN AND THE SAMPO ...206
6.2.2 AMORPHIS - SAMPO ...215
6.3 CONCLUSIONS ...222
CHAPTER 7 ANALOGOUS TRANSFORMATION...224
7.1 THE MULTIMODAL PROCESS ON THE ORIGINS OF IRON ...224
7.1.1 THE ORIGINS OF IRON IN THE KALEVALA ...225
7.1.2 JOSEPH ALANEN - RAUDAN SYNTY ‘THE BIRTH OF IRON’ ...226
7.1.3 MOKOMA - RAUTAA RINNOISTA ‘IRON FROM THE BREASTS’ ...228
7.2 THE KALEVALA AS ANALOGY FOR MODERN DAY SOCIETY ...233
7.2.1 THE CASANOVA OF THE KALEVALA: LEMMINKÄINEN ...234
7.2.2 ALEKSIS KIVI – SEITSEMÄN VELJESTÄ ‘THE SEVEN BROTHERS’ ...237
7.2.3 KOTITEOLLISUUS - LEMMINKÄISEN LAULU ‘THE SONG OF LEMMINKÄINEN’ ...239
7.3 CONCLUSIONS ...246
CHAPTER 8 STYLISTIC IMITATION ...248
8.1 “BLACK IS THE BREAD OF STONE” – COMBINING STYLISTIC ASPECTS OF THE KALEVALA WITH THE GREAT
FAMINE OF FINLAND (1695-1697) ...248
8.1.1 STYLISTIC OR FORMAL ASPECTS OF FINNISH FOLK POETRY ...249
8.1.2 THE GREAT FAMINE OF FINLAND 1695-1697 ...251
8.1.3 HIIDENHAUTA - MUSTA LEIPÄ ‘BLACK BREAD’ ...254
8.2 CONCLUSIONS ...261
CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSIONS ...262
9.1 INTRODUCTION ...262
9.2 KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS ...262
9.2.1 THE TAXONOMY ...263
9.2.2 ANALYSIS OF THE INTERVIEWS ...264
9.2.3 ANALYSIS OF THE LYRICS ...267
9.3 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THIS RESEARCH ...272
9.4 LIMITATIONS AND IDEAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ...280
CHAPTER 10 WORKS CITED ...283
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF METAL MUSIC SONGS INSPIRED BY THE KALEVALA AND OTHER FINNISH
FOLK POETRY 306
APPENDIX 2 LIST OF ARTWORKS REFERENCED ...330
2.1. LIST OF WORKS OF ART BASED ON THE KALEVALA AND OTHER FOLK POETRY ...330
2.2. LIST OF WORKS OF ART REFERENCED NOT BASED ON THE KALEVALA OR FOLK POETRY ...334
APPENDIX 3 THE CONTENTS OF THE KALEVALA ...335
3.1. A SUMMARY OF THE MAIN EVENTS FROM THE KALEVALA ...335
3.2. IMPORTANT CHARACTERS AND CONCEPTS IN THE KALEVALA ...339
APPENDIX 4 INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ...342
4.1. SAMI LOPAKKA (SENTENCED) ...342
4.2. PEKKA KAINULAINEN (AMORPHIS) ...346
4.3. MARKO ANNALA (MOKOMA) ...358
4.4. TUOMAS KESKIMÄKI (HIIDENHAUTA & KORPIKLAANI) ...370
4.5 ESA HOLOPAINEN (AMORPHIS) ...375
4.6 JOUNI HYNYNEN (KOTITEOLLISUUS) ...379
4.7 INTERVIEW THEMES ANALYSIS ...384