Neofolk

Neofolk (originally known as apocalyptic folk) is a music genre that originally emerged during the 1980s through the British post-punk and industrial music scene. It is primarily characterized by acoustic instrumentation and draws influences from dark wave and post-industrial styles such as dark ambient.

Neofolk blends elements of traditional and contemporary folk music with post-industrial and avant-garde influences, distinguishing it from mainstream folk traditions. It is commonly defined by the use of acoustic instruments. Artists incorporate influences from genres such as dark wave and dark ambient. Vocals may range from melodic singing to spoken word, with arrangements emphasizing atmosphere and mood over conventional song structures. Most neofolk artists stem from Nordic countries, Germany and Italy. The style often incorporates lyrical themes drawn from paganism, nature, and European history and mythology.

A majority of artists within the neofolk genre use archaic, cultural and literary references. Local traditions and indigenous beliefs are also heavily portrayed, as are esoteric and historical topics. David Tibet of Current 93, one of the most influential neofolk bands, regards himself as a Christian, but he believes that truth always is hidden and is more interested in apocalyptic and apocryphal literature than any Christian canon. During a period of heavy amphetamine and LSD use in the 1980s, he began to revere the children's character Noddy as a Gnostic deity. References to occult, pagan and politically far-right figures and movement are often intentionally ambiguous. Stefanie von Schnurbein has described the genre's approach to these types of material as an "elitist Nietzschean masquerade" which expresses a "(neo-)romantic art-religious attitude". Some bands have stated opposition to the perceived fascist apologia and themes in the genre and the related genre of martial industrial.