 Weinstein comments that " Viking metal has travelled further than any Viking ship . Self @-@ defined pagan metal bands who describe their music as Viking metal can be found in the United States , Brazil and Uruguay , among other places . " She cites the sensationalism of the early Norwegian black metal scene for some of this popularity , but considers the genre 's greatest influence to be " the inspiration it has given to others to explore their own roots . " This impact was particularly strong in the Baltic states , where Viking metal influenced the development of a distinct pagan metal scene known as " Baltic war metal . " Weinstein considers the Lithuanian band <unk> the prime example of this style . Formed as a black metal band in 1993 with Lithuanian lyrics , the band 's 1997 album <unk> birthed the war metal scene . Weinstein highlights a comment by scholar Michael F. Strmiska that despite the claim that Scandinavia was home to the last pagans in Europe , " A point of particular pride is the knowledge that Lithuania was the last country in all of Europe to officially abandon its native Pagan traditions and convert to Christianity in 1387 . " Another Baltic band influenced by Viking metal is the Latvian project Skyforger , which composes its lyrics in the Latvian language . A final example by Weinstein of the influence of Viking metal on pagan metal is the National Socialist black metal band <unk> from Poland , which on its second album , Thousand Swords , released in 1995 , featured a variety of folk styles mixed in with the band 's black metal sound , and introduced lyrics about Polish history and Slavic gods . Trafford and Pluskowski note as a contrast to Viking metal the emergence of Celtic metal in Ireland , France , and even Germany , a style which they state sounds essentially like Viking metal , apart from the addition of harps , but with lyrics celebrating Celtic gods and myths . 
