Finnish folk metal band Korpiklaani will perform a gig at Brown Sugar Jar’s Shangbu outlet in Futian District.

While folk metal bands usually begin with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk music before incorporating metal. The roots of Korpiklaani can be traced back to a Sami folk music group under the name of “Shamaani Duo,” an in-house restaurant band created by Jonne Jarvela in 1993. An album of folk music “Hunka Lunka” was released under this name before Jarvela relocated and “Shamaani Duo” morphed into “Shaman.”

Shaman was the band’s second incarnation and was formed in 1996; Shaman’s music retained the folky sound of Shamaani Duo. They were notable for their heavy use of original native Samic musical and lyrical elements. The most widely used elements were the shamanic drum, singing and humppa. The vocals also varied from clean to aggressive growling.

The musical style of Shaman was distinctive, especially in slow-tempo songs, due to the hypnotic atmosphere created by the monophonic, “narrow” synth sound making a deep contrast with the spacious sound of the acoustic guitar, the shamanic drum and yoik singing.

The first recording released under the name of Shaman was the demo single “New World in Sami.” The music video featured a wolf breaking free from its cage and running into the forest. The song was also included on the band’s first full-length album “Night in Sami” (1999).

The band underwent another evolution in 2003, and “Shaman” became “Korpiklaani,” with the music style changing to a more conventional folk metal with folk-thrash vocals.

Time: 8:30 p.m., Sept. 20

Tickets: 100-350 yuan

Booking: 400-610-3721

Venue: Brown Sugar Jar, 1031 Shangbu Road South, Futian District (福田区上步南路1031号红糖罐)

Metro: Line 1, Science Museum Station (科学馆站), Exit D(SD News)