10 Unlikely Instruments Used To Push The Boundaries of Metal

6. Flute

The flute is one of the world’s oldest instruments, with the earliest flutes ever discovered dating back 42,000 to 43,000 years ago. While whoever created it clearly did not intend for it to be used in metal music, that has not stopped many bands from incorporating the instrument in their music.

Folk metal bands are the biggest users of this instrument – just like many of the instruments on this list – however it has also seen use from black metal bands on occasion. It is used primarily as a backing instrument but features quite prominently in some songs, almost as much as the vocals.

Notable flute playing metal bands include Månegarm, Negura Bunget and Subway to Sally.