Map: Finnish metal is the densest of all metal

For your Friday afternoon map-viewing enjoyment, here’s a map of heavy metal bands by population created by Reddit user depo_ by way of the good folks at the Atlantic Wire. Finland takes the crown, but the Nordic dominance shouldn’t be surprising. Norway even trains its diplomats to be conversant on the finer points of True Norwegian Black Metal.

In 2010, I wrote about a slightly more academic effort to measure music exports as a percentage of GDP. The NORCs came out on top in that measurement too, with both Sweden and Finland — not to mention Canada — among the world’s top musical exporters. Though I do wonder if the global cultural juggernaut that is K-Pop has shaken things up in the years since.