In Extremo

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In Extremo (Latin for At the Edge; abbreviated InEx or IE) is a German medieval metal band from Berlin. Their musical style combines heavy metal music with traditional medieval songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments (such as bagpipes, harp, hurdy-gurdy, and shawm). At the beginning of their musical career, versions of well-known traditional and medieval ballads made up a major part of their repertoire. In recent years, however, the band has written a large amount of original musical material. Their own songs are written mostly in German, while the traditional songs they perform and the songs they cover are in a variety of languages.

History

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In Extremo on stage

In Extremo began as two projects: a nameless, acoustic medieval band; and an (electric) rock band.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They became known at that time through frequent appearances at medieval market meetings, at which they performed their acoustic pieces and sold CDs of their renditions of traditional songs. On 11 April 1995, during the recording for that year's season, Michael Robert (Micha) Rhein (alias "Das letzte Einhorn"; English: "The Last Unicorn") found the project name "In Extremo."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Most of the band members perform under stage names.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The initial members of the medieval band were "Das letzte Einhorn" (vocals), "Flex der Biegsame" ("Flex the Flexible"; bagpipes), "Dr. Pymonte" (bagpipes), Conny Fuchs (who left the band before the official release date, due to her pregnancy, and was replaced by Dr. Pymonte) and Sen Pusterbalg (replaced shortly after the official release by "Yellow Pfeiffer", "Yellow Piper"; bagpipes).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band originally consisted of "Thomas der Münzer" ("Thomas the Coiner"; guitar), "Der Morgenstern" ("The Morning Star"; drums), and "Die Lutter" ("The Lutter", bass guitar). Der Münzer subsequently left the band and, Template:As of, the band's guitarist is "Van Lange". As noted below, almost all of the band members play multiple instruments.<ref name=":0" />

By 1994, with the increasing number of visitors, the success of their CDs, and the popular interest, as well as cross-pollination from groups such as Corvus Corax and Bathory, In Extremo was encouraged to attempt to start a band combining bagpipes and other traditional instruments with rock guitars. These changes resulted in In Extremo becoming a rock group that integrates modern instruments such as the drum set, electric bass, and guitar with the acoustic elements previously used for the medieval songs, and which plays both types of music as well as a hybrid of the two.<ref name=aaa>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 1996, they began work on the first In Extremo album, which already contained two tracks of the new rock project. Interestingly enough, because the album had no official name, it became known as Gold due to its golden cover. In February 1997, it quickly sold out in medieval markets.

In Extremo played separately as a medieval band and a rock band until 29 March 1997, when they played their first live rock concert. Since that time, they have given this date as their date of establishment. The two projects were officially merged on 11 January 1998. April 1998 saw the first "high occupancy" In Extremo concert in the Rabenstein castle in Brandenburg.

Over the years, the band's music became more heavy metal-based, while at the same time becoming increasingly commercially successful. The classical instruments, however—bagpipes, shawms, and lutes—still play a significant role. The band is likewise noted for their stage costumes and known for using pyrotechnics in their concerts, including Der Morgenstern playing cymbals which have been set on fire.

In February 2010, In Extremo announced that Der Morgenstern had left the band because of musical differences. In June, Florian "Specki T.D." Speckardt was announced as his replacement on drums. Since then, they have proceeded to release five albums: Sterneneisen, Kunstraub, Quid Pro Quo, Kompass zur Sonne, and Wolkenshieber, all of which have reached the top 10 in the German charts, with Sterneneisen, Quid Pro Quo, and Kompass zur Sonne all having number 1 positions for a time.Template:Citation needed

In July 2020, the band played an online live stream concert for Wacken World Wide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Appearances

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In Extremo at the Zelt-Musik-Festival 2018

The band's first major appearance was in the first part of the 2001 video game Gothic. A group of traveling musicians called 'In-Extremo' plays their version of the song "Herr Mannelig", from the album Verehrt und angespien, by the gallows outside the Old Camp Castle in the second chapter of the game.

With their success, the music programs also eventually took notice of In Extremo. Consequently, the band was invited to participate in the television program Viva Interactive, where they gave a 15-minute call-and-response and played two songs. The band rejected an invitation to Top of the Pops to play "Küss mich" ("Kiss Me"), which they rejected at the time because, according to Das letzte Einhorn, it was not their environment. However, they accepted a further invitation to Top of the Pops in 2005 and played "Nur ihr allein" ("Only You Alone").

At the same time, the band's audience grew with live appearances from marketplaces to festivals like Rock am Ring, the Taubertal Festival, and the Nova Rock in Austria. Their largest public appearance was opening for the farewell tour of Böhse Onkelz in June 2005, with about 120,000 spectators.

In Extremo last participated in the Bundesvision Song Contest of Stefan Raab on 9 February 2006 for the Free State of Thuringia. The group occupied the third spot with "Liam (German)". Beforehand, they had introduced themselves on 2 February on the television show TV total.

In Extremo also played in 2006 at the Wacken Open Air, as well as on the M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim. At the end of the year, they played their "10 Year Anniversary Tour" in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Success

The first In Extremo album that attracted attention was Verehrt und angespien ("Worshipped and Spat At"), achieving 11th place in the German album charts. The subsequent album, Sünder ohne Zügel ("Unbridled Sinners"), reached 10th place.

The band had further success with the album 7, peaking at number 3 on the German album charts. The video of the single "Küss mich" was frequently shown on German music television.

The eighth album, Mein rasend Herz<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> ("My Racing Heart"), achieved third place on the album charts in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Three singles were published from this album: "Nur ihr allein" ("Only You Alone") on 17 May 2005, "Horizont" ("Horizon") on 12 September 2005, and "Liam (German)" on 3 February 2006. On 10 February 2006, the second live CD/DVD, Raue Spree, was published, coming in at fourth place on the German charts. In addition, the 7 and Raue Spree achieved gold status in early 2007.

The ninth album Sängerkrieg<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> ("Singers' War") went to first place on the album charts of Germany on 23 May 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Austria, it reached the thirteenth place, and in Switzerland, the twenty-second place. In Germany, it was the 41st-best-selling album of 2008.

Instruments

Besides the electric guitar, bass, and drum set, In Extremo defines itself by instruments of predominantly medieval origin. They include hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, Uilleann Pipes, shawm, nyckelharpa, harp, cittern, tromba marina, hammered dulcimer, Klangbaum, and various types of drums and percussion. Bagpipes are the most common of these instruments, as Dr. Pymonte, Yellow Pfeiffer (until 2021), and Flex der Biegsame all play bagpipes, sometimes all three at once. All of the band members play multiple instruments, and frequently rotate instruments between songs; Das letzte Einhorn frequently plays a cittern during certain songs, such as "Ai vis lo lop".

Their bagpipes were partially made by Dr. Pymonte, but were also partially built by a well-known pipe builder. The band also uses a custom-built frame drum covered in zebra skin, called "Das Pferd" ("The Horse"). Most of the other acoustic instruments, such as their shawms, are only made by a few other instrument builders.Template:Citation needed

Style and lyrics

Singer Michael Robert Rhein a.k.a. "Das letzte Einhorn"

Some lyrics are not written by the band but are derived from traditional songs written during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, much like some of their instruments.

Many of the lyrics to the band's repertoire of medieval songs come from church writings (e.g., "Wessebronner Gebet"), Benedictine writings (e.g., "Raue See"), or are "trad. arr.", meaning traditional songs with unknown authors, rearranged by the band (e.g., "Merseburger Zaubersprüche", "Tannhuser", "Poc Vecem"). The band also frequently uses songs from the Carmina Burana, a medieval collection of songs, as well as lyrics written as poetry by the 15th-century French poet François Villon ("Rotes Haar" and "Erdbeermund"; translated into German by Paul Zech).

The band also uses poems from later writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ("Der Rattenfänger" - "The Rat Catcher") and Ludwig Uhland, who wrote "Des Sängers Fluch" ("The Singer's Curse") – which In Extremo changed to be called "Spielmannsfluch" ("The Minstrel's Curse"). For the album Mein rasend Herz, In Extremo originally wrote the lyrics to the song "Liam" in German, after which it was translated into Irish by Rea Garvey, who was also a guest singer on the song.

Band members

Current

Former

  • Conny Fuchs (Die Rote Füchsin/The Red Fox) – German bagpipes (1995–1996)
  • Mathias Aring (Sen Pusterbalg) – German bagpipes (1995–1997)
  • Thomas Mund (Thomas der Münzer/Thomas the Coiner) – guitar (1995–1999)
  • Reiner Morgenroth (Der Morgenstern/The Morning Star) – drums, percussion, timpani, frame drum (1995–2010)
  • Boris Pfeiffer (Yellow Pfeiffer/Yellow Piper) – German bagpipes, shawm, flute, nyckelharpa (1997–2021); died 2022<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Timeline <timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:120 top:0 right:60 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:04/11/1995 till:{{#time:m/d/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

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 id:cittern     value:teal         legend:Cittern
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 id:trumpet     value:yellow       legend:Marine_Trumpet
 id:sampler     value:lavender     legend:Tsymbaly,_Sampler,_FX
 id:bagpipes    value:coral        legend:German_Bagpipes
 id:pipes       value:drabgreen    legend:Uilleann_Pipes,_Hurdy-Gurdy
 id:flute       value:skyblue      legend:Flute,_Shawm
 id:nyckelharpa value:darkblue     legend:Nyckelharpa
 id:keys        value:purple       legend:Keyboards
 id:timpani     value:claret       legend:Timpani
 id:drums       value:orange       legend:Drums,_Percussion
 id:studio      value:black        legend:Studio_Album
 id:bars        value:gray(0.95)

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at:03/01/1998
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at:09/27/2013
at:06/24/2016
at:03/27/2020
at:09/06/2024

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bar:Michael text:"Michael Robert Rhein"
bar:Thomas  text:"Thomas Mund"
bar:Seb     text:"Sebastian Oliver Lange"
bar:Kay     text:"Kay Lutter"
bar:Marco   text:"Marco Ernst-Felix Zorzytzky"
bar:Conny   text:"Conny Fuchs"
bar:Andre   text:"André Strugala"
bar:Mathias text:"Mathias Aring"
bar:Boris   text:"Boris Pfeiffer"
bar:Reiner  text:"Reiner Morgenroth"
bar:Florian text:"Florian Speckardt"

PlotData= 

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bar:Michael from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:vocals
bar:Michael from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:guitar  width:3
bar:Michael from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:cittern width:5
bar:Michael from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:harp    width:7
bar:Thomas  from:04/11/1995 till:11/01/1999 color:guitar
bar:Seb     from:11/01/1999 till:end        color:guitar
bar:Seb     from:11/01/1999 till:end        color:cittern width:3
bar:Kay     from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:bass
bar:Kay     from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:trumpet width:3
bar:Kay     from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:timpani width:7
bar:Marco   from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:bagpipes
bar:Marco   from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:flute   width:7
bar:Marco   from:04/11/1995 till:end        color:pipes   width:3
bar:Conny   from:04/11/1995 till:06/01/1996 color:bagpipes
bar:Andre   from:06/01/1996 till:end        color:bagpipes
bar:Andre   from:06/01/1996 till:end        color:flute   width:5
bar:Andre   from:06/01/1996 till:end        color:sampler width:3
bar:Andre   from:06/01/1996 till:end        color:trumpet width:7
bar:Mathias from:04/11/1995 till:06/01/1997 color:bagpipes
bar:Boris   from:06/01/1997 till:06/01/2021 color:bagpipes
bar:Boris   from:06/01/1997 till:06/01/2021 color:nyckelharpa width:3
bar:Boris   from:06/01/1997 till:06/01/2021 color:flute   width:7
bar:Reiner  from:04/11/1995 till:02/26/2010 color:drums
bar:Reiner  from:04/11/1995 till:02/26/2010 color:timpani width:3
bar:Florian from:06/11/2010 till:end        color:drums
</timeline>

Discography

Albums

Year Title Format Meaning Info
1997 In Extremo (Gold) Studio Medieval acoustic album
1998 Hameln Studio "Hamelin" Medieval acoustic album
1998 Weckt die Toten!<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Studio "Wake the Dead" Debut folk metal album
1998 Die Verrückten sind in der Stadt Live "The Madmen Are in Town" Recorded live on 26 July at Runneburg (Germany)
1999 Verehrt und angespien Studio "Worshipped and Spat Upon" Last album with guitarist Thomas Mund
2001 Sünder ohne Zügel Studio "Unbridled Sinners" First album with guitarist Sebastian Oliver Lange
2002 Live 2002 Live CD + DVD
2003 7 Studio
2005 Mein rasend Herz Studio "My Raging Heart"
2006 Raue Spree 2005 Live "Rough Spree" CD + DVD
2006 Kein Blick Zurück Best of "No Looking Back" Also contains two new songs and some rerecordings. The limited edition also featured a bonus disc with covers of In Extremo songs done by other bands.
2008 Sängerkrieg Studio "Singers' War"
2008 Sängerkrieg Akustik Radio Show Live "Singers' War Acoustic Radio Show"
2009 Am Goldenen Rhein<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Live "On the Golden Rhine" CD + DVD. Last album with drummer Reiner Morgenroth.
2011 Sterneneisen<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Studio "Iron from the Stars" First album with drummer Florian Speckardt.
2012 Sterneneisen Live – Laut sind wir und nicht die Leisen Live "Iron from the Stars Live – We Are Loud and Not the Quiet Ones" Live in Siegen (21 April 2011). The DVD featured both this show and the one at Rock am Ring (5 June 2011).
2013 Kunstraub Studio "Art Theft"
2015 20 wahre Jahre Box set "20 True Years" Contains the band's material from 1997 to 2015
2016 Quid Pro Quo<ref name=aaa/> Studio "Give and Take"
2017 40 wahre Lieder – The Best Of Best of "40 True Songs – The Best Of" 2 CDs (plus 3 DVDs on the special edition)
2020 Kompass zur Sonne<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Studio "Compass to the Sun"
2024 Wolkenschieber Studio "Cloud Mover"
2024 Wolkenschieber Live Live "Cloud Mover"
2025 Wolkenschieber - Live Unter Dem Blutmond Live "Cloud Mover - Live Under the Blood Moon" Includes live recording from December 7, 2024 at the Vienna Gasometer

Singles

  • 1996: Ai vis lo lop (Template:Langx, "I Saw the Wolf") (cassette)
  • 1997: In Extremo (Der Galgen)
  • 1998: Ai vis lo lop Vocal-Remix
  • 1999: This Corrosion (promo maxi CD)
  • 1999: Merseburger Zaubersprüche ("Merseburg Incantations") (promo maxi CD)
  • 2000: Vollmond ("Full Moon")
  • 2001: Unter dem Meer ("Below the Sea") (promo maxi CD)
  • 2001: Wind (promo maxi CD)
  • 2003: Küss mich ("Kiss Me")
  • 2003: Erdbeermund ("Strawberry Mouth")
  • 2005: Nur ihr allein ("Only You Alone") – released in three versions
  • 2005: Horizont ("Horizon")
  • 2006: Liam (German version)
  • 2008: Frei zu sein ("To Be Free")
  • 2008: Neues Glück ("New Luck")
  • 2011: Zigeunerskat ("Gypsy Skat")
  • 2011: Siehst du das Licht ("Do You See the Light")
  • 2011: Viva la vida ("Live Life")
  • 2013: Feuertaufe ("Baptism by Fire")
  • 2015: Loreley (20th Anniversary Song)
  • 2016: Sternhagelvoll ("Blotto")
  • 2020: Troja ("Troy")
  • 2020: Wintermärchen ("Winter Fable")
  • 2020: Schenk nochmal ein

Music videos

  • This Corrosion (1999, directed by Stephan Vollmer)
  • Vollmond (2000, directed by Heiner Thimm)
  • Wind (2001, directed by Heiner Thimm)
  • Küss mich (2003, directed by Uwe Flade)
  • Erdbeermund (2003, directed by Uwe Flade)
  • Nur ihr allein (2005, directed by Jörn Heitmann)
  • Horizont (2005 or 2006, directed by David Incorvaia)
  • Liam, official live music video (2006, directed by Uwe Flade)
  • Frei zu sein (2008, directed by Sharon Berkal)
  • Zigeunerskat (2011)
  • Viva la vida (2011)
  • Siehst du das Licht (2011)
  • Feuertaufe (2013)
  • Loreley (20th Anniversary Song) (2015)
  • Sternhagelvoll (2016)
  • Störtebeker (2016)
  • Lieb Vaterland, magst ruhig sein (2016)
  • Troja (2020)
  • Kompass zur Sonne (2020)
  • Schenk nochmal ein (2020)

Video games

  • Gothic (2001, Windows): The band, recreated in the game, was shown to play the acoustic version of "Herr Mannelig" in-game during the second chapter. In the international English release, the scene was removed for licensing issues,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> even in the digital releases. A mod can restore the cameo.

Appearances

  • "I Walk Alone" (Tarja), In Extremo Remix
  • "Meridian" (Manntra), from the EP Meridian (2017) - featuring Michael Robert Rhein
  • "Murter" (Manntra), from the album Oyka! (2019) -- featuring Michael Robert Rhein

See also

References

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