| In Extremo | |
|---|---|
 Das letzte Einhorn (singer)
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Berlin, Germany |
| Genre(s) | Mittelalter rock Folk metal |
| Years active | 1995 — present |
| Label(s) | Vielklang Musikproduktion Metal Blade Records Universal Music |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Das letzte Einhorn (Michael Robert Rhein) Van Lange (Sebastian Oliver Lange) Die Lutter (Kay Lutter) Der Morgenstern (Reiner Morgenstern) Dr. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Mittelalter rock or Mittelalter metal ( Medieval rock or Medieval metal) is a German subgenre of Folk metal that blends hard rock or heavy metal Folk metal is a sub-genre of Heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Artists Current artists 3 The Absence Aeon A Love Ends Suicide(Now Let's Fighting Universal Music Group (UMG is the largest Business group and family of Record labels in the Recording industry. Pymonte (André Strugala) Flex der Biegsame (Marco Ernst-Felix Zorzytzky) Yellow Pfeiffer (Boris Pfeiffer) |
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| Former members | |
| Die rote Füchsin (Conny Fuchs; 1995-1996) Thomas der Münzer (Thomas Mund; 1995-1999) Sen Pusterbalg (1995-1997) |
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"In Extremo" (Latin: "at the edge" or "in the extreme") is a German folk metal band originating from Berlin. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Folk metal is a sub-genre of Heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The band's musical style combines metal with medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments (such as the bagpipes, harp, hurdy-gurdy and shawm). Bagpipes are a class of Musical instrument, Aerophones using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. A hurdy gurdy (also known as a wheel fiddle) is a stringed Musical instrument in which the strings are sounded by means of a Rosined wheel which the strings The shawm was a Medieval and Renaissance Musical instrument of the Woodwind family made in Europe from the late 13th century until Versions of well-known traditional/medieval ballads make up the main part of their repertoire, but the band has written an increasing share of original material in recent years. Their own material is written in German, whilst the traditional songs are in a variety of languages, including (but not limited to) Spanish, English, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, French, Hebrew, Gothic, Latin, Old High German, and Middle German.
Contents |
Band History
In Extremo (abbreviated InEx, or just IE) began as two projects: a nameless, purely medieval band, and a rock band. 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. During the recording for the 1995 season, Michael Rhein (alias Das Letzte Einhorn, engl. "The Last Unicorn") found the project name "In Extremo", Latin for "At The Edge. "
Most of the band members perform under stage names. The initial members of the medieval band were Das Letzte Einhorn (engl. "The Last Unicorn," vocals), Flex Der Biegsame (engl. "Flex The Flexible," bagpipes), Dr. Pymonte (bagpipes) Conny Fuchs (who left the band before the official release date, due to her pregnancy by Dr. Pymonte) and Sen Pusterbalg (replaced shortly after the official release by Yellow Pfeiffer, engl. "Yellow Piper," bagpipes). The rock band originally consisted of Thomas Der Münzer (engl. "Thomas the Coiner," guitar), Der Morgenstern (engl. "The Morning Star," drums), and Die Lutter (bass guitar). Der Münzer subsequently left the band and, as of 2007, the band's guitarist is Der Lange ("The Long One"). As noted below, almost all of the band members play multiple instruments.
The increasing number of visitors, success of their CDs, and the popular interest, as well as cross-pollination from groups such as Corvus Corax and Bathory, encouraged In Extremo in 1995 to attempt to start a band combining bagpipes and other traditional instruments with rock guitars. The result was the current incarnation of In Extremo, a rock group that integrates modern instruments like 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.
In August 1996, they began work on the first In Extremo album, which already contained two tracks of the new rock project. Because the album had no official name, it became known as "In Extremo Gold" because of the golden covers. In February 1997, like the single "Der Galgen", it quickly sold out in Medieval markets.
In Extremo played separately as a medieval and a rock band, until on March 29 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 January 11, 1998. April 1998 saw the first "high occupancy" In Extremo concert in the Rabenstein castle in Brandenburg.
Over the years, their music became increasingly heavier, while at the same time becoming increasingly commercially successful. The classical instruments, however - the bagpipes, shawms, and lutes - still play a large role. The band is likewise noted for their conspicuous stage costumes and known for using pyrotechnics in their concerts, including Der Morgenstern playing cymbals which have been set on fire. The term "pyrotechnics" can also be used for Fireworks events
Instruments
Besides the electric guitar, bass, and drum set, In Extremo defines itself by unconventional (for a rock band) instruments mainly of medieval origin. They include the hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, Uilleann Pipes, shawm, nyckelharpa, harp, cittern, tromba marina, hammered dulcimer, Klangbaum, and various types of drums and percussion. Bagpipes are a class of Musical instrument, Aerophones using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag A nyckelharpa (literally "key harp" plural nyckelharpor or sometimes keyed fiddle) is a traditional Swedish musical instrument The cittern (occasionally spelled " cithern " is a stringed instrument of the Lute / Guitar family dating from the Renaissance. A tromba marina, or marine trumpet ( Fr trompette marine; Ger The hammered dulcimer is a stringed Musical instrument with the strings stretched over a Trapezoidal sounding board The bagpipes are the most conspicuous of these instruments, as Dr. Pymonte, Yellow Pfeiffer, and Flex der Beigsame 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 A Lo Lop.
The bagpipes were partially made by Dr. Bagpipes are a class of Musical instrument, Aerophones using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag Pymonte, but are 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). A frame drum is a Drum that has a Drumhead diameter greater than its depth Zebras are African Equids best known for their distinctive white and black stripes Most of the other acoustic instruments, such as the shawms, are only made by a few other instrument builders.
Style and Lyrics
Some lyrics are not written by the band, but come - like the instruments - from traditional songs written during the Middle Ages and Renaissance (8-15th century). Thus the lyrics are in 'dead' languages, such as Latin, or archaic dialects of German or other languages; these languages are understandably not fully mastered by the band members. The languages most frequently used include Icelandic, Old Swedish, Old French, Middle High German, Old High German, and Latin. Icelandic ( is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium Middle High German (MHG German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350 Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.
Many of the lyrics to the band's repertoire of medieval songs come from church writings (e. g. Merseburger Zaubersprüche, Wessebronner Gebet), Benedictine writings (e. g. Raue See), or are "trad. arr. ", meaning traditional songs with unknown authors, rearranged by the band (e. g. Tannhuser, Poc Vecem). The band also frequently uses songs from the Carmina Burana, a medieval collection of songs, as wall as lyrics written as poetry by the 15th-century French poet François Villon (Rotes Haar, engl. François Villon (in modern French fʀɑ̃swa viˈjɔ̃ in fifteenth-century French viˈlɔn (c Red Hair, and Erdbeermund, engl. Strawberry Mouth, translated into German by Paul Zech).
The band also uses poems from later writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Der Rattenfänger, engl. ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer The Ratcatcher) and Ludwig Uhland, who wrote Des Sängers Fluch, engl. Johann Ludwig Uhland ( April 26, 1787 &ndash November 13, 1862) was a German Poet. The Singer's Curse - which In Extremo changed to be called Spielmannsfluch, engl. '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 Gaelic by Rea Garvey, who was also a guest singer on the song. Mein Rasend Herz ( English: My Raging Heart) is a fifth Folk metal album by the German band In Extremo. The Goidelic languages, (also sometimes called particularly in colloquial situations the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) historically formed a Dialect
Appearances
Their first major appearance was in the first part of the computer game Gothic. Gothic is a Computer role-playing game by the German developer Piranha Bytes. Some time in the game, 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. Herr Mannelig (Or Herr Mannerlig is a medieval Swedish ballad that tells the story of a desperate mountain Troll who wishes to become human
With their success, the music programs also began to pay attention to In Extremo. They were invited on the television program Viva Interactive, where they gave a fifteen minute call-and-response and played two songs. They rejected at that time an invitation to Top of the Pops to play "Küss Mich" (Engl. Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, was a long-running British music chart Television programme, made and broadcast "Kiss Me"), because it was, according to Das Letzte Einhorn, not their environment. Nevertheless, they did accept a further invitation to TotP in 2005 and played "Nur Ihr Allein".
At the same time, their audience grew with live appearances, from marketplaces to festivals like Rock Am Ring, the Taubertal Festival, and the Nova Rock in Austria. The Rock am Ring ( Rock at the Ring) and Rock im Park ( Rock in the Park) festivals are two simultaneous Rock music festivals held annually in Their largest public appearance however, had In Extremo opening for the farewell tour of Böhse Onkelz in June 2005, with about 150,000 spectators. The Böhse Onkelz ( ˈʔɔŋkəls}} were a German rock group.
In Extremo last participated on February 9, 2006 in the Bundesvision Song Contest of Stefan Raab for the Free State of Thuringia; "Das Letzte Einhorn" was born in Dingelstädt (Eichsfeld), and grew up in Leinefelde. Events 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Bundesvision Song Contest is an annual competition created by German TV entertainer Stefan Raab in 2005 Stefan Konrad Raab (born on October 20, 1966, in Cologne) is a German Entertainer, music producer singer and Comedian. The Free State of Thuringia (Freistaat Thüringen is located in central Germany. Dingelstädt is a Thuringian city in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany The Eichsfeld is a historical region in the southeast of Lower Saxony and Thuringia (which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld and northwest of Leinefelde-Worbis is a town in the district of Eichsfeld, in northwestern Thuringia, Germany. Both cities lie in North Thuringia. The group occupied the third spot with "Liam (German)". Before, they had introduced themselves on February 2 on the TV show TV Total. TV total is a German late-night Television Comedy Talk show that has run since March 8,
In Extremo played further in 2006 at the Wacken Open Air, as well as on the M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim. Wacken Open Air (WOA is a popular German music festival focusing on various forms of Extreme metal and Heavy metal. The M'era Luna Festival is an alternative / Dark music festival is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste At the end of 2006 they played in the framework their "10 Year Anniversary Tour" in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Success
The first In Extremo album that excited attention was "Verehrt Und Angespien". It achieved a sensational at the time 11th place in the German album charts. The subsequent album, "Sünder Ohne Zügel", achieved 10th place.
The band had much success with the album "7"; it came in the German charts in 3rd place. The video of the single "Küss Mich" was frequently shown on German music television. The singles could achieve high chart placement.
The eighth album "Mein Rasend Herz" achieved third place on the album charts in 2005. Three singles were published from this album: "Nur Ihr Allein" on May 17, 2005, "Horizont" on September 12, 2005, and "Liam (German)" on February 3, 2006. On February 10, 2006, the second live CD/DVD, "Raue Spree", was published, coming in at 4th place on the German charts. In addition, the CD "7" and the DVD "Raue Spree" achieved gold status at the beginning of 2007.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Format | Title English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | In Extremo (Gold) | Studio | At The Edge/In The Extream (Gold) |
| 1998 | Hameln | Studio | Hamelin |
| 1998 | Weckt die Toten! | Studio | Wake the Dead |
| 1998 | Die Verrückten sind in der Stadt | Live | The Madmen are in the Town |
| 1999 | Verehrt und Angespien | Studio | Worshiped and Spat At |
| 2001 | Sünder ohne Zügel | Studio | Sinners Without Restraint |
| 2002 | Live 2002 | Live | |
| 2003 | 7 | Studio | |
| 2005 | Mein Rasend Herz | Studio | My Raging Heart |
| 2006 | Raue Spree 2005 | Live | Rough Spree |
| 2006 | Kein Blick Zurück | Best of | No Looking Back |
| 2008 | Sängerkrieg | Studio | Singers' War |
Singles
- 1996: Ai vis lo lop (Occitan: Ai vist lo lop, 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 (engl: Merseburg Incantations) (Promo Maxi CD)
- 2000: Vollmond (engl: Full Moon)
- 2001: Unter dem Meer (engl: Below the Sea) (Promo Maxi CD)
- 2001: Wind (Promo Maxi CD)
- 2003: Küss Mich (engl: Kiss Me)
- 2003: Erdbeermund (engl: Strawberry Mouth)
- 2005: Nur Ihr Allein (engl: Only You Alone) - released in three versions
- 2005: Horizont (engl: Horizon)
- 2006: Liam (German version)
- 2008: Frei zu Sein (engl: To Be Free)
DVD
- 2002 Live 2002
- 2006 Raue Spree 2005
See also
External links
- Official site: http://www.inextremo.de/
- Fanclub: http://www.inextremo-fanclub.de
- Czech fansite in English: http://www.inextremo.wz.cz/en/index.php
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