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In Extremo (
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for ''At the Edge''; abbreviated InEx or IE) is a German medieval metal band originally from
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. 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
bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
s,
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
,
hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...
and
shawm The shawm () is a Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissanc ...
). Versions of well-known traditional/medieval ballads once made 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 mostly in German, whilst the traditional songs and cover songs are in a variety of languages.


History

In Extremo 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. On 11 April 1995, during the recording for that year's season, Michael Robert (Micha) Rhein (alias "Das letzte Einhorn", "The Last Unicorn") found the project name "In Extremo". Most of the band members perform under stage names. 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). 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, , the band's guitarist is "Van Lange". 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 ''Gold'' because of the golden cover. In February 1997, like the single "Der Galgen" ("The Gallows"), it quickly sold out in medieval markets. In Extremo played separately as a medieval band and a rock band, until on 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 Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
. 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 large role. The band is likewise noted for their conspicuous stage costumes and known for using
pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, q ...
in their concerts, including Der Morgenstern playing cymbals which have been set on fire. In February 2010, In Extremo announced that Der Morgenstern 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'', and ''Quid Pro Quo'' and ''Kompass zur Sonne'' all having number 1 positions for a time. In July 2020, the band played an online livestream concert for Wacken World Wide.


Appearances

The band's first major appearance was in the first part of the 2001 video game '' Gothic''. A group of travelling 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 began to pay attention to In Extremo. They were invited on the television program ''Viva Interactive'', where they gave a 15-minute call-and-response and played two songs. They rejected at that time an invitation to ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' to play "Küss mich" ("Kiss Me"), because it was, according to Das letzte Einhorn, not their environment. Nevertheless, they did accept a further invitation to ''Top of the Pops'' in 2005 and played "Nur ihr allein" ("Only You Alone"). At the same time, their band's audience grew with live appearances, from marketplaces to festivals like
Rock am Ring The (German language, German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' tak ...
, the Taubertal Festival, and the Nova Rock in Austria. Their largest public appearance, however, had In Extremo opening for the farewell tour of Böhse Onkelz in June 2005, with about 120,000 spectators. In Extremo last participated on 9 February 2006, in the Bundesvision Song Contest of
Stefan Raab Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German entertainer, television host, television producer, and businessman. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night talk show, late-night comedy talk show ''TV total'' on ProSieben. He also creat ...
for the
Free State of Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany's 16 states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Erfurt is the capital and la ...
; Das letzte Einhorn was born in
Dingelstädt Dingelstädt () is a town in the district of Eichsfeld (district), Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Unstrut, south of Leinefelde-Worbis and northwest of Mühlhausen. The former municipalities Helm ...
and grew up in Leinefelde. Both cities lie in North Thuringia. The group occupied the third spot with "Liam (German)". Beforehand, they had introduced themselves on 2 February on the television show ''
TV total ''TV total'' is a German late-night television comedy talk show which originally aired from 8 March 1999 to 16 December 2015 on ProSieben, hosted, created and produced by entertainer Stefan Raab. Following a six-year hiatus, it was revived on 1 ...
''. In Extremo also played in 2006 at the
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...
, as well as on the
M'era Luna Festival The M'era Luna is a gothic festival that encompasses a number of different styles such as metal, future pop, aggrotech, synthpop, gothic rock, dark wave, and EBM. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, ...
in
Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...
. At the end of the year, they played in the framework 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"). It achieved an at-the-time sensational 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''; it came in third place on the German charts. The video of the single "Küss mich" was frequently shown on German music television. The singles reached high chart placements. The eighth album '' Mein rasend Herz'' ("My Racing Heart") achieved third place on the album charts in 2005. 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 of the German charts. In addition, the ''7'' and ''Raue Spree'' achieved gold status in early 2007. The ninth album ''Sängerkrieg'' ("Singers' War") went to first place on the album charts of Germany on 23 May 2008. In Austria, it reached the thirteenth and in Switzerland the twenty-second place. In Germany it was the 41st-best-selling album of the year in 2008.


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
hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...
,
bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
s,
Uilleann Pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ), also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the ...
, shawm,
nyckelharpa ''Nyckelharpa'' (, roughly "keyed fiddle" in Swedish language, Swedish, , plural: ) is a "keyed" Bowed string instrument, bowed chordophone, primarily originating from Sweden in its modern form, but with its historical roots scattered across med ...
, harp,
cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
,
tromba marina A tromba marina, marine trumpet or nuns' fiddle, ( Fr. ''trompette marine''; Ger. ''Marientrompete, Trompetengeige, Nonnengeige'' or ''Trumscheit'', Pol. ''tubmaryna'') is a triangular bowed string instrument used in medieval and Renaissanc ...
,
hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...
, Klangbaum and various types of drums and percussion. Bagpipes are the most conspicuous 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 are also partially built by a well-known pipe builder. The band also uses a custom-built
frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...
covered in
zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...
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.


Style and lyrics

Some lyrics are not written by the band, but some – like the instruments – from traditional songs written during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Many of the lyrics to the band's repertoire of medieval songs come from church writings (e.g. "Wessebronner Gebet"),
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
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 ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...
, a medieval collection of songs, as well as lyrics written as poetry by the 15th-century French poet
François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...
("Rotes Haar" and "Erdbeermund"; translated into German by Paul Zech). The band also uses poems from later writers such as
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
("Der Rattenfänger" - "The Rat Catcher") and
Ludwig Uhland Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist, literary historian, lawyer and politician. Biography He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, b ...
, 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 members * Michael Robert Rhein (Das letzte Einhorn/The Last Unicorn) – vocals,
cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
,
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
,
darbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-shaped body. It is ...
,
davul The davul, dhol, tapan, atabal or tabl is a large double-headed drum that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the Middle East and the Balkans. These drums ...
, binioù,
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
,
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
(1995–present) * Marco Ernst-Felix Zorzytzky (Flex der Biegsame/Flex the Flexible)German bagpipes,
shawm The shawm () is a Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissanc ...
,
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
,
uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ), also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the ...
,
hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...
(1995–present) * Kay Lutter (Die Lutter) – bass, marine trumpet,
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
(1995–present) * André Strugala (Dr. Pymonte) – German bagpipes, shawm, flute, harp, marine trumpet, tsymbaly, sampler, FX (1996–present) * Sebastian Oliver Lange (Van Lange) – guitar, cittern (1999–present) * Florian Speckardt (Specki T.D.) – drums,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
(2010–present) Former members * 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 A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...
(1995–2010) * Boris Pfeiffer (Yellow Pfeiffer/Yellow Piper) – German bagpipes, shawm, flute,
nyckelharpa ''Nyckelharpa'' (, roughly "keyed fiddle" in Swedish language, Swedish, , plural: ) is a "keyed" Bowed string instrument, bowed chordophone, primarily originating from Sweden in its modern form, but with its historical roots scattered across med ...
(1997–2021); died 2022 Timeline


Discography


Albums


Singles

* 1996: ''Ai vis 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'' ("
Merseburg Incantations The Merseburg charms, Merseburg spells, or Merseburg incantations () are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan belief preserved in the language. They were ...
") (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, were shown to play the acoustic version of " Herr Mannelig" ingame during the second chapter. In the international English release, the scene was removed for licensing issues, 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

* Corvus Corax


References


External links


Official website
(in German) * * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1995 Medieval metal musical groups Metal Blade Records artists Musical groups from Berlin German folk metal musical groups