Editing Medieval metal


{{short description|Subgenre of folk metal music}}
{{For| medieval metalworking|Metallurgy#History.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Medieval metal
| other_names       = Mittelalter-metal
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Folk metal]]|[[medieval folk rock]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Mid-1990s, Germany
| subgenrelist      =
| subgenres         =
| fusiongenres      =
| regional_scenes   = Germany
| other_topics      = [[Neo-Medieval music]]
}}
'''Medieval metal''' is a subgenre of [[folk metal]] that blends heavy metal music with [[medieval music|medieval]] [[folk music]]. Medieval metal is mostly restricted to [[Germany]] where it is known as '''{{lang|de|Mittelalter-Metal}}''' or '''{{lang|de|Mittelalter-Rock}}'''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Duden: Das neue Wörterbuch der Szenesprachen |trans-title=The new Dictionary of Scene Languages |publisher=Bibliographisches Institut AG |language=de |isbn= 978-3-411-71092-8 |year=2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rock-musiker.de/mittelalterrock.html |title=Mittelalter-Rock |publisher=rock-musiker.de |language=de }}</ref> The genre emerged from the middle of the 1990s with contributions from [[Subway to Sally]], [[In Extremo]] and [[Schandmaul]]. The style is characterised by the prominent use of a wide variety of traditional [[Folk instrument|folk and medieval instruments]].

== History ==
=== Precursors ===
[[Image:Corvus Corax German Band.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Corvus Corax (band)|Corvus Corax]]]]

The medieval folk band [[Corvus Corax (band)|Corvus Corax]] was formed in 1989 and released a debut album in the same year.<ref name="AMG Corvus">{{cite web |author=True, Chris |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p372835/biography|pure_url=yes}} |title=Corvus Corax |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=31 March 2008}}</ref>
The group relies on period instruments that include the [[Cittern|cister]], [[hurdy-gurdy]], [[biniou]], [[buccina]], [[davul]], [[riq]] and [[cornett|cornetto curvo]] with the most prominent being the [[shawm]] and [[bagpipes]]. They describe their approach as "louder, dirtier and more powerful than any interpretation of medieval music before."<ref name="Gothronic Corvus">{{cite web |author=Beautevil |title=Interview with Der Drescher of Corvus Corax |url=http://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&interviews=868 |publisher=Gothtronic.com |access-date=31 March 2008 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807184445/http://www.smart-amsterdam.nl/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The result has been associated more with medieval taverns and pubs rather than the royal courts or church.<ref name="AMG Corvus"/>

While medieval metal is a German phenomenon,<ref name="Goethe">{{cite web|url=http://www.goethe.de/kue/mus/thm/prh/en2839815.htm |title=Modern Minstrels: Medieval Rock on the Rise |access-date=18 February 2008 |author=Matthias von Viereck |date=12 November 2007 |publisher=Goethe-Institut |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316224736/http://www.goethe.de/kue/mus/thm/prh/en2839815.htm |archive-date=16 March 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> one of the inspirations for the genre is the English [[folk metal]] band [[Skyclad (band)|Skyclad]]. Formed in 1990 as a [[thrash metal]] band, they added violins from session musician Mike Evans on several tracks from their debut album, ''[[The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth]]'', with the song "The Widdershins Jig" was acclaimed as "particularly significant" and "a certain first in the realms of Metal".<ref name="MusicMight Skyclad">{{cite web |author=Sharpe-Young, Garry |title=Skyclad |url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/united+kingdom/tyne+and+wear/newcastle+upon+tyne/skyclad |publisher=[[MusicMight]] |access-date=10 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918012836/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/united+kingdom/tyne+and+wear/newcastle+upon+tyne/skyclad |archive-date=18 September 2009 }}</ref> The band added a full time [[violin]]ist to their ranks<ref name="allmusic Skyclad">{{cite web |author=Bush, John |title=Skyclad |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p14274/biography|pure_url=yes}} |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=10 March 2008}}</ref> and has since been credited not only as the originators and pioneers of folk metal but also as a direct inspiration for medieval metal bands.<ref name="MusicMight Skyclad"/><ref name="MusicMight Subway">{{cite web |author=Sharpe-Young, Garry |title=Subway to Sally |url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/brandenburg/potsdam/subway+to+sally |publisher=[[MusicMight]] |access-date=18 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924173032/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/brandenburg/potsdam/subway+to+sally |archive-date=24 September 2009 }}</ref>

=== Origins ===
[[Image:Subway To Sally (Sundstock 05).jpeg|thumb|[[Subway to Sally]], seen here performing live at the 2005 Sundstock Openair, has been credited as setting off this genre of music.]]
The East German band [[Subway to Sally]] was formed in 1992 as a [[folk rock]] band, singing in English and incorporating Irish and Scottish influences in their music. With their second album ''MCMXCV'' released in 1995, the band adopted a "more traditional approach" and started singing in German. Taking Skyclad as an influence,<ref name="MusicMight Subway"/> Subway to Sally performs a blend of [[hard rock]] and [[heavy metal music]] "enriched with medieval melodies enmeshed in the songs via bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, [[lute]], [[mandolin]]e, [[shawm|shalm]] {{sic}}, [[fiddle]] and [[flute]]" and combined with "romantic-symbolic German-speaking poetry" in their lyrics.<ref name="goth sally">{{cite web |title=Subway to Sally |url=http://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&band=476 |publisher=Gothtronic.com |access-date=31 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312014235/http://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&band=476 |archive-date=12 March 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> With chart success in their native Germany, they have since been credited as the band "that set off the wave of what is known as medieval rock."<ref name="Goethe"/>

In the year 1994, a concert was organised in [[Berlin]] that featured a collaboration between a rock band known as Noah and members of the aforementioned medieval group Corvus Corax.<ref>{{cite web |author=Landers, Mikki |title=In Extremo |publisher=Deutschmusikland.com |url=http://www.deutschmusikland.com/bands/inextremo.php |access-date=31 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106054957/http://www.deutschmusikland.com/bands/inextremo.php |archive-date=6 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The result of this mix of medieval and rock music saw the group Noah turning into [[In Extremo]]. They began with two acoustic medieval albums before releasing a metal album ''[[Weckt die Toten!]]'' in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |author=Joe |title=Interview with Micha of In Extremo |url=http://deutschmusikland.com/interviews/interview_inextremo.php |publisher=Deutschmusikland.com |access-date=1 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108080637/http://www.deutschmusikland.com/interviews/interview_inextremo.php |archive-date=8 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=WindBlade |title=Interview with Kay Lutter of In Extremo |url=http://www.heavymusic.ru/en/interviews.php?id=49&title=In+Extremo |publisher=Heavymusic.ru |access-date=1 April 2008}}</ref> They have since found chart success in Germany with their "medieval style stage garb and unashamed usage of such bizarre instruments as the Scottish bagpipes."<ref name="MusicMight In Extremo">{{cite web |author=Sharpe-Young, Garry |title=In Extremo |publisher=[[MusicMight]] |url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/berlin/in+extremo |access-date=1 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910193318/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/berlin/in+extremo |archive-date=10 September 2009 }}</ref>

Corvus Corax also joined in the fray with the release of an EP in 1996 that featured metal music with bagpipes.<ref name="AMG Corvus"/> The EP was titled Tanzwut and the group has since continued exploring medieval metal as a side project by that name. Their style blends not only medieval music and heavy metal but also [[industrial music|industrial]] and [[electronic dance music|electronic]] beats.

The year 1999 also saw the release of [[Schandmaul]]'s debut album.<ref name="AMG Schandmaul">{{cite web |author=True, Chris |title=Schandmaul |website=[[AllMusic]] |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p819748/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=1 April 2008}}</ref> Describing themselves as the "minstrels of today,"<ref name="Goethe"/> the [[Bavaria]]n outfit employs a musical arsenal that includes the bagpipes, [[hurdy-gurdy]], shawm, [[violin]] and mandolin.<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul">{{cite web |author=Sharpe-Young, Garry |title=Schandmaul |publisher=[[MusicMight]] |url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/bavaria/munich/schandmaul |access-date=1 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525130938/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/bavaria/munich/schandmaul |archive-date=25 May 2012 }}</ref> Like Subway to Sally and In Extremo, Schandmaul has experienced chart success in their native Germany.<ref name="AMG Schandmaul"/><ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul"/> Other groups that also emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s included [[Letzte Instanz]],<ref name="AMGlet">{{cite web |author=True, Chris |title=Letzte Instanz |website=[[AllMusic]] |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p834674/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=1 April 2008}}</ref> Morgenstern,<ref name="MusicMight Morgenstern">{{cite web |author=Sharpe-Young, Garry |title=Morgenstern MusicMight Biography |url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/thuringia/merkers/morgenstern |publisher=[[MusicMight]] |access-date=1 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529050822/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/thuringia/merkers/morgenstern |archive-date=29 May 2012 }}</ref> Saltatio Mortis and Schattentantz.<ref name="MusicMight Schattentantz">{{cite web |author=Sharpe-Young, Garry |title=Schattentantz |publisher=[[MusicMight]] |url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/schattentantz |access-date=1 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927191216/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/germany/schattentantz |archive-date=27 September 2012 }}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
Bands have found continued success throughout the 21st century. In 2005, In Extremo's ''[[Mein rasend Herz]]'' ranked number three in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.de/album.asp?artist=In+Extremo&title=Mein+rasend+Herz&cat=a&country=de|title=charts.de|date=18 October 2014|website=archive.is|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-date=18 October 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141018151031/http://www.officialcharts.de/album.asp?artist=In+Extremo&title=Mein+rasend+Herz&cat=a&country=de|url-status=live}}</ref> Their next album ''Sängerkrieg'' (2008) achieved the top spot on german charts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://acharts.co/album/35703|title=Sängerkrieg by In Extremo - Music Charts|website=acharts.co|access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref> Schandmaul's ''[[Unendlich (Schandmaul album)|Unendlich]]'' (2014) reached number two on the german charts and was later certified gold in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musikindustrie.de/markt-bestseller/gold-/platin-und-diamond-auszeichnung/datenbank/#topSearch|title=Datenbank: BVMI|website=www.musikindustrie.de|access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref> Other groups such as [[Feuerschwanz]] and ''Folkstone'' continued to emerge as older groups achieved more mainstream success.

==Musical characteristics==
[[Image:Tanzwut German Band Live.jpeg|thumb|[[Tanzwut]] performing with bagpipes and other woodwind instruments]]
Like its parent genre, medieval rock features the same typical instruments found in heavy metal music: guitars, bass, drums and vocalist. Bands in the genre are known to supplement their sound with a wide range of folk and traditional instruments. [[Woodwind instrument]]s like the bagpipes, flutes and shawm can be found in the music of Corvus Corax, Tanzwut,<ref name="AMG Corvus"/> In Extremo,<ref name="MusicMight In Extremo"/> Schandmaul,<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul"/> Morgernstern,<ref name="MusicMight Morgenstern"/> Schattentantz<ref name="MusicMight Schattentantz"/> and Subway to Sally while string instruments like the violin, lute, [[hurdy-gurdy]], [[cello]], [[harp]] and [[mandolin]] are employed by Subway to Sally,<ref name="goth sally"/> In Extremo,<ref name="MusicMight In Extremo"/> Schandmaul,<ref name="MusicMight Schandmaul"/> Morgenstern,<ref name="MusicMight Morgenstern"/> and Schattentantz.<ref name="MusicMight Schattentantz"/> Many bands also dress in stylized medieval era costumes on stage.

Bands adopt musical styles from many medieval era source material. Corvus Corax pulls from many styles such as viking music, celtic music, nordic music, as well as from fantasy stories such as ''[[The Lord of the Rings|Lord of the Rings]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/interviews/corvus-corax/|title=CORVUS CORAX - interview by Peek-A-Boo magazine|website=www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be|language=en|access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref> Their 2005 album ''[[Cantus Buranus]]'' was written using the text from ''[[Carmina Burana]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cantusburanus.net/wp/|title=Cantus Buranus – Das Carmina Burana Projekt von Corvus Corax|language=de-DE|access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref> To contrast, other bands take a more modern approach to their songwriting while still including traditional medieval or ancient instruments.

== See also ==
* [[Folk metal]]
* [[Medieval folk rock]]
* [[Pagan metal]]
*[[Viking metal|Viking Metal]]
*[[Pirate metal|Pirate Metal]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{folk music}}
{{Medieval music}}
{{heavymetal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medieval Metal}}
[[Category:Folk metal]]
[[Category:German styles of music]]
[[Category:Heavy metal genres]]
[[Category:Medieval metal musical groups]]