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. On April 11, 1995, during the recording for that year's 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, and was replaced 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 (engl. "The Lutter," bass guitar). Der Münzer subsequently left the band and, as of 2000, the band's guitarist is Van Lange (engl. "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.[1]
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 (engl. "The Gallows"), 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 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 in their concerts, including Der Morgenstern playing cymbals which have been set on fire.
On 26 February 2010 In Extremo announced that Der Morgenstern left the band because of musical differences via their homepage. On June 11, Florian "Specki T.D." Speckardt was announced as his replacement on drums. Since then, they have proceeded to release 3 albums: Sterneneisen, Kunstraub, and Quid Pro Quo, all of which have reached the top 10 in the German charts, with Sterneneisen and Quid Pro Quo both having number 1 positions for a time. Their 13th album, Kompass zur Sonne was released in May 2020.[2], but it was delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On July 30th, 2020, they played an online livestream concert for Wacken World Wide.
Merseburger Zaubersprüche II
In Extremo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vuorun zi holza
do uuart demo Balderes
Volon sîn vuoz birenkit
Thû biguol en Sinhtgunt
Sunna era suister
Thû biguol en Frîia
Volla, era suister
Thû biguol en Vuodan
Sô hê uuola conda
Sôse bênrenkî,
Sôse bluotrenkî
Sôse lidirenkî:
Bên zi bêna, bluot zi bluoda
Lid zi geliden
Sôse gelîmida sîn
Phol ende Vuodan
Vuorun zi holza
do uuart demo Balderes
Volon sîn vuoz birenkit
Thû biguol en Sinhtgunt
Sunna era suister
Thû biguol en Frîia
Volla, era suister
Thû biguol en Vuodan
Sô hê uuola conda
Sôse bênrenkî,
Sôse bluotrenkî
Sôse lidirenkî:
Bên zi bêna, bluot zi bluoda
Lid zi geliden
Sôse gelîmida sîn
Thû biguol en Vuodan
Sô hê uuola conda
Sôse bênrenkî,
Sôse bluotrenkî
Sôse lidirenkî:
Bên zi bêna, bluot zi bluoda
Lid zi geliden
Sôse gelîmida sîn
The lyrics to In Extremo's Merseburger Zauberspruche II are taken from a medieval spell or charm that was used to heal horses. The chant is rendered in archaic German language, similar to Old High German, with some Latin elements, and it consists of three stanzas featuring three goddesses named Phol, Vuodan, and Frija or Frigg, who were worshipped during pre-Christian era in Germanic and Norse mythology.
The first stanza evoke Phol and Vuodan and their presence in a forest. It seems to suggest a spiritual connection between the horses and Balder, the Norse god of light and purity, who was associated with white horses. This connection is further emphasized in the second verse, where the singer intones a call for healing power to be both in the horse's bones and blood, as well as their song-like whinnies.
The second stanza addresses Sinhtgunt, the goddess of the sun, and her sister, who is named either Sunna or Heilwig. This verse seems to ask for their blessing of the horse's healing process, perhaps implying that the horse's illness or injury may be a result of some cosmic or divine imbalance.
The third and final stanza refers back to Vuodan, and implores her to apply her healing power to the horse, once again emphasizing the importance of bones, blood, and song in the process.
Line by Line Meaning
Phol ende Vuodan
Invoking the gods Phol and Vuodan
Vuorun zi holza
In the forest of the mountains
do uuart demo Balderes
Where Balder is being prepared
Volon sîn vuoz birenkit
His voice can be heard everywhere
Thû biguol en Sinhtgunt
I pray to Sinhtgunt
Sunna era suister
And her sister Sunna
Thû biguol en Frîia
I pray to Frîia
Volla, era suister
And her sister Volla
Thû biguol en Vuodan
I pray to Vuodan
Sô hê uuola conda
Who provides us with all we need
Sôse bênrenkî,
Sôse bluotrenkî
Sôse lidirenkî:
In abundance of bone, blood and song
Bên zi bêna, bluot zi bluoda
Lid zi geliden
The bones are for bending, the blood for flowing, the songs for enchanting
Sôse gelîmida sîn
May they always be with us
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
pondrockman100
i'm canadian, and i love this music, even tho i don't understand it, but you can sense how dedicated they are to whatever story they are singing and how rooted they are to their culture
edi
I know that I'm late to the party, but I want to say that even native German speakers won't understand much, because many of their old songs are in dead dialects, including old German and English, and I bet that you wouldn't understand old English or French either, at least when we talk about the 12th century...
Ensun
Merseburg is a little town in germany. Merseburger spells.
Raoul Keller
they don't get it either. no one does really. it is just an old verse found in an old monastery that has something to do with wounds, gods and horses.
Freunde des Bluessommers
Eines meiner absoluten Lieblingssongs von Inex. Es war ein Fest die Merseburger Zaubersprüche auf dem Schloss zu hören. Gänsehaut!
Akivos
als merseburger macht es mich immerwieder stolz es zu hören
SilenozF1
Naprostá dokonalost!
Margo Day
О Боже они офигенны😻
RapantesTurm
Krass.....schon wieder fast 10 Jahre her, dass ich Sie auf dieser Tour sah.
Abgesehen vom Musikgenre über Das sich immer streiten lässt, spieltechnisch einer der besten Live-Bands! Meiner Meinung nach <3
Wassehichdanur
😅4 5:12 5:12 😅 5:18