In Extremo (Latin: At the Edge) is a German medieval metal band originating… Read Full Bio ↴In Extremo (Latin: At the Edge) is a German medieval metal band originating from Berlin. 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 bagpipes, harp, hurdy-gurdy and shawm). 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 and cover songs are in a variety of languages.
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.

Stetit Puella
In Extremo Lyrics

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Stetit puella
Rufa tunica
Si quis eam tetigit
Tunica crepuit
Heiß, heiß wie Blut
Heiß, heiß wie Blut

Es war die junge Maid

Rot I'm roten Kleid
Wer ihr Kleid berührt
Hat die Glut gespürt
Zeig mir die Glut, zeig mir die Glut
Zeig mir die Glut

Wie dein Blut so rot
Stetit puella

Wie dein Blut so rot
Tamquam rosula
Et os eius floruit
Facie splenduit

Heiß, heiß wie Blut
Heiß, heiß wie Blut

Wie die Rose rot
Hat sie hell geloht
Antlitz hat geglüht
Roter Mund geblüht

Zeig mir die Glut

Overall Meaning

The lyrics for In Extremo's song, Stetit Puella, have been translated from Latin into German and then into English. The song begins with the image of a young maid dressed in a red tunic. The community is warned that if they touch or come near her, her tunic, which represents her innocence, will make a sound as it tears apart. This is because of the girl's fiery passion and intensity, which is passed onto her tunic.

Throughout the song, the lyrics allude to this fire and passion as being hot like blood. In the second verse, the focus shifts to the girl's beauty, her face and lips. She illuminates the world around her and is as beautiful as a rose. Like the rose, she burns brightly, but also has thorns that could hurt those who come too close.

It seems that the song is warning against the dangers of passion and beauty, and the consequences that their combination can bring. The maiden represents an embodiment of these two things, and the fear she inspires is symbolic of the fear that beautiful and intensely passionate people can inspire in others.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: . DP, REINER MORGENROTH, MARCO ZORZYTZKY, ANDRE STRUGALA, BORIS YELLOW PFEIFFER, KAY LUTTER, MICHAEL RHEIN, SEBASTIAN LANGE

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