In Extremo

In Extremo were founded in Berlin in 1995. The musical path is initially unclear. After the members finally form themselves into a pure medieval rock band in 1997, the first two full-lengths Die Goldene and Hameln (1998) are released immediately. Commercially, the collective, which trades under ancient alter egos such as Das Letzte Einhorn (Michael Rhein), Dr. Pymonte (André Strugala) or Flex Der Biegsame (Marco Zorzytzky), celebrates its first success in 1999 with Verehrt und angespien. The band's fourth album, whose folkloristic sound features traditional analog instruments such as market bagpipes, harps and hurdy-gurdies, reaches number 11 in the German charts. The basic recipe always consists of a sophisticated mix of medieval elements and a modern rock concept. The same applies to Sünder ohne Zügel, which is released in 2001 and even makes it into the top 10 of the German album charts. In June 2003, the advance single "Küss Mich" (number 35 in Germany) announces In Extremos 7 . The album reaches number 3 and gold status. The successor Mein rasend Herz (2005) achieved the same feat, before In Extremo released their first number 1 albums Sængerkrieg in 2008 and Sterneneisen in 2011, which also enjoyed considerable success in Austria and Switzerland. The formation, which allowed for more metal influences on Kunstraub in 2013, but nevertheless consistently stuck to the medieval sound framework, is now regarded as a firm institution in the German alternative rock industry. No wonder that Quid pro quo, which also features Estonian, Russian and Welsh vocal parts, became a number 1 hit again in 2016. In Extremo, who can already look back on a gigantic oeuvre at this point, released the best-of album 40 wahre Lieder - The Best of in 2017, which promptly entered the top 10 in Germany. This triumph was surpassed in 2020 by Kompass zur Sonne, which reached number 1 in Germany, but was also more than just a respectable success in Austria (number 4) and Switzerland (number 3). In 2024, In Extremo return with their 13th studio album, Wolkenschieber. The album enters the German charts at number 2.