Medieval metal is a subgenre of folk metal that blends heavy metal music with medieval folk music. Medieval metal is mostly restricted to Germany where it is known as Mittelalter-Metal or Mittelalter-Rock. 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 and medieval instruments.
Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night. Their lineup has seen many changes over the years; Blackmore and Night have been the only two constant members. They have released eleven studio albums. Their early releases were mostly acoustic and imitated early music, but eventually Blackmore's Night started using more electric guitars and other modern instruments, as well as performing folk-rearranged cover versions of pop and rock songs.
Tanzwut is a German Neue Deutsche Härte and Medieval metal band which originated as a side project of Corvus Corax members. The band uses a Medieval theme during their live performances which are expressed through their stagecraft, costumes and choreography.
Morbid Visions is the debut studio album by Brazilian metal band Sepultura, released on November 10, 1986, by Cogumelo Records. While later albums have a more political edge, Morbid Visions is notable for Satanic themes and imagery. The band said many lyrics were fashioned after those of early extreme metal bands such as Venom and Celtic Frost.
In Extremo 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. 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.
Naïve is the fourth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on November 15, 1990, by Wax Trax! Records. It was recorded following KMFDM's return from their first visit to the United States and subsequent tour with Ministry. It was also the first record they released after signing directly to Wax Trax! Records.
Corvus Corax is a German band known for playing neo-Medieval music using authentic instruments. Their name is the Latin name for the common raven. The band was formed in 1989 by Castus Rabensang, Wim (Venustus) and Meister Selbfried in East Germany. The band often uses bagpipes as the solo instrument; their live performances attract attention with the bizarre look of the musicians being reminiscent of ancient Greek myths: half-naked, dressed in unusual clothes, wearing primitive tribal decorations, often tattooed.
Fires at Midnight is the third studio album by British-American neo-medieval folk rock band Blackmore's Night, released on July 10, 2001, through SPV/Steamhammer Records. In comparison to their previous two releases, there are more electric guitar parts on this album, whilst maintaining a folk rock direction. The album was a Top Ten record in Germany.
Neo-Medieval music is a modern popular music characterized by elements of Medieval music and early music in general. Music styles within neo-Medieval music vary from authentic performance interpretations of Medieval music to crossover genres that blend Medieval instruments, such as bagpipe, shawm and hurdy-gurdy with electronic music and rock. In many cases, it is more or less overlapping with styles such as folk rock, British folk rock and neofolk.
Cantus Buranus is an album by the German medieval revival band Corvus Corax that employs the medieval text Carmina Burana. Cantus Buranus is a stage opera of eleven poems from Carmina Burana for orchestra, choir and medieval instruments, incorporating medieval, classical and modern musical idioms. It is not the first time Corvus Corax has worked with Carmina Burana; the band Tanzwut used the poems "Fautue" and "Caupona" in their album Ihr Wolltet Spass.
Stary Olsa is a Belarusian medieval folk band, that plays medieval Ruthenian music of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The band has also released classical rock cover works in their Medieval Classic Rock where classical rock songs performed by bagpipes.
Winter Carols is the sixth studio album by the group Blackmore's Night, released in the United Kingdom on October, 2006, and in the United States on November 7, 2006. It is a Christmas themed album. The cover artwork for this album, painted by Karsten Topelmann, is an adaptation of a street in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, in line with the band's heavy Renaissance influence. The same street is portrayed in the cover of Blackmore's Night's second studio album, Under a Violet Moon. In the cover of "Winter Carols" the street is painted as winter time, whereas Under a Violet Moon's cover takes place on apparently a summer night. While the selections "Winter " is credited to Ritchie Blackmore as composer, it is an adaptation of the second section of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Fantasía para un gentilhombre," which Rodrigo composed for classical guitar virtuoso Andres Segovia in 1954.
Faun is a German band that was formed in 1998 and plays pagan folk, darkwave, and medieval music. The originality of their music style is that it falls back to "old" instruments, and the singing is always the center of attention. The vocals are performed in a variety of languages, including German, English, Latin, Greek, and Scandinavian languages. Their instruments include Celtic harp, Swedish nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, cittern, flutes, and many others.
Sünder ohne Zügel is the third album by the German folk metal band In Extremo. It was released in 2001 by Island Records.
Verehrt und angespien is the second medieval folk metal album by the German band In Extremo. It was released in 1999 by Mercury Records.
Schattenreiter is the fourth full-length studio album by the German industrial rock/medieval metal band Tanzwut. It was released on 7 April 2006 through German record label PICA Music as a two-CD digipak. The album marks their newfound sound, which incorporates a more down-tuned use of guitars, darker atmospheres and harsher vocals at times than their previous albums, making them lean towards industrial metal.
Labyrinth der Sinne is the second full-length studio album by German industrial rock/medieval metal band Tanzwut. It was released in 2000 through British record label EMI Music. The 2000 release included a CD and a Cassette. The album ranked #46 on the German Alternative Charts (DAC) Top Albums of 2000.
Tanzwut is the first full-length studio album by the German industrial rock/medieval metal band Tanzwut. It was released on 1 March 1999 through British record label EMI Music. The album was released in a standard CD format, a digipack format and a cassette format.
Weckt die Toten! is the third album by the German folk metal band In Extremo. It was released on 1 May 1998 through Vielklang Musikproduktion.
Rituals is the twelfth full-length album by Greek extreme metal band Rotting Christ. It was released on 12 February 2016, via Season of Mist. The album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard heatseekers album chart and at number 10 on Ifpi Greek charts.
