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In Extremo – Wolkenschieber

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

In Extremo - Wolkenschieber

In Extremo - Wolkenschieber
4.2

Rating

 4.2/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great Medieval rock / metal songs
  • Nice range of styles and stories
  • Very catching, easy style

Medieval music, metal style – the German band In Extremo is really successful with this rather rare blending of genres. On 13th September 2024, they are releasing a new album, Wolkenschieber. I had a listen.

 

In Extremo – About The Artists

1995 saw the first steps of In Extremo in Berlin. Since 1997, the band is officially working under that name, which was initially just a project label. The band members are typically named with metaphoric artist name. Singer and founding member Michael Robert Rhein, for example, is called Das letzte Einhorn (“The last unicorn”). Like most of his band mates, he is also playing multiple instruments, like the cither, the harmonica, guitars or the darbukah. Other band members are Flex der Biegsame (backpipe and similar instruments), Die Lutter (bass, trumba marina & others), Dr. Pymonte, Van Lange and Speki T.D. (drums, percussion).

In Extremo released their first album in 1997. In the early 2000’s, the band boosted their popularity. Their seventh studio album 7 made it to the top three of the German charts. Any of their following albums peaked at least that high, so that they are looking back to five golden records in Germany so far. In 2020, the Germans released Kompass zur Sonne, their most recent album so far. It topped the German charts and peaked fourth in Austria as well as third in Switzerland. Wolkenschieber is their fourteenth studio album overall.

 

In Extremo – Wolkenschieber – Track by Track

The fourteen track album lasts 54 minutes. The last two tracks are bonus tracks.

1. Wolkenschieber

A magic portion, which is removing sorrows, signs of age and much more – that’s the Wolkenschieber (“Cloud Pusher”). The rock track with the pumping groove comes with comparably few Medieval elements initially, before the bridge is a die-hard bagpipe solo. The title track is a perfect illustration of the great music written by the Germans.

2. Weckt die Toten (2024 version feat. Rauhbein)

This song has already been released as a single in 2023, but now comes in an updated version featuring the German folk-rock band Rauhbein. “Wake Up The Death” is the translated title of this track. It comes with hard rock elements and is even not shy of using some electronic features. The chorus is a great opportunity to growl the In Extremo.

3. Katzengold

The third song is called “Fool’s Gold”. In fact, the song is very contemporary and deals with following false prophets and hate. Of course, In Extremo does it in their very own way. Especially the chorus makes me smile – it leans towards a very popular German children’s rhyme, Der Plumpssack geht um.

Dreh’ Dich nicht um
Die Dummheit, die geht um
Wenn Du Dich umdrehst oder lachst,
Wird Dir der Buckel voll gemacht.
Dreh’ Dich nicht um
Die Dummheit, die geht um
Schweine grunzen, Hunde bellen,
Der Blitz soll Dich beim scheißen treffen.

(“Don’t turn around,
Stupidy is all around
If you turn around or laugh
Your hump will be rounded off.
Don’t turn around,
Stupidy is all around
Pigs are grunting, dogs are barking
The lighting shall hit you while you’re shitting”)

4. Olafur

You will need some language skills to dig deeper into this single release. In Olafur, In Extremo are singing in Icelandic. The track is a lovely blend of folk and metal elements. Bad luck I am limited on the lyric side.

5. Unser Lied (feat. Björn Both)

The fifth song is a meeting of unique German music superpowers. For Unser Lied (“Our Song”), In Extremo are joining forces with Santiano singer Björn Both. There is definitely a nice touch of sailing music in this music. Especially the post chorus is a really cool listen.

6. Feine Seele (feat. Oliver Satyr)

After the rough and powerful sing-a-long, Feine Seele is presenting a rather fine and intimate listen. The singer Oliver SaTyr fr4om the Munich-based pagan folk band Faun adds a nice touch to this song. The children vocals in the chorus also add an innocent and fine touch.

7. Blutmond

Is it half time already? Blutmond (“Blood Moon”) is the seventh song of Wolkenschieber and presents straight hard rock riffs at its very beginning. The song has a slightly scary touch – but this also turns it into a memorable listen.

8. Des Wahnsinns fette Beute (feat. Joachim Witt)

For the first song of the second half of their 2024 album, In Extremo invited Joachim Witt as a guest musician. The former Neue Deutsche Welle star is a nice vocal add-on  to this track. Der Satan sitzt mir im Genick, lenkt meinen Weg mit viel Geschick (“Satan is right in my back, controls my way very skillfully”) – this quote also shows that this song also has a rather touch. The wide instrumentation, however, turns this one into an even more fascinating listen.

9. Geschenkt ist geschenkt

Geschenkt ist geschenkt, wiederholen ist gestohlen (“A gift is a gift, taking it back is stealing” roughly) is another children’s quote, which In Extremo is turning into a smashing track. The key phrase is leading to some ease, even though the song comes with the typical force of the Berlin-origin band. The bridge has another bagpipe solo. The song might feel simple at first listen, but it is a really cool write.

10. Aus Leben gemacht (feat. Joey & Jimmy Kelly)

Another comparably simply-sounding track is Aus dem Leben gemacht. However, In Extremo are masterful in turning the base melody into a great and powerful listen. There are the right guest musicians and the wise and wide instrumental arrangement. They already feel like a guarantee that you have to enjoy it.

11. Komm, lass die Welt sich weiterdrehen

The fast drumming and lovely melodies are driving this track. Komm, lass die Welt sich weiterdrehen thereby has a rather traditional classic rock touch – if there weren’t the typical In Extremo instruments in it as well. The song is another song, which is easy to digest and good to for a party with the guys on stage. Nice one.

12. Terra Mater

Terra Mater closes the “ordinary” album before the bonus tracks. The song starts rather gentle and slow. The song does have a rather majestic touch and has a special vibe as it mixed German and Latin lyrics. Later, Terra Mater also comes with some rather loud and rocking vibes.

13. Schweine (bonus track)

The bonus track section opens with Schweine (“Pigs”). The social-critic song strongly reminds of Katzengold. Rough, hard, social-critic. An almost dystopic view, which feels to nicely fit into the In Extremo portolio.

14. Das Totenschiff (bonus track)

Even if you went for the full version of the album, it is time to say farewell from Wolkenschieber now. What could be a better theme than the Totenschiff (“Ship of the Death”). A dark vision, which definitely has a nice potential to make long-time In Extremo fans leave with a bright smile.

 

In Extremo – Wolkenschieber – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

In Extremo – Wolkenschieber – My View

Wolkenschieber might neither be the best nor the most smashing In Extremo album. But the guys definitely again emphasize their great musical quality and their special style. There are easy and complex songs, but they sound somehow special in the 2024 context of the German band. Thus, I overall really like it.

Favorite Song: Katzengold

 

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