German medieval metallers ‘In Extremo’ have never gained much of a profile in the UK. Despite latest effort ‘Mein Rasend Herz’ being their 8th studio album in an 11-year career, not one of their albums has ever been given an official release in the UK (as far as I’m aware)! With the current growing popularity of folk style metal their chance has never been greater, but time will tell if they can gain much a fan-base in the UK or remain for ever a niche band, despite great success in their home country. As yet, “Mein Rasend Herz” does not have a UK release date.
Starting with the irresistibly catchy ‘Raue See’, the album continues on in much the same vein throughout. The blend of medieval style music and metal works surprisingly well, to create an up-beat and up-tempo sound. Bagpipes are a focal point of most of the songs, complemented by medieval sounding flutes, chunky guitars and guttural German vocals, an odd sounding but ultimately enjoyable blend.
Jolly, cheery, fun. This album is hard to describe beyond these terms because I guess there’s not a lot too it beyond a good fun listen. Of course, not speaking German is a drawback, and it may well mean more to someone who knows the language. It’s chock full of lively songs that make you want to dance – light-hearted music to play when needing some cheering up or some party music, but not music that’s going to change your world. This by no means makes it a bad album, the musicianship is spot on and the sound production is great – it can just get a little samey on repeated listens.
’Mein Rasend Herz’ excels with it’s more upbeat songs, the slower paced ones not seeming so distinct or lasting long in the memory. Fast paced number, ‘Liam’, is an absolute cracker of a track, the highlight of the album by far. It’s absolutely everything that a good catchy folk tinged metal track should be, with a wonderfully memorable melody running through it, combined with a strong guitar sound that drives the track and quite simply demands that you nod your head or tap your foot in time. ‘Tannhuser’ is the most ‘medieval’ sounding of the tracks, being reliant entirely on the folk instrumentation rather than heavy guitars, and wouldn’t be out of place at a medieval fair on a village green in summer. Definitely another highlight, with album opener ‘Raue See’ following close behind. ‘Rasend Herz’ and ‘Poc Vocem’ are by far the heaviest and most ‘metal’ oriented songs of the album, and ones that would no doubt be good live tracks – foot stamping and arm waving numbers that still maintain their folky sound all the same.
Overall this is a very enjoyable listen, light-hearted, catchy and fun, but heavy enough to not sound like wishy-washy faux-mediavel waffle. What it lacks is variation, many of the songs blending one into the other and becoming almost indistinguishable. When it does hit the right note, as with ‘Liam’, then it’s excellent – however it does not maintain this standard throughout and so the album suffers in response. Still very much recommended though, as when it’s good it’s very good – and really worth trying out for the novelty value alone.
Standout Tracks: Liam, Tannhuser, Raue See, Poc Vocem.
