Schandmaul

Emerging within Germany’s Mittelalter rock movement, Schandmaul assembled in 1998 and enriched its electric rock foundation with an extensive collection of medieval instruments. Several Munich musicians drawn from separate ensembles first gathered to stage a program of folk covers, yet the participants soon composed original pieces and resolved to continue the collaboration. The six-piece outfit delivered a strong debut performance and issued its opening album, Wahre Helden (True Heroes), in 1999.

Following the 2000 release Von Spitzbuben und Anderen Halunken (Of Rogues and Other Scoundrels), Schandmaul and the growing attention surrounding it advanced to the subsequent phase by securing a recording contract. Appearances at festivals and extensive touring ensued, after which the band unveiled its third album, Narrenkönig (Jester’s King), in October 2002, though bassist Hubsi Widman departed at that time. Matthias Richter stepped in as replacement, and Schandmaul—now consisting of vocalist, guitarist, and accordionist Thomas Lindner, flutist and piper Birgit Muggenthaler, violinist, vocalist, and hurdy-gurdyist Anna Kränzlein, guitarist of all shapes and sizes Martin Duckstein, percussionist Stefan Brunner, and Richter—issued its initial live recording, Hexenkessel (Witch’s Cauldron).

By the arrival of the fourth studio effort, Wie Pech und Schwefel (Like Pitch and Sulfur), Schandmaul had entered the charts, and in 2006 the group attained a Top Ten position with Mit Leib und Seele (With Body and Soul). The sixth album, Anderswelt (Other World), followed in 2008 and likewise reached the German Top Ten. Late that year the ensemble marked its tenth anniversary with a Munich concert later issued as Sinnfonie. In 2011 the band sustained its commercial climb via Traumtänzer (Dream Dancer) while undertaking a spring tour.

Schandmaul observed its first fifteen years in 2013 by issuing the career-spanning collection So Weit, So Gut 1998-2013 (So Far, So Good), which climbed to number seven on the German album chart. The eighth studio album, Unendlich (Infinite), marked the band’s debut on Universal and represented the peak of its gradual shift toward progressive folk and folklore-rooted songwriting; it attained number two in Germany and number six in Austria. Schandmaul’s subsequent release, Leuchtfeuer (Beacons of Light), proved its most commercially successful to date, holding the top spot on the German charts for two weeks in 2016.