CORVUS CORAX

Tracklist:
Disc 1
Intro Gjallarhorni
Gjallarhorni
Sverker
Béowulf is mín nama
Lá í mbealtaine
Ragnarök
Hugin & Munin
Havfru
Víkingar
Yggdrasill
Gimlie
Na láma-sa
Disc 2
Lá í mbealtaine ft. Hansi Kürsch, Bill Gould & Sonia Anubis
Ragnarök ft. Sabina Classen
Béowulf is mín nama ft. Doro Pesch
Víkingar ft. Arndis Halla
Gimlie ft. Kärtsy Hatakka
Yggdrasill ft. Philipp Bischoff (Damnation Defaced)
Na láma-sa ft. Alan Nemtheanga A.

German viking metallers CORVUS CORAX have released their album ‘Era Metallum’ on the 24th of june. alsongside with single/video ‘Lá í mbealtaine’ ft. Hansi Kürsch, Bill Gould & Sonia Anubis.
CORVUS CORAX raise the banner of “ERA METALLUM” to bang heads and let electric guitars rip.
Reinforced by KREATOR’s Finnish guitar god Sami Yli-Sirniö and other seasoned veterans of the heavy scene, these masters of ancient instruments have reimagined a selection of their most popular tunes and clad them in sonic steel.
“We simply felt like doing a heavy album and so we just went ahead and did it”, explains drummer and percussionist Norri, who had already gained solid metal credits in the past while recording and playing with the cult act DEPRESSIVE AGE.
“ERA METALLUM” is not a “medieval rock” record and those expecting a happily swaying sing-along will drop their jaws and mead horns once the opening track comes crashing in.
Following an ominous intro, the ‘Gjallarhorni’ sounds with Asgard-shaking force in an uncompromising demonstration as to where this musical journey is heading:
Out to the North Atlantic.
The Germans combine droning horns, powerful choirs, and quite a few “old” instruments, which deliver everything from melody to madness, with bass, drums and guitars in the best thrash and power metal traditions.
The skalds are even announcing a new song that CORVUS CORAX have carved out of a dark wood: ‘Víkingar’ has been expertly crafted to fit the epic measure of “ERA METALLUM”.

To make it twice as exciting, the band cleverly turned this testosterone infused song into its own feminine counterpart by inviting Icelandic opera singer Arndís Halla to transform it in the way of a Valkyrie on the second CD.
The two Irish pieces ‘Na láma-sa’ and ‘Lá í mBealtaine’ receive an equally fascinating double treatment.
The former is heavily roughed up in an alternative version by Primordial’s vocal agitator Alan “Nemtheanga” Averill, while the latter song is reinterpreted as a hymn performed by BLIND GUARDIAN singer Hansi Kürsch, bassist Bill Gould (FAITH NO MORE), and guitarist Sonia Anubis from COBRA SPELL.
If the ancient gods of metal had the power to forbid CORVUS CORAX the omission of one song from becoming reinforced with strings of steel, they would have chosen the most popularFaroese tune ‘Sverker’.
One-eyed Odin might have demanded the same
for the ominous, heavy epic dedicated to his ravens ‘Hugin & Munin’.
And with a glee rivalling the deeds of trickster god Loki, the upbeat mermaid ‘Havfru’ has been turned into a raging fury in this metallised new version.
With Sabina Classen of HOLY MOSES taking over the vocal part of ‘Ragnarök’, the fiery end of the world comes frighteningly close.
Although “ERA METALLUM” does by no means require any knowledge of history, specialists will notice that CORVUS CORAX cover the entire Old Norse cultural sphere including the Anglo-Saxon
and Irish contact zones – without even so much as a hint of a lecturing attitude.

CORVUS CORAX are one of the original instigators of a specific part of the German rock scene, which is dedicated to old instruments like bagpipes, drums, and shawms.
The band’s two founding members Castus and Wim Dobbrisch had already come together in times of the GDR and via their country’s popular “medieval fairs”, CORVUS CORAX’s path led to the biggest concert halls and large music festivals such as the famous Wacken Open Air.
With projects like the elaborate re-imaging of the Carmina Burana entitled “Cantus Buranus” with symphony orchestra and choir or the tongue-in-cheek fantastical “The Curse of the Dragon”, the band has always displayed a wide stylistic range
and penchant to explore new musical grounds.
In conclusion, it is only logical that CORVUS CORAX finally dedicate an album to their love for heavy metal with “ERA METALLUM”.
And once again these musical alchemists succeed in transforming raw metal into pure gold!
CORVUS CORAX literally make all the right noiseswith “ERA METALLUM” that will not only bang the heads of metal-fans.
Text: Gunnar Sautermann
Driving rhythms, traditional melodies and the sound of old times:
With a fascinating array of large drums and self-built bagpipes, Corvus Corax bring the moods of old times to life. With their work, the Berlin musicians have shaped our current understanding of medieval music.
Their influence on the music scene reaches from Moscow to Mexico City, they toured in Japan and China, the USA and Canada as well as all over Europe.

After more than 30 years of medieval music they can look back on countless albums and various projects.
With their mystical and legendary albums like “Mille Anni Passi Sunt” they brought ancient gods
and legends to life, with albums like “Gimlie” and “Sverker” they worked up Celtic and Nordic traditions and brought the culture of the Vikings into the modern present.
Anyone who has seen the masks and costumes of the more recent shows must admit that they successfully reinvented the Vikings.
This creative preservation of cultural heritage inspires people all over the world.
No less a person than Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer (“Gladiator,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”)
recruited the kings of minstrels to compose music for “Ironclad” for this very reason.
In the BBC documentary “The Crusaders”, presented by Monty Python legend Terry Jones,
their bagpipes and drums can be heard as well as in the computer game “Dragon Age”.
Finally, even the producers of the most successful TV series of all time, “Game of Thrones,” were so impressed that they invited the band to play live on the set during filming for the series.
Besides the main band activities Corvus Corax realized several special projects:
With a lot of heart and soul they created their settings of individual texts from the Carmina Burana – the most famous medieval song manuscript.
“Cantus Buranus” combines film music with historical instruments, orchestral instrumentation and epic chorales.
In addition, they realized a special Corvus Corax show together with the well-known Taiko drummers of “Wadokyo”.
A German highlight was, among other things,
the live performance of “Die Zwerge” (The Dwarves) – the most successful German fantasy novel series by Markus Heitz – together with Johannes Steck.
With these two artists they also brought their next big project, the first “Fantastical” 2017 on stage.
“The Curse of the Dragon” combines historical music with fantasy literature, acting and musical performance.

In 2022, a new experiment will be launched:
in collaboration with guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö
(KREATOR, WALTARI), the new band project “Corvus Corax Era Metallum” combines the Nordic works of Corvus Corax with the hard sound of metal, off the usual paths of the well-known medieval rock.
So you can’t say Corvus Corax make “only” medieval music.
Corvus Corax combine historical music with modern fantasy elements, they experiment with different cultural sounds and crazy instruments.
It doesn’t matter if they play in a club, in a concert church, at the Kaltenberg Knights Tournament or in front of thousands of metal heads at the Wacken Open Air:
Corvus Corax know how to get people dancing and jumping around crazily – just like you know it from the St. Vitus dance from the Middle Ages.

For the third herald of the album “ERA METALLUM” the “Kings of Minstrels” CORVUS CORAX team up with the Queen of Metal DORO PESCH to form an unbeatable unit.
The outstanding rock singer sings the Old English heroic epos “Béowulf is mín nama” in its original language.
The musical foundation is a skilful fusion of rapid 190bpm drumming by Norbert “Norri” Drescher and ingeniously melodic guitar riffs by Sami Yli-Sirniö, backed by powerful male choirs.
The result is an incredibly catchy hybrid of speed, melody and the unmistakable power voice of an absolute METAL legend!

track-list:
Ajaton
Seremonia
Suruntuoja
Ennen unta
Köysi
Sodoman ilmestys
Toisten laskettua seppeleet
Taivaan takana
Suruntuoja (live 2016)
Sodoman ilmestys (live 2016)
Seremonia rehearsal (tape 2000)
Köysi rehearsal (tape 2000)
Ajaton rehearsal (tape 2000)

Ragnarök, the end of the world in Norse mythology is probably the most heavy metal suitable narration in human history.
CORVUS CORAX and KREATOR guitarist SAMI YLI-SIRNIÖ have impressively recreated this doomsday scenario for their joint “New Medieval Metal” project ERA METALLUM.
Thrashing guitar riffs and blasting double bass thunderstorms unite with hypnotizing bagpipe melodies.
The perfect voice of the apocalypse is provided by SABINA CLASSEN, front woman of the German thrash metal legend HOLY MOSES since 1981 and one of the first women ever to lead an extreme metal band.
Her brutal growls and bloodcurdling screams let the listener witness the “Ragnarök” literally live.
CORVUS CORAX ERA METALLUM – Ragnarök ft. Sabina Classen has been released on 06.05.2022 as a digital single on all streaming and download portals.
The accompanying lyric video will premiere on the same day on the Youtube channel of CORVUS CORAX.
The single is the prelude to a whole series of exciting collaborations with groundbreaking giants of the metal genre.
The album “Corvus Corax Era Metallum” will be released on 6/24/2022 as Ltd. edition double CD and digital album.
The vinyl version will be available in stores from 09/21/2022.