Schandmaul

Schandmaul
Left to right: Lindner, Kränzlein, Duckstein, Richter, Brunner, Muggenthaler-Schmack.
Background information
Origin	Munich, Germany
Genres	Medieval folk rock Medieval Metal
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Fame Recordings, Universal
Website	www.schandmaul.de
Members	Thomas Lindner Birgit Muggenthaler-Schmack Anna Kränzlein Martin Duckstein Stefan Brunner Matthias Richter
Past members	Hubsi Widmann

Schandmaul is a German medieval folk rock band from the Munich area.

As well as using modern instruments such as the bass and electric guitar, the band also utilizes instruments typically used in Medieval folk songs such as the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy or shawm, to produce their trademark folk rock sound. Schandmaul was nominated two times for the Echo Music Prize and has so far had five albums in the top ten German album charts and three top-ten albums in Austria.

The name 'Schandmaul' translates roughly to 'evil tongue' and refers to their mascot of a grinning skeletal jester.

Schandmaul was founded in the summer of 1998 when six musicians from Munich and the surrounding area, then members of different bands, came together for a folk rock concert. They were dissatisfied with performing nothing but cover-versions and so decided to write a few songs of their own for the event. The very first song written by the newly formed band, Teufelsweib (lit. Devil-Woman), already exhibited the sound that, cultivated and developed over the years, is considered typical for Schandmaul.

The first concert took place in the bar 'Die Hexe' (lit. 'The Witch') in Gröbenzell. The self-deprecating name 'Schandmaul' was chosen to be used by the band at the event, inspired by a jester from a deck of cards. The jester is viewed as a fool, but this indignity gains him the privilege to speak his mind freely, and accordingly, the outdated swearword 'Schandmaul' refers to somebody who frequently says things considered rude or outrageous.

The success of the concert spawned their desire to produce a CD, which was to be the self-produced album Wahre Helden (lit. True Heroes).

Their abundance of creative energy inspired more songs and a second album, titled Von Spitzbuben und anderen Halunken (lit. Of Rogues and Other Scoundrels), was released in 2000. That same year, the band signed with concert promoter Extratours, who has been responsible for the band's live shows ever since.

In 2001, record label 'F.A.M.E. recordings' took notice of the band, leading to the re-release of Von Spitzbuben und anderen Halunken. Simultaneously, through numerous shows including big festivals like M'era Luna, the Zillo Festival and Wave-Gotik-Treffen, the first big tour came about. The third CD, Narrenkönig (lit. King of the Jester's) was recorded in a professional studio and was released in October 2002, reaching No. 70 on the charts. In September 2002, the band parted ways with bassist Hubsi Widman, who was replaced by Matthias Richter who debuted on 22 September 2002 in Meschede.