Music / Saltatio Mortis

"Wild und frei"

— one of the band's mottos

Saltatio Mortis (latin for dance of death) is a German medieval metal band. They frequently play on medieval festivals, most notably the Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum.

The band was founded in 2000 and currently consists of

• Alea der Bescheidene - vocals, bagpipes, didgeridoo, guitar, shawms
• Lasterbalk der Lästerliche - drums, davul and other percussion
• Falk Irmenfried von Hasen-Mümmelstein - bagpipes, vocals, hurdy-gurdy, shawms
• El Silbador - bagpipes, shawms, smallpipes, uillean pipes and other pipes
• Bruder Frank - bass guitars, electric upright Chapman Stick, guitar
• Till Promill - guitars
• Jean Méchant der Tambour - drums, piano, guitar, vocals
• Luzi das L - pipes, shawms

Studio albums

• 2001: Tavernakel ("Tavernacle")
• 2002: Das zweite Gesicht ("The Second Face")
• 2003: Heptessenz ("Seventh Essence")
• 2004: Erwachen ("Awakening")
• 2005: Des Königs Henker ("The King's Hangman")
• 2007: Aus der Asche ("From the Ashes")
• 2009: Wer Wind sät ("Who Sows the Wind")
• 2011: Sturm aufs Paradies ("Rush on Paradise")
• 2013: Das Schwarze Einmaleins ("The Black 101")
• 2015: Zirkus Zeitgeist ("Circus Zeitgeist") and Zirkus Zeitgeist - Ohne Strom und Stecker (unplugged version of Zirkus Zeitgeist)
• 2018: Brot und Spiele ("Bread and Circuses")

Live albums

• 2005: Manufactum
• 2010: Manufactum II
• 2011: 10 Jahre Wild und Frei ("10 Years Wild and Free")
• 2013: Manufactum III
• 2016: Zirkus Zeitgeist - Live aus der Großen Freiheit

Tropes featured by Saltatio Mortis

• A God Am I: "Es gibt keinen Gott, es gibt nur Lasterbalk." ("There is no God, there's only Lasterbalk.")
• A Million Is a Statistic: Put to use in Nachts weinen die Soldaten:
  Nachts weinen die Soldaten (At night, the soldiers are crying)
  nur noch Nummern, ohne ein Gewicht (Only numbers, carrying no weight)
• Album Title Drop: IX from Das Schwarze Einmaleins:
  Drei mal drei ist Zauberei,
  Die Zahl der Wollust, drei mal zwei,
  Die Männlichkeit ist zwei plus eins,
  So steht's im Schwarzen Einmaleins.
  ("Three times three is wizardry,
  The number of lust, three times two,
  Masculinity is two plus one,
  That's how it's written in the Black 101.")
• An Aesop: "Früher war alles besser" ("Everything used to be better back then") is about the importance of letting go of the past and instead looking into the future.
• And I Must Scream: Koma ("Coma")
• Anthropomorphic Personification: Habgier und Tod ("Greed and Death") brings us, well, Greed and Death. Death also appears in Tod und Teufel ("Death and Devil") and Hoffnung ("Hope"), which in turn also has a child who personifies Hope. Then there's Nur ein Traum ("Only a Dream"), which gives us Justice, Courage, Mercy, Unity, our Confidence and the plain Truth.
• Anti-Christmas Song: Willkommen in der Weihnachtszeit ("Welcome to the Christmas Season") is about consumerism taking over Christmas and supermarkets already selling Christmas articles when it's actually still summer.
• Audience Participation Song: More like Audience Participation Concerts, to be honest, though Eulenspiegel still stands out.
• Badass Longcoat: Lasterbalk's coat is pretty epic.◊
• Ballad of X: Ballade von der Spielmannskrone ("Ballad of the Gleeman's Crown") and Galgenballade ("Gallows Ballad")
• Bargain with Heaven: In Der letzte Spielmann ("The Last Gleeman"), the titular character attempts this, trying to talk God into switching places with him. He ends up rethinking this idea and instead only asks for Him to bless his next beer.
• Biblical Motifs: Salome, Satans Fall, Sündenfall ("Fall of Man"), Maria, ...
• The Bluebeard: In Tritt ein ("Enter"), a man kills his wife for opening the forbidden door to the room in which he killed his previous wives.
• Bread and Circuses: The translation of the title of their 2018 album "Brot und Spiele"
• Break-Up Song: Trinklied. Sort of. It's about breaking up with alcohol.
• Butt-Monkey: Luzi and, occasionally, Falk
• Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Tends to be discussed whenever they're about to play Le Corsaire.
• Playing Dice with the Devil: The set-up of Tod und Teufel ("Death and Devil"): A gleeman whose life is running out plays a game of dice against the Devil.
• The Chew Toy: YMMV on whether Luzi and Falk are this or Woobies.
• Christmas Creep: Willkommen in der Weihnachtszeit^note Welcome to christmas time
• Chronological Album Title: Wer Wind sät ("Who Sows Wind") is followed by Sturm aufs Paradies ("Rush on Paradise"), referencing the saying "Wer Wind sät, wird Sturm ernten." ("Who sows wind, will reap storm." Sturm means both "storm" and "rush / raid")
• Cover Version:
  • 15 Jahre, 15 Bands ("15 Years, 15 Bands") is a cover album where 15 Saltatio Mortis songs were covered by 15 bands for the band's 15th birthday.
  • "We Drink Your Blood", on the Cover Album Communio Luporum bonus disk from Powerwolf's 2018 album, The Sacrament of Sin. Alea is clearly having fun during the video for it.
• Crossdresser: El Silbador. Twice. Alea and Luzi, too.
• Deadpan Snarker: Lasterbalk tends to be this.
• Deal with the Devil: In Das kalte Herz ("The Cold Heart"), a young charburner makes a deal with a demon: The demon removes his heart and exchanges it for one of stone.
• Death of the Old Gods: Vergessene Götter ("Forgotten Gods")
• Deliberately Monochrome: The video to Letzte Worte ("Last Words").
  • Also for Nachts weinen die Soldaten and Weiss wie Schnee. Seems to be a trend for them now.
• Dichter und Denker: Name-dropped and proudly extolled in Wir sind Papst.
• Don't Fear the Reaper: In Tod und Teufel ("Death and Devil"), Death calls the Devil out on trying to con both himself and the gleeman, resulting in the latter being allowed to live on for now.
• Emotion Suppression: In Das kalte Herz ("The Cold Heart"), this is the result on the young charburner making a deal with a demon to exchange his heart for one of stone.
• Eye Scream: Der Sandmann ("The Sandman") gives us two of these: The Sandman's children eat eyes and his black sand hollows them out.
• Fanservice: Ho Yay, mimed masturbation, stripping, crossdressing, ...
• Folk Metal
• Forbidden Fruit: The biblical one is mentioned in Sündenfall ("Fall of Man"). Then there's the forbidden door in Tritt ein ("Enter").
• God: Who the last gleeman is talking to in Der letzte Spielmann ("The Last Gleeman").
• The Grim Reaper: Death shows up a lot, including as a titular character in Tod und Teufel ("Death and Devil") and Habgier und Tod ("Greed and Death").
• Grimmification: Sieben Raben ("Seven Ravens") is a rather dark take on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.
• Heavy Mithril
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Lasterbalk and Falk◊ sometimes come across as this. As do Alea and Luzi◊.
• Hope Bringer: In Hoffnung ("Hope"), the child of the same name is this.
• Hope Crusher: Again, Hoffnung. Death takes on this role.
• Hope Springs Eternal: Again, Hoffnung. Just when it's really starting to look like The End of the World as We Know It, we're reminded that faith can move mountains and that hope dies last.
• Horrible History Metal: Nachts weinen die Soldaten, about the unrelenting, inhuman carnage of the Great War.
• Indecipherable Lyrics: Sometimes happens with Latin lyrics, like the bridge in Dädalus.
• Insistent Terminology: Not a particularly egregious example, but they consistently refer to themselves as gleemen.
• Intercourse with You: Rattenfänger ("Pied Piper")
  Und später unter deiner Decke
  Winkt der Lohn für meine Müh'.
  ("And later, under your blanket,
  Beckons the reward for my efforts.")
• Large Ham: Lasterbalk and Alea, and they know it.
• Let's Duet: Alea and Falk in Dessous le Pont de Nantes, Choix des Dames and Dädalus. Alea and Doro Pesch in Salome.
• Lyrical Dissonance: Der Sandman ("The Sandman") sounds like a lullaby until you realise that the titular Sandman is a demon who can cause nightmares and whose black sand hollows out eyes. Sweet dreams.
• Meaningful Name: "Lasterbalk der Lästerliche" means "Lasterbalk the Calumnious" or "Lasterbalk the Blasphemous" (also, "Laster" means "vice") and "Alea der Bescheidene" means "Alea the Humble", while "Till Promill" means "Till per mil" as in the unit blood-alcohol content is measured in.
• Monster Clown: Their makeup to Zirkus Zeitgeist looks like this, but isn't meant to be scary.
• Mr. Fanservice: Alea der Bescheidene. Jean too, but Alea shamelessly embraces the role.
• Murder Ballad: Hochzeitstanz ("Wedding Dance") is sung from the POV of a Serial Killer and Rapist. Vergiss mein nicht ("Forget me not") and Tritt ein ("Enter") aren't any better.
• Mythology Gag: The second verse of Geradeaus ("Straight ahead") almost entirely consists of ShoutOuts to previous songs, to the point where it approaches Reference Overdosed:
  Wir haben den Spielmannsschwur gebrochen,
  Und das kalte Herz erwärmt,
  Haben Gott die Würfel weggenommen (Gott würfelt nicht)
  Und mit Orpheus gelärmt.
  Wir haben den Hochzeitstanz verstolpert,
  Unser Ebenbild verklagt,
  Wir haben Salome geschwängert
  Und den Sündenfall vertagt.
  Seitdem wir auch noch Idole sind,
  Leben wir in Saus und Braus!
  Wir pissen in Prometheus' Feuer,
  Denn statt ein, treten wir aus!
  ("We've broken the gleeman's oath,
  And warmed the cold heart,
  Took the dice from God ("God Does Not Play Dice")
  And roistered with Orpheus.
  We've stumbled through the wedding dance,
  Sued our spitting image,
  We have impregnated Salome
  And postponed the Fall of Man!
  Ever since we're also idols,
  We're living in the lap of luxury!
  We piss in Prometheus' fire,
  'Cause instead of a step in, we take a leak! ¹)
  ¹ The wordplay in this part is really hard to translate properly.
  • And then later, in the same song, we have:
  Ihr sagt, "Früher war alles besser!"
  ("You say, 'Back then, everything was better!'")
  • And
  Wir sind mal Herren, sind mal Knechte, (Keines Herren Knecht)
  Manchmal Schatten, manchmal Licht (Licht und Schatten)
  ("Sometimes we're lords, sometimes servants, ("No Lord's Servant")
  Sometimes shadow, sometimes light ("Light and Shadow"))
  • And, at last
  Und werft den ersten Stein. (Wirf den ersten Stein)
  ("And throw the first stone.")
• Literature/Nibelungenlied: Brunhild is about one of the most prominent characters from the Nibelungenlied.
• Nobody Loves the Bassist: Being more of a quiet type than the rest of the gleemen, people just tend to sort of forget about Bruder Frank (unless he happens to be playing the bassline to Seven Nation Army). The fact that he's always standing in the back of the stage doesn't really help.
• Non-Appearing Title: Heuchler ("Hypocrite"), Der Ruf ("The Call"), Equinox, Traumreise ("Dream-Journey"), Erwachen ("Awakening"), Am Scheideweg ("At the Crossroads"), Dädalus, ... They're pretty fond of this trope, actually.
• Ode to Intoxication: A lot of their songs mention drinking, but Trinklied takes the cake. The title literally means "Drinking Song".
• One-Woman Song: My Bonnie Mary
• Only Sane Man: Frank and Till must feel this way during concerts. Even Jean has joined in the craziness, like when he helped Alea put on a bra.
• Our Demons Are Different: They take your heart and exchange it for one of stone.
• Overly Long Name: Deliberately invoked by Falk Irmenfried von Hasen-Mümmelstein as a reference to real life nobility.
• Protest Song: Wachstum über alles, though some people took the lyrics a little too literally. Krieg kennt keine Sieger ("War Knows No Victors") and Nachts weinen die Soldaten ("At Night the Soldiers Cry") qualify too, as they're anti war songs.
• Pun: Tavernakel is a portmanteau of "Taverne" ("tavern") and "Tabernakel" ("tabernacle").
• Religion Rant Song:
  • Krieg kennt keine Sieger (War knows no winners) is primarily anti-war, but states religion as one of the reasons for war.
  • Vergessene Götter (Forgotten gods) is a more straight Religion Rant Song
• Rock-Star Song: Spielmannskrone and Gossenpoet
• Sailor's Ponytail: Has been known to happen to long-haired gleemen, like Elsi◊.
• Satan: One of the main characters in Tod und Teufel ("Death and Devil"). Also mentioned in other songs, such as Hoffnung ("Hope"), Des Königs Henker ("The King's Hangman") and Nur ein Traum ("Only a Dream").
• Scatterbrained Senior: Falk, at least according to Lasterbalk. Though he really does have a bit of a problem with remembering the lyrics to Dessous le Pont de Nantes...
• Signing-Off Catchphrase: They always bow out calling themselves "die (unglaublich) gutaussehenden, (überaus) wohlriechenden, immer, überall und allseits potenten Spielleute von Saltatio Mortis" ("the (amazingly) handsome, (exceedingly) sweet-smelling, always, anywhere and all-round potent gleemen of Saltatio Mortis").
• Silver Fox: *cough* Lasterbalk *cough*◊ Also, Jean seems to be approaching this.
• Singer Namedrop: Accidental example: The song Gott würfelt nicht ("God Does Not Play Dice") contains the latin phrase Alea iacta est.
• Snark Ball: Gets passed around, but most frequently found in Lasterbalk's possesion.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: Happens on stage when the other gleemen start snarking back at Lasterbalk.
• The Something Song: Trinklied ("Drinking Song") qualifies. Also, Palästinalied ("Palestine Song"). Ode an die Feindschaft ("Ode to Animosity") too, sorta.
• Stage Names:
  • All of them:
    • Alea der Bescheidene
    • Lasterbalk der Lästerliche
    • Luzi das L
    • El Silbador
    • Jean Méchant, der Tambour
    • Falk Irmenfried von Hasen-Mümmelstein
    • Bruder Frank
    • Till Promill
  • As well as all former members:
    • Dominor der Filigrane
    • Die Fackel
    • Ungemach der Missgestimmte
    • Thoron Trommelfeuer
    • Magister Flux
    • Herr Schmitt
    • Mik El Angelo
    • Cordoban der Verspielte
    • Herr Samoel
• Street Musician: They started out as street musicians, and some of them still play in the streets from time to time.
• Take That!: Miststück ("Bitch") and Falsche Freunde ("False Friends")
• Take That, Critics!: Geradeaus ("Forward") has a few lines about this, see They Changed It, Now It Sucks!
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Again, Lasterbalk. He's a 2m (6' 7") tall, wisecracking bundle of snark.
• Title Track:
  • Heptessenz ("Seventh Essence")
  • Erwachen ("Awakening")
  • Des Königs Henker ("The King's Hangman")
• True Meaning of Christmas: According to ''Willkommen in der Weihnachtszeit'' ("Welcome to the Christmas Season"), it's profit.
• Unplugged Version: Zirkus Zeitgeist - Ohne Strom und Stecker
• Unusual Euphemism: Luzi's little Sea Serpent
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Lasterbalk and Falk, Lasterbalk and Luzi, ... Aw, hell, Lasterbalk and everyone, at some point.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Alea◊, Luzi◊ and Lasterbalk◊ all seem to be allergic to shirts.
• Wanderlust Song: A lot of their songs have shades of this, but Wieder unterwegs ("On the Road Again") is made of this trope.
• War Is Hell: Krieg kennt keine Sieger ("War Knows No Victors") and Nachts weinen die Soldaten ("At Night the Soldiers Cry")
• What a Senseless Waste of Human Life: Expressed in the song Nachts weinen die Soldaten, about World War I.

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