Versengold

Versengold is a German folk rock band formed in 2003. The originality of their music style is that they combine historical texts with modern folk elements. With eleven albums released so far, they have become an integral part of the German folk scene.

== History == Versengold was founded in 2003 by the singer Malte Hoyer in his hometown Osterholz-Scharmbeck. The band, originally formed as a hobby project, mainly consisted of the founding duo Carolin Fährmann and Malte Hoyer, who at the time also played the cittern and the hurdy-gurdy, together with the percussionist Jan Schröder and the violinist Arndt Rathien. The quartet's content and music were mainly geared towards LARP and medieval reenactment. On 14 October 2005, the debut album Hoerensagen was released. On the second album Allgebraeu, published on 15 April 2006, Thomas Heuer was already present as a featured artist. For the 2008 season, Jan Schröder and Arndt Rathjen left the band and on 21 May 2008 the album Ketzerey was released, with percussionist Thomas Heuer and violinist Alexander Willms. After the album was completed, Carolin Fährmann also left the band and the female soprano role was taken by the guest artists Martje Saljé (vocals and guitar) and Maren-Mechthild Meyer-Wünsch (vocals, cittern, flutes, bodhrán). The three remaining band members Hoyer, Heuer and Willms therefore decided to dissolve the band and publish one last album as an all male trio. During the production, Florian Janoske and Daniel Gregory joined as guest musicians. In this line-up, the band released the album Dreck am Stecken on 18 January 2011. Subsequently, Janoske and Gregory became full members and the band continued playing as a pure male quintet.