Interview

The Mysterious Medieval Folk Duo Tabernis Explains The Hive Concept To Metalunderground Among Other Buzzings

Tabernis doesn't mince words when it comes to labeling themselves, but they prefer to be called a medieval folk duo. Another thing Tabernis wants to be known for is the concept of the Hive. If this already sounds alluring, we're only scratching the surface of a project that uses only bagpipes and a davul (think percussion), while garbed in beekeeper suits, to spread its art.

If you've made it this far and want to learn more about this incredibly unique band and sound, read on...

Metalunderground: For our readers that are just now discovering you, can you explain what Tabernis is about and a brief history about the project?

Tabernis: Tabernis is a dark medieval project built around the idea of the Hive.

The project began with a simple intention, to move away from identity and focus on the experience itself. From there, the imagery of the beekeepers appeared naturally, rooted in historical references but also connected to something more symbolic.

At the same time, there is a real anchor behind it. The world we live in is losing balance, and pollinators are part of that. The Hive became a way to make that presence felt, without turning it into a direct message.

Over time, what started as music took form on stage. The ritual aspect emerged there, when the sound met the audience and became something shared.

Metalunderground: Seasons Of The Dark Hive is your debut album. How do you feel about it? Do you like how the production sounds? Is there anything you would change about it?

Tabernis: We are satisfied with it, for us, an album reaches a state where it can exist on its own, and that is where we felt it was right to let it go. What matters to us is that each piece carries its intention fully. The production follows that idea. It remains direct, without unnecessary layers. Something raw, where the sound stays close to its origin.

If we had to change something, it would probably be to open the space even more in certain moments. To bring in additional medieval instruments, and let the sound become even more ancient at times.

But that is not something we would change now, it’s more a direction for what comes next.

Metalunderground: Did Tabernis start out as an acoustic and dark folk band? Are there plans to venture into using other types of acoustic or electric musical instruments?

Tabernis: Yes, we began as an acoustic duo, and that will remain our foundation.

The core of the sound comes from that direct connection, the bagpipe and the davul, something raw and immediate.

At the same time, we have already started to expand the live aspect. Additional instruments appear to bring the atmosphere of the album closer to what we can create on stage and, in the future, we would like to introduce other medieval instruments as well. Not as a shift, but as brief presences, something that emerges and fades within the same world.

Metalunderground: I read that Tabernis has played at both the Wacken and Summer Breeze festivals. How was the reception from the crowd and are you going to be playing at any festivals this summer?

Tabernis: The reception was immediate, you know, on stages like Wacken and Summer Breeze, something happens very quickly. The sound spreads, and the crowd responds as a whole. At a certain point, you stop perceiving individuals. It becomes movement, something collective, almost instinctive.

That is when the Dark Hive becomes visible.

For this summer, we already have several festivals confirmed, including M’era Luna and Wave-Gotik-Treffen and many others. For now, most of these appearances will take place in Germany, but we hope to carry the Hive further and reach other places in the near future.

Metalunderground: Who is the bigger history buff in Tabernis? Noxifer or Umbrae? Can we expect a different historical direction with every release from Tabernis?

Tabernis: It is not a matter of one knowing more than the other.

We do not approach history as something to study. We carry fragments, traces that have crossed time and remained. One of us may be closer to memory, the other to the pulse, but it is part of the same movement.

We do not move from one era to another. The Hive does not follow time, it moves through it.
Each release is not a new direction. It is a deeper descent into the same one.

Metalunderground: Are there any tours planned at the moment? If so, can you please elaborate?

Tabernis: For this year, we have six shows confirmed, mainly in Germany, including appearances at major festivals such as M’era Luna and Wave-Gotik-Treffen.

The dates are already available on our socials for those who wish to join the swarms.

For now, the focus is on bringing the album to life on stage, in the most complete way possible and at the same time, we are preparing what comes next. We want to carry the Hive further and reach other countries in the near future.

Metalunderground: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

Tabernis: Thank you for your time and for the space you have given us.

To those who have listened, and to those who are just discovering us, you are already part of it. The Dark Hive is not something we build alone. It grows with every presence, every voice, every moment shared.

There are places where it gathers, where it continues to take form. Some of you are already there. The Hive exists wherever it is carried.

Welcome to the Dark Hive!

If you want to get some of that dark honey, check out some of Tabernis' below!