From left to right: Olli Vänskä, Jaakko Jakku, Mathias Nygård, Robert Engstrand, Jussi Wickström, Jesper Anastasiadis
''The heart of Turisas was forged by four winds
In a smithy high up in the skies
On an anvil honour, with a hammer of blood
The Four Winds pounded''
-"Battle Metal"
Turisas is a battle/folk/viking metal band from Hämeenlinna, Finland, formed in 1997. Their name comes from Iku-Turso, an ancient god of war in the Finnish mythology. Their debut album
Battle Metal pretty much named and kick-started an entire subgenre of
Heavy Metal.
Members:
- Mathias "Warlord" Nygård : vocals, percussion
- Jussi Wickström : guitar
- Jesper Anastasiadis : bass guitar
- Jaakko Jakku : drums
- Olli Vänskä : violin
- Robert Engstrand : keyboards
Former members:
- Antti "Pormestari" Laurila: Accordion
- Riku Ylitalo: Keyboard, Accordion
- Mikko Törmikoski: Bass
- Janne "Lisko" Mäkinen: Accordion
- Tino Ahola: Bass
- Antti Ventola: Keyboard
- Wincef Boncamper: Accordion
- Ari Kärkkäinen: Guitar
- Georg Laakso: Guitar (1999 - 2005)
- Sami Aarnio: Bass
- Netta Skog: Back Vocals, Accordéon (2008 - 2011)
- Hannes "Hannu" Horma: Bass, Back Vocals (2004 - 2011)
- Tuomas "Tude" Lehtonen: Drums, Percussions (1997 - 2012)
- Jukka-Pekka Miettinen: Bass (2011 - 2012)
Discography:
- The Heart of Turisas EP (2001)
- Battle Metal (2004)
- The Varangian Way (2007)
- Stand Up and Fight (2011)
This band provides examples of:
- Bilingual Bonus: Several of their songs contain Finnish, Swedish and Russian.
- Blood Knight : Being a Viking Metal band, lots of their songs (and their costumes) give off this vibe. When your lead singer is nicknamed 'Warlord,' it kinda comes with the territory.
- Bread and Circuses : Venetoi - Prasinoi is all over this trope. "Ladies and gentlemen! The main event of tonight:/On chariots of fire!"
- The Casanova: Rasputin, according to "Rasputin."
- Concept Album: The Varangian Way tells the story of a group of Scandinavians traveling the river routes of medieval Russia down to the Byzantine empire. The story continues on "The March of the Varangian Guard", the opening track of Stand Up and Fight.
- Drunken Song: "One More".
- Epic Rocking : The song "End of an Empire" is a more literal example of this, being a seven minute long song (longer than their standard fare) about, well, Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
- Executive Meddling: Why else would a Concept Album like The Varangian Way have a novelty Cover Version of "Rasputin" tacked at the end of it?
- Face Your Fears: "Fear The Fear" tells us to do this instead of hiding our heads in the sand.
And you think you are bold, and you think you are brave
When push comes to shove, you know it's a feign
You're better off if you choose to abstain
Your fear is your true grave
- Horny Vikings : They feature a few in their lyrics. For example, "The March of the Varangian Guard" is a song dedicated to the Varangian Guard, a group of Norse warriors that swore fealty to the Byzantine Emperor.
- Large Ham: They're very theatrical.
"Go now, and don't look back! Give my greeting to the Greek king!"
- Title Track: "Battle Metal" and "Stand Up and Fight".
- Rasputin The Mad Monk: Russia's greatest love machine!
- Shown Their Work: Lyrics in The Varangian Way and Stand Up and Fight show aplenty of knowledge of the medieval Eastern Europe, viking trade routes and Byzantine Empire.
- War Is Glorious : Almost all of their songs are about battle and fighting. Including, surprisingly enough, 'Battle Metal.'
0 reviews