Turisas

Biography

Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish god of war.
Turisas plays folk metal, incorporating elements of power metal and symphonic metal along with frequent harsh vocals. They are known to play most of their solos on electric violin, as opposed to traditional guitar solos.

Battle Metal (2004–2007)

Since 2003, Turisas have been signed to Century Media Records, which released their debut album Battle Metal×Battle Metal23 July 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Victoriae & Triumphi Dominus1:282As Torches Rise4:513Battle Metal4:234The Land of Hope and Glory6:225The Messenger4:426One More6:507Midnight Sunrise8:158Among Ancestors5:179Sahti-Waari2:2810Prologue for R.R.R.3:0911Rex Regi Rebellis7:1012Katuman kaiku2:22 in 2004. Then the band went on a European tour with various guest musicians on instruments such as violins and accordions.
On 28 October 2005, guitarist Georg Laakso was badly injured in a car accident and due to the extent of his spinal cord injuries, on 12 July 2006 issued a statement of his permanent resignation from the band on the official website. Nevertheless, the band continued to work on their second album, titled The Varangian Way×The Varangian Way28 May 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1To Holmgard and Beyond5:182A Portage to the Unknown4:503Cursed Be Iron5:044Fields of Gold4:355In the Court of Jarisleif3:176Five Hundred and One6:187The Dnieper Rapids5:208Miklagard Overture8:18, which was released in early 2007. Jussi Wickström recorded all guitars on the album.
Mathias Nygård revealed in the January 2007 edition of Terrorizer magazine that the touring musicians Hannes Horma, Olli Vänskä, Janne Mäkinen and Antti Laurila had been added to the band as full-time members, taking them up to an 8-piece act. It later turned out that of the two accordion players, only Mäkinen had become an official member. Laurila is no longer a touring musician for the band. On 19 February 2007, keyboardist Antti Ventola posted a message on the Turisas discussion forum announcing that he and the band had parted ways. This was later confirmed by the rest of the band. Mathias Nygård performed the keyboards on The Varangian Way and Turisas are presently using backing tracks to replicate them on stage.

The Varangian Way (2007–2010)

In January 2008, accordion player Janne "Lisko" Mäkinen disappeared mysteriously in Amsterdam. For the upcoming tour dates in spring 2008 Turisas announced Netta Skog as a step-in accordionist. She had already helped the band on the European tour in October–November 2007. Netta was soon after added to the band on a full-time basis.
After a string of festivals in the Summer of 2008, in September the band started a long tour through the United States and Europe in support of DragonForce. This tour ended in March 2009, and the band then took part in a new European tour with Cradle of Filth and Moonspell, dubbed the "Filthfest Tour 2009", in April and May 2009. The band played at Wacken Open Air in early August 2009 and also played at Bloodstock Open Air in mid August 2009. The band took time off at the end of 2009 to make a new album and then planned to return as fully-fledged band no longer supporting others. In 2010 the band concentrated on finishing the recordings of the upcoming third album. Still, the band did a short tour in Asia and Australia in May 2010, including headline concerts in Sydney and Melbourne, two gigs in China, a gig in Shanghai World Expo 2010 and a gig in Japan.

Stand Up and Fight (2011–2012)

As of March 2010, Turisas announced they were in the studio working on a new album; at that time, the band documented the recording process in a series of studio diary videos on YouTube. The title for the latest album, Stand Up and Fight×Stand Up and Fight23 February 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1The March of the Varangian Guard3:512Take the Day!5:263Hunting Pirates3:444Βένετοι! – Πράσινοι!3:495Stand Up and Fight5:286The Great Escape4:527Fear the Fear6:148End of an Empire7:179The Bosphorus Freezes Over6:0810Battle Metal 20084:0511Rasputin3:5312Supernaut3:5713Broadsword5:01, was revealed on 11 November 2010: the album was released through Century Media on 28 February in Europe and 8 March in North America. A new song off that album: "The March of the Varangian Guard" was performed at the band's Finnish gigs in October 2010 On 17 December 2010, the title track "Stand Up And Fight" was released as a free download on the band's website.
The band took part in tours in Mexico and North America with Cradle of Filth, the other supporting bands being Nachtmystium and Daniel Lioneye beginning in January 2011 and in Europe with Die Apokalyptischen Reiter from March through April 2011. Their England tour came with Crimfall as the supporting band, as well as other local supporting bands. 2012 saw them headline the North American "Paganfest: America Part III" tour with Alestorm, Arkona and Huntress in tow.

Turisas2013 (2013–present)

In November 2012, the band announced they had started work on their fourth album titled Turisas2013×Turisas201321 August 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1For Your Own Good4:322Ten More Miles4:163Piece by Piece5:384Into the Free3:495Run Bhang‐Eater, Run!4:406Greek Fire4:507The Days Passed4:338No Good Story Ever Starts With Drinking Tea2:509We Ride Together6:3310The March of the Varangian Guard (live)11Battle Metal (live). The album was published on 21 August 2013 in Finland and 26 August in Europe, while the UK followed on 2 September and North America on 3 September.
In the late 2010s, the band became less active. In 2019, Olli Vänskä opted not to tour for family reasons and was temporarily replaced by Caitlin De Ville in the following tour. Next year, most of the Turisas' appearances were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Their last concert was held in February 2020, at Cernunnos Pagan Festival in France. After the vinyl re-release of their first three albums in 2022, Turisas ceased any activity, both offline and online, although there was no official announcement of disbanding.

Band members

Mathias "Warlord" Nygård – vocals, keyboards, percussion (1997–2022)
Jussi Wickström – guitars, backing vocals, bass on album "Battle Metal×Battle Metal23 July 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Victoriae & Triumphi Dominus1:282As Torches Rise4:513Battle Metal4:234The Land of Hope and Glory6:225The Messenger4:426One More6:507Midnight Sunrise8:158Among Ancestors5:179Sahti-Waari2:2810Prologue for R.R.R.3:0911Rex Regi Rebellis7:1012Katuman kaiku2:22" (1997–2022)
Jesper Anastasiadis – bass, backing vocals (2012–2022)
Jaakko Jakku – drums (2012–2022)
Olli Vänskä – violin, backing vocals (2005–present)
Janne Mäkinen – accordion, backing vocals (2005–2008)
Antti Ventola – keyboards (1997–2007)
Georg Laakso – guitars (ex-Cadacross) (2000–2006)
Ari Kärkkäinen – guitars (1997–1999)
Sami Aarnio – bass, backing vocals
Tino Ahola – bass, backing vocals
Mikko Törmikoski – bass, backing vocals (until 2004)
Hannes "Hanu" Horma – bass, backing vocals (2005–2011)
Netta Skog – accordion, backing vocals (2007–2011)
Jukka-Pekka Miettinen – bass, backing vocals (ex-Ensiferum) (2011–2012)
Tuomas "Tude" Lehtonen – drums (1997–2012)
Robert Engstrand – keyboards (2011–2014)

Live and session

Riku Ylitalo – accordion, keyboards
Wincef Boncamper – accordion
Antti Laurila – accordion
Robert Engstrand – keyboards (2019–present)
Caitlin De Ville – violin (2019)
Meri Tadić - violin (2020)

Demos

Taiston Tie – The Battle Path (1998)
Terra Tavestorum (1999)
The Heart of Turisas (2001)

Literature

Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie: Heavy Metal Meets Byzantium! Contact Between Scandinavia and Byzantium in the Albums 'The Varangian Way×The Varangian Way28 May 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1To Holmgard and Beyond5:182A Portage to the Unknown4:503Cursed Be Iron5:044Fields of Gold4:355In the Court of Jarisleif3:176Five Hundred and One6:187The Dnieper Rapids5:208Miklagard Overture8:18' (2007) and 'Stand Up and Fight×Stand Up and Fight23 February 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1The March of the Varangian Guard3:512Take the Day!5:263Hunting Pirates3:444Βένετοι! – Πράσινοι!3:495Stand Up and Fight5:286The Great Escape4:527Fear the Fear6:148End of an Empire7:179The Bosphorus Freezes Over6:0810Battle Metal 20084:0511Rasputin3:5312Supernaut3:5713Broadsword5:01' (2011) by the Finnish Band Turisas. In: Menschen, Bilder, Sprache, Dinge. Wege der Kommunikation zwischen Byzanz und dem Westen. Studien zur Ausstellung "Byzanz & der Westen. 1000 vergessene Jahre", ed. by Falko Daim, Christian Gastgeber, Dominik Heher, Claudia Rapp. Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident 9.2, Mainz 2018, 391-419 (PDF: Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie - Academia.edu)
Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie: Queen of all Cities: Echoes of Constantinople in Heavy Metal Music. In: Mittelalter und Populärkultur. Rezeption – Aneignung – Beachtungserfolge, ed. by Hans Velten, Theresa Specht. Populäres Mittelalter, Bielefeld 2024, 161-192.
Milan K. Schaller: “We Are the Varangian Guard”. Musical Rhetoric and Literary Reference in Turisas' Varangian Way Albums. In: The Routledge Handbook of Progressive Rock, Metal, and the Literary Imagination, ed. by Chris Anderton, Lori Burns. Routledge music handbooks, London/New York 2024, 191-203.
Ashley Walsh: “A great heathen fist from the North”. Vikings, Norse Mythology, and Medievalism in Nordic Extreme Metal Music. Master’s Thesis for Nordic Viking and Medieval Culture- ILN, UNIVERSITETET I OSLO 2013, 71-76. (PDF: DUO - digitale publikasjoner ved Universitetet i Oslo)