Battle Metal

Turisas – Turisas2013 Review

Turisas – Turisas2013 Review

We all knew Turisas2013 was going to be a controversial record when the title was released. Turisas2013 doesn’t read like a particularly inspiring name for this Finnish ‘folk metal’ band’s latest record. One commenter quipped that it sounds like what they called the folder where you store the .wav files, not the title of the record itself. On top of that was the remarkably short turnaround time. Turisas isn’t a band known for its quick work, and they were coming off a remarkable and fascinating record from 2011 that I flat out loved. Recent history teaches us that ‘fucking with the formula‘ is generally a bad thing; if a band needs 5 years, give it to them! But just as Orphaned Land faced label pressure, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if Turisas2013 was produced under pressure from a label that doesn’t want the world to forget that Turisas exists[1. Note: this is entirely speculation. No one told me shit.]. Whatever the reason for looking at a Turisas record in 2013 with the half-baked name of Turisas2013, it’s here… Is it everything you feared?

Turisas – Stand Up and Fight Review

Turisas – Stand Up and Fight Review

Few bands have ever generated the kind of excitement that Turisas generated among my friends in 2004 when we first got wind of Battle Metal, the debut record from this Finnish viking metal group. Stylistically it really was like nothing we had ever heard. Over the top orchestrations ruled the disc with nary a guitar solo in sight. Instead, the music was largely good for beer swilling and chanting at our drunken parties (which were usually followed up by everyone putting their hair in a certain type of ponytail and running around screaming “Riders of Rohan!”). Hard hitting tracks like “Battle Metal” and “The Land of Hope and Glory” excited us to no end. This band was something unique and special.