A distant stomping can be heard as fans of Turisas make their way towards the Concorde 2. With their fists and swords held in the air, they march as an army united. Turisas are a Finnish folk metal band from Hämeenlinna. The band is named after an ancient Finnish God of war and their live show is a reflection of this. The crowd gathers like a rally of medieval warriors on a battleship and many faces are painted red with black stripes.
Front man Mathias “Warlord” Nygård gets the crowd assembled and chanting immediately. The set is an epic attack of mighty sounds from the Turisas canon. Material from their debut ‘Battle Metal’ (2004), ‘One More’ and ‘Sahti Waari’, accentuate the folk element with particular emphasis on the antediluvian electric violin solos. The crowd roars “Battle- Battle Metal- Battle” and Turisas proceed with the title track.
They incorporate elements of power metal and symphonic metal; from gigantic metal anthems to epic war tales like ‘To Holmgard and Beyond’ from ‘The Varangian Way’ (2007). At times the keyboard and strings together feels like the start of a voyage to sea. Mid-set they hype us up for ‘Rasputin’ with a huge intro and fling us into a primeval frenzy. It is a very popular song since it is often the first song people hear by Turisas.
The new album “Stand Up and Fight” (2011) is a bloodthirsty call to arms. Fans are already very familiar with the songs ‘Stand Up and Fight’, ‘End of an Empire’ and ‘The March of the Varangian Guard’. It just goes to show that Turisas have built a solid and loyal following over the years. The fans actually make the music much more relevant, we are literally an army. It is amazing what impact face paint and costume can have. Sometimes I question the importance of image but in rock music, music and image work hand in hand.
Turisas have clearly mastered the art of medieval battle front metal and have used their image successfully to enhance the message behind their music.
TURISAS
CONCORDE 2, THURSDAY 27 OCTOBER 2011
WORDS BY JOHN MCLEAN
PHOTOS BY RACHAEL EMILY
