Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. It was founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström and named after an ancient Finnish war deity. Since 2003 the band has been signed to Century Media Records. Turisas plays folk metal with elements of power metal and symphonic metal and frequently uses harsh vocals. The band is also known for using electric violin for many of its lead parts and solos instead of traditional guitar solos. The band’s debut album, “Battle Metal”, was released in 2004, followed by extensive touring in Europe with various guest musicians, including violinists and accordion players. On 28 October 2005 guitarist Georg Laakso was seriously injured in a car accident and, due to spinal cord injuries, announced his permanent departure from the band on 12 July 2006. Despite this, Turisas continued work on their second album, “The Varangian Way”, released in early 2007, with Jussi Wickström recording all guitar parts. Around this period, touring and session musicians such as Hannes Horma, Olli Vänskä, Janne Mäkinen and Antti Laurila were associated with the band, although not all of them became permanent members. In early 2007 keyboardist Antti Ventola left the band, after which keyboards on “The Varangian Way” were performed by Mathias Nygård, with the band later using backing tracks for live performances. Following the release of “The Varangian Way”, the band continued extensive touring. In January 2008 accordionist Janne “Lisko” Mäkinen left the group after disappearing in Amsterdam, and Netta Skog temporarily replaced him on tour before becoming a full-time member. In the following years Turisas toured internationally, including supporting DragonForce in Europe and North America from 2008 to 2009, and later joining Cradle of Filth and Moonspell on the “Filthfest Tour 2009”. The band also performed at festivals such as Wacken Open Air and Bloodstock Open Air in 2009. During this period they reduced touring activity to focus on new material and undertook limited tours in Asia and Australia in 2010, including performances in Japan, China and at the Shanghai World Expo. In 2010 Turisas announced work on their third album, later titled “Stand Up and Fight”, which was released in February 2011 in Europe and March 2011 in North America. The song “The March of the Varangian Guard” was performed live prior to the album release, and the title track “Stand Up and Fight” was made available as a free download in December 2010. The band subsequently toured in North America and Mexico with Cradle of Filth, Nachtmystium and Daniel Lioneye, and in Europe with Die Apokalyptischen Reiter. In 2012 they headlined the “Paganfest: America Part III” tour alongside Alestorm, Arkona and Huntress. In 2012 the band began work on a fourth album, “Turisas2013”, which was released in August and September 2013 across different regions. In the late 2010s the band became less active. In 2019 violinist Olli Vänskä left the group for family reasons and was replaced for touring purposes by Catheline De Ville. After the re-release of the band’s first three albums on vinyl in 2022, Turisas ceased active operations both online and offline, although no formal announcement of disbandment was made. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turisas Studio albums Battle Metal (2004) The Varangian Way (2007) Stand Up and Fight (2011) Turisas2013 (2013)