Turisas - Battle Metal (Re-issued) 2009

Turisas - Battle Metal

Turisas is a six-piece band from Hämeenlinna, Finland. They've been around since 1997, putting out one demo and an EP, before releasing their debut album "Battle Metal" in 2004. The band call their music Battle Metal, as their debut is called, which includes a song also called Battle Metal. And the album does start with an epic intro preparing you to battle, I've had a hard time figuring out what battle I am put into, it could pretty much be a medieval battle, a battle in a desert or some vikings running around in a forest, but one thing is for sure, there is definitely a battle going on.
After the introduction you are thrown right into the battle in "As Torches", a thick atmosphere of blood and hatching surrounds you with Warlord Nygårds harsh vocals kicking in. In this song, fiddle is also being used, which gives the album a touch of folk already. Warlord Nygårds vocals throughout the album are harsh and aggressive, but also mighty cleaner vocals are being used along with choirs. Also female vocals are being used in this album, for instance in the song "Midnight Sunrise". The female vocals could in my opinion be better, but Warlord Nygårds harsh vocals sums up for that, fitting the battle of this album perfectly.
But this album is, besides being folky and battle-like, a bit chaotic. More genres are present in this album, such as in "The Land of Hope and Glory" where suddenly elevator like music kicks in, personally I think that's rather cool, but a bit misplaced for the regular listener of this kind of music. The track also includes fiddle parts and choirs here, but this battle could be fought in an elevator.
What also makes this album a bit chaotic is the drastic tempo and music change, such as in "One More", going from a cheerful folk melodi, with Nygård along the choirs singing, but then suddenly go down in tempo, without any fiddle here, but just choir singing "lai lai lai lai" along some boring slow riffing. Then the fiddle comes back from nowhere, and the vocals are gone, after a short fiddle passage, it goes away again, and Nygård sings calmly, before going back to the rather decent (in my opinion) chorus "One More". This kinda shows that the band is still in an early stage of their career.
Besides fiddle, also accordion is used, unfortunately not as much as I would have wished, but it's still here, and that's better than no accordion at all! It's used in "Midnight Sunrise" for instance, which is also a varied experience, swtiching tempos a few times during a song, once again, it's a bit messy this album. The accordion can also be heard along the fiddle during one of my favorites "Sahti-Waari", which is a rather short song consisting of flute and fiddle also. It's pretty cheerful and only choir vocals are used here. The atmosphere here is really just awesome, and no weird tempo-genre-whatever switching either!
The production of the album is good, though due to some of the chaotic songs it can be hard knowing what the hell is going on in your speakers/headset, the guitar is not something I've payed much attention to, since the atmosphere here with synths and traditional instruments along Nygårds vocals and choir draws the most attention. Nygårds vocals are pretty clear and you actually have an oppurtunity to hear what he is singing. The bas is audible at times but nothing special, really. The drumming is decent, going along the music nicely, though you do not really notice them that much.
So in conclusion, this album was a different battle, I've only heard this release by Turisas, but I've heard that the other two albums should be pretty good, and I am to check them out also, because I believe these guys can do it better, more mature and less chaotic than this. If you are looking for a bit different approach to the folk/viking metal genre, this release could be something for you, however I think there are better releases out there.

copas from metal-archive.com

Tracklist:
1.     Victoriae & Triumphi Dominus     01:27    
2.     As Torches Rise     04:51    
3.     Battle Metal     04:23    
4.     The Land of Hope and Glory     06:22    
5.     The Messenger     04:42    
6.     One More     06:50    
7.     Midnight Sunrise     08:15
8.     Among Ancestors     05:16
9.     Sahti-Waari     02:28
10.     Prologue for R. R. R.     03:09
11.     Rexi Regi Rebellis     07:10      
12.     Katuman Kaiku     02:22

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