Lista de Bandas Folk Metal Turisas Stand Up and Fight

The Finnish "battle" metal band we all know and love has come back for a third assault of viking epicness. But is Stand Up and Fight as big as it is cracked up to be?

The obvious thing you can hear, from the first track, is that this album is definitely more explosive, with the use of a real orchestra on this album. They seem to have pulled that much off well, for the symphony does not drown out the metal, as has been the case with so many symphonic metal albums (not so much with symphonic metal bands, but non-SM bands that try to make symphonic metal).

"March of the Varangian Guard" seemingly picks up where The Varangian Way left off: the group of vikings have left their homeland to fight for the emperor of Constantinople. It is as bombastic as any of their former tracks, and lyrically profound. Unlike most typical viking metal bands, who cling to black metal's intolerance, this song states quite clearly that "Diversity is what unites us."

Sounding like a cross between a classic rock song and the growling of black/death metal, "Take the Day!" is a hair-raising battle song, complete with a sweet bass-line and plenty of that heart-warming, rousing feel that only Turisas can deliver. Were it not for the overall uniqueness of this band, this could almost be called a "power metal" song; not because it adheres to the cliches of power metal, but because it is such an awe-inspiring song. One to listen to while you wade through your enemies with ax and sword in hand!

The title track, "Stand Up and Fight" is another strong song from this album, reminding the listener that, even when you're down, then is not the time to surrender but to...well, you know. It still brings chills to my body and tears to my eyes, hearing Nygård roar out those inspirational lyrics...

"Get up
you've made it this far
No loser you are
One more time
One more try"

The story seemingly has a conclusion mid-way through the album, where the Vikings decide to return home to claim kingship of their lands. However, the Byzantine lord is not interested in giving up his warriors, and so the Vikings leave for home on their own. "The Great Escape" is a good, heavy track that really packs a hard punch. We also have a slow, almost mournful yet still hard and strong finisher with "The Bosphorous Freezes Over"

Unfortunately, the rest of the album is very repetitive. Sure, the Alestorm-esque "Hunting Pirates" is sure to inspire the anarchists and supporters of illegal downloading, as I'm sure "Fear the Fear" will as well (aside from dropping the f-bomb - an atypical thing for Turisas). But even for all the good of the lyrics, which, according to Nygård have relevance in our world today (which is something, since most Viking Metal is usually intentionally archaic, hearkening back to the old days of paganism and fear of the dark woods), this album isn't very impressive.

However, for all of the repetition and same-ness of each song, it deserves more than thirteen/fourteen of twenty. Let us, however, not forget to mention the bonus tracks. I'm happy to say that "Broadsword" is a good tribute to the folk-rock band Jethro Tull, and has gotten me interested into the very interesting band. It's definitely something worthy listening to. "Supernaut", one of Black Sabbath's druggie-songs (along with "Sweet Leaf" and "Snowblind") would seem to be incongruous with the Viking/historic-themed Turisas. With all respect to Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne, this track blows the socks off the original. Maybe its the tuning, which doesn't sound as gloomy as the original, or the faster tempo, or the chanting along to the riff, or Olli's epic violin skills, or Nygård's humorous lines during the drum solo: either way, its more memorable than the original. Nygård may not be a "screaming" tenor like Ozzy, but he gets the job done. If only this could have made it onto the Nativity in Black album - it's much better than 1000 Homo DJ's cover as well.

In the end, this album is a solid Turisas album, despite sounding repetitive on certain tracks. Definitely give it a listen-to, because you just might be surprised how good it really is.

The high status that Turisas reached during their short scene life has always been hand in hand with a heavy overdose of qualitative music, distinctive originality, professionalism and never-ending artistic ambition. After their groundbreaking debut "Battle Metal" and its follower "The Varangian Way" which are still the talk of the day, the Swedish sextet needed just one well measured final strike in order to stay among the most remarkable bands in the genre for the past decade.

And there you have it. The third defender of Turisas’ honor is called "Stand Up and Fight" - a title that is in no means chosen randomly as the album is charged with the big responsibility to compete with the overwhelming shadow of its two predecessors and show whether or not the band managed to pass the test of time and the overexploited industry which it serves. As a good record demands a stable basis, the essential core is gradually preserved along with most of the characteristic features while the Scandinavians throw themselves into the bloody battle and experiment with music without hesitating even for a second. That’s exactly what Turisas’ new effort is all about - each necessary ingredient from the recipe for a grand magnum opus is present, from Warlord’s favorite martial themes that shine brighter than ever before, to the successful instrumental expansion which can easily change your "Battle Metal" standards for good and leave even the biggest critics in awe.

As numerous as all praises can get when they’re appointed to such an effort, it seems that they’re far from being unnecessary - Turisas deliver their bravest, most extravagant and multi-layered product to date, ready to compete even with the infamous debut. It takes but a few spins before you start to realize you’re involved in something extraordinary and after some more you’re already brothers in arms with the Vikings. The strong impression is born through the storytelling genius of Mathias who shaped the conceptual side of "Stand Up and Fight" long before the idea of the album itself - its lyrical backbone dates all the way back to the year of 2005, even before the release of "The Varangian Way". Despite the fact that the songs are connected and renew the journey from where it ended on the previous record, they sound fascinating even on their own. Yet the actual counterpoint difference between "Stand Up and Fight" and the previous two albums derives from the music - in fact, Turisas surprisingly manage to even outdo their discography showing that they never intend to count on old fame and are fully capable of taking their art to the next step on the evolutionary ladder.

The record is loaded with detailed symphonies, giving the impression of a constantly compounding epic soundtrack or a rich musical fiesta with lots of surprises on its way. The musicians are at their best and yet they’re always unpredictable: traversing from echoing battle anthems as "The March of the Varangian Guard" and the furious "Take the Day", through the joyful Alestorm-mannered "Hunting Pirates" and the symphonic feast "Venetoi! Prasnoi!", all the way down to the touching final acts "End of an Empire" and "The Bosphorous Freezes Over". Warlord tends to stick to his clean vocals and fits perfectly the orchestra background which is created with the help of some famed Finnish philharmonic musicians. The arrangements are the richest this band ever composed and, being additionally complicated with clever choir parts, they manage to polish the appearance of the entire musical scale even further.

Clearly the formations that still manage to stay clear of repeating themselves are getting less and less. But one can always count on certain names to fill in the ranks of their diminishing lines, and if there’s anything that Turisas praise more than anything, it’s the element of surprise. As Warlord once said, the band does not create music in order to satisfy the whims of its listeners but to offer them something that they never even expected they longed for. With "Stand Up and Fight" the warriors of Sweden leave their names in the records of history and seal them with the blood of every enemy foolish enough to cross their path.

Turisas, on this release, are unlike any metal band i've ever heard. Their earlier releases were folk metal, with elements of power metal, and there were other bands doing that, like Eluveitie, Ensiferum, and Arkona for example. Although parts of this release still have some of those folk elements and melodies in there, this album takes a different approach.

On this album, you can tell Turisas have put loads of thought into these songs.
The songs are more progressive, contain time signature changes, the drumming on this album is slightly more complicated than earlier releases.

The addition of real string and horn sections this time give their already dynamic sound, more effect. The pure, feeling of this album is amazing. It makes you feel like your watching a musical. The song "End of an Empire" sounds especially musical, even with Nygård's screaming in part of the song, it somehow still sounds like a soundtrack. Another highlight on the album, and a personal favorite to me, is "Venetoi! - Prasinoi!" being mostly instrumental, it reminds me of something from Robin Hood with the melody, and then the drummer starts to blast beat, and i think all together the band are playing about four genres at once. This is why i love Turisas!

I think it will take a lot for Turisas to make an album better than this one, the whole thing just threads together so perfectly. Even with the lyrics dealing with the Byzantine Empire during the 11th century, they can be interpreted in modern times to fit many scenarios, even if this album does sound like tracks from a musical, there is probably a song here that you can relate to, for instance, "Fear the Fear" contains very meaningful lyrics:

"Good morning world, this is your wake-up call
Those who stand for nothing at all, for anything are bound to fall
A thousand deaths for you to die before you fall
Your lame excuses you can spare, they only live who dare!"

It's about facing your fears, which are applicable for loads of situations, this is yet another song i love.

Turisas have pulled out all the stops on this, and boy, can you tell!