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Artist
Turisas
12+ albums
folk metalviking metalbattle metalfinnishmetal
about
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
