Turisas combine elements of folk metal and power metal, with strong influences from symphonic metal as well. The album title Battle Metal has given rise to the term "battle metal" being used as a description for war-themed folk metal.
On October 28, 2005, the guitarist Georg Laakso was badly injured in a car accident and due to the extent of his spinal cord injuries, on July 12, 2006 issued a statement of his permanent resignation from the band on the official website. Nevertheless, the band continued to work on their second album, titled The Varangian Way, which was released in early 2007. Jussi Wickström recorded all guitars on the album.
Mathias Nygård revealed in the January 2007 edition of Terrorizer magazine that the touring musicians Hannes Horma, Olli Vänskä, Janne Mäkinen and Antti Laurila had been added to the band as full-time members, taking them up to an 8-piece act. It later turned out that of the two accordion players, only Mäkinen had become an official member. Laurila is no longer a touring musician for the band. On February 19, 2007, keyboard player Antti Ventola posted a message on the Turisas discussion forum announcing that he and the band had parted ways. This was later confirmed by the rest of the band. Mathias Nygård performed the keyboards on The Varangian Way and Turisas are presently using backing tracks to replicate them on stage.
In January 2008 accordion player Janne "Lisko" Mäkinen disappeared mysteriously in Amsterdam. For the upcoming tour dates in spring 2008 Turisas announced Netta Skog as a step-in accordionist. She had already helped the band on the European tour in October-November 2007. Netta was soon after added to the band on a full-time base.
After a string of festivals in the Summer of 2008, in September the band started a long tour through the United States and Europe in support of DragonForce. This tour ended in March 2009, and the band then took part in a new European tour with Cradle of Filth and Moonspell, dubbed the "Filthfest Tour 2009", in April and May 2009. The band played at Wacken Open Air in early August 2009 and also played at Bloodstock Open Air in Mid August 2009. The band took time off at the end of 2009 to make a new album and then planned to return as fully-fledged band no longer supporting others. In 2010 the band concentrated on finishing the recordings of the upcoming third album. Still, the band did a short tour in Asia and Australia in May 2010, including headline concerts in Sydney and Melbourne, two gigs in China, a gig in Shanghai World Expo 2010 and a gig in Japan.
As of March 2010, Turisas announced they were in the studio working on a new album; at that time, the band documented the recording process in a series of studio diary videos on YouTube. The title for the latest album, Stand Up and Fight, was revealed on November 11, 2010: the album was released through Century Media on February 28 in Europe and March 8 in North America. A new song off that album: "The March of the Varangian Guard" was performed at the band's Finnish gigs in October 2010. On 17 December 2010, the title track "Stand Up And Fight" was released as a free download on the band's website.
The band took part in tours in Mexico and North America with Cradle of Filth, the other supporting bands being Nachtmystium and Daniel Lioneye beginning in January 2011 and in Europe with Die Apokalyptischen Reiter from March through April 2011. Their England tour came with Crimfall as the supporting band, as well as other local supporting bands. 2012 saw them headline the North American "Paganfest: America Part III" tour with Alestorm, Arkona and Huntress in tow.
In November 2012, the band announced that drummer Tuomas "Tude" Lehtonen and bassist Jukka-Pekka Miettinen had both left the band. They were replaced by Jaakko Jakku and Jesper Anastasiadis, respectively. They also announced that they had started work on their 4th album, and that the album would be released in May 2013.
Those Were The Days
Turisas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where we used to raise a glass or two.
Remember how we laughed away the hours,
think of all the great things we would do.
Those were the days my friend,
We thought they'd never end,
We'd sing and dance for-ever and a day,
We'd fight and never lose,
For we were young and sure to have our way.
Lalala lah lala, lalala lah lala
Just tonight I stood before the tavern,
Nothing seemed the way it used to be.
In the glass I saw a strange reflection,
Was that lonely soldier really me.
Those were the days my friend,
We thought they'd never end,
We'd sing and dance for-ever and a day,
We'd live the life we choose,
We'd fight and never lose,
For we were young and sure to have our way.
Lalala lah lala, lalala lah lala
Through the door there came familiar laughter.
I saw your face and heard you call my name.
Oh, my friend, we're older but no wiser,
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same.
Those were the days my friend,
We thought they'd never end,
We'd sing and dance for-ever and a day,
We'd live the life we choose,
We'd fight and never lose,
For we were young and sure to have our way.
Lalala lah lala, lalala lah lala
The song "Those Were the Days" by Turisas takes us back in time to a tavern where the singer and his friends used to gather and drink. The nostalgic lyrics speak about the good times they shared and the dreams they had for the future. The lines "We thought they'd never end, We'd sing and dance forever and a day" show the innocence of their youth and how they believed that their happiness would last forever.
As the song progresses, the singer realizes that time has passed and things have changed. The tavern is no longer how it used to be, and the reflection in the glass shows him that he is no longer the young rebel he once was. The memories of the past, however, still linger on, and he finds comfort in seeing an old friend and hearing familiar laughter. The lyrics "Oh, my friend, we're older but no wiser, For in our hearts the dreams are still the same" show that although they have aged, their hearts are still young, and they still hold on to the same hopes and dreams they had years ago.
Overall, the song is a poignant reminder that time flies by and that we should cherish the memories we make with the people we love. It’s a celebration of youth, friendship, and the carefree days gone by.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a time there was a tavern,
In the past, there existed a place where people would gather, drink and have a good time.
Where we used to raise a glass or two.
We would often have drinks at this tavern to socialize and have fun.
Remember how we laughed away the hours,
We would spend a lot of time at the tavern laughing and enjoying each other's company.
think of all the great things we would do.
We had big and exciting dreams for our lives.
Those were the days my friend,
Referring back to a time of happiness and fun with a friend.
We thought they'd never end,
We believed that the good times we experienced would last forever.
We'd sing and dance for-ever and a day,
We would often sing, dance and have fun for as long as we possibly could.
We'd live the life we choose,
We were in control of our own lives and believed we could create the life we desired.
We'd fight and never lose,
We were determined and unyielding in our pursuit of our dreams.
For we were young and sure to have our way.
We were young and confident that we could overcome any obstacle and have things go our way.
Just tonight I stood before the tavern,
Now, in the present moment, I stood in front of the same tavern from the past.
Nothing seemed the way it used to be.
The place didn't seem the same as before, maybe due to changes, time or memories.
In the glass I saw a strange reflection,
Looking at myself in the reflection of the glass, I felt distant and disconnected from my past self.
Was that lonely soldier really me.
Feeling alone and separate, I questioned if the person I saw was truly myself.
Through the door there came familiar laughter.
Suddenly, I heard laughter that sounded familiar and nostalgic.
I saw your face and heard you call my name.
I recognized the face and voice of an old friend who I used to spend time with at this tavern.
Oh, my friend, we're older but no wiser,
Reuniting with my friend, we realized that despite getting older, we haven't become much wiser over time.
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same.
Our hearts still hold the same dreams and aspirations that we had in the past.
Contributed by Declan G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
JuutupenKalaKauppias
This song brings up painful memories from my past but I also feel healed at the same time :hmm: fucking perfect cover. LONG LIVE TURISAS
Redmondi
Utterly perfect
Leonardo Spínola
Turisas, awesome short-lived band... Pity that they ended so soon...
Vinícius Vyller
I miss Turisas
Sílvio Santos vem aí and hail from Brazil!