The first offering from Turisas, taking their name from the Finnish God of War, was released in 2004 and the title Battle Metal sums up the album perfectly. Vocalist Mathias "Warlord" Nygård composed every song and the overall atmosphere is one of beautiful carnage. Violins, accordians and choir singing sit alongside guitars and drums to masterful effect. The album is a little rough compared to their later material but is a must listen to anyone who is a fan of their work. Their sound is aggressive but well woven though you could mistake it for heavier material due to Nygårds vocals which were more "metal" and less ...  Read the complete review

The first album from the party-loving Finns, who added the sub-genre 'battle metal' to folk metal. Mainly influenced by the Varangain Guards, a group of Norse warriors who were essentially paid mercenaries for the Byzantine kingdom, they have managed to find a little bit of a niche amongst all the other Viking/folk metal out there. They've obviously thought about the lyrics and the theme, but still don't expect anything too clever. As with most other folk metal bands, its all about the catchy tunes, silly costumes and getting very drunk at the gigs. The songs are anthemic, fun to shout along to and easy-to-replicate face paint all adds up to great time when ...  Read the complete review

Whether it's glam, folk or viking metal, the Finns love a bit of drama in their metal. Battle Metal is the 2004 debut album by cheesy folk power metal band Turisas. Battle Metal is an apt name for a band whose lyrics, look and sound completely focus on battles! Turisas have some power metal riffs, melodic backing choirs that you might expect to hear on a Therion or other symphonic metal act's album combined with folk instruments such as flutes and violins. The subject matter all revolves around battles and combined with the above this gives the band a distinctive sound, the lead vocals vary but are often rather more brutal than you'd expect from ...  Read the complete review