Hell yes my HeadBangers, welcome from Hämeenlinna, Finland: TURISAS
“Stand Up And Fight”
Love this song and it makes me think of a Mad Maxx movie.
Hailing from Hämeenlinna, Finland, Turisas is named after an ancient Finnish God of war.
Tursas
Eternal Turso
Drawer of Arrows
Causer of Sores
Arise from the Sea
Take these Weapons
Gather these Spears
The god Tursas is a very ancient and also a very manifold deity.
There are many other varieties from his name: Iki-Turso (Eternal Turso), Turisas, Turras, etc.
Some scholars have equated his name with the Scandinavian word thurs meaning giant. The character of Tursas is always malevolent. He has a dualistic function although this can be explained when looking closely at his nature.
First of all Tursas is always connected to water and the beach. He is the Lord of the Sea Shore with often a bearded figure of a walrus. He is the raiser of the water causing misfortune and accidents. In this character he was often seen as the son of the devil.
Tursas has a very prominent role in the Spell of the Projectiles and the Spell of the Nine Diseases and these are the functions by which we can explain his role as the War God. The spell Origin of the Projectiles tells how the first concrete and metaphorical arrows were made through the initial action of Tursas thus connecting him to weapons and war. In the spell Origin of the Nine Diseases Tursas is often the father of the demons. The Lady of the North (i.e. The lady of the Land of the Dead) is made pregnant by him in the sea. This is why Tursas was often regarded as the Demon of Diseases.
In these functions Tursas was connected to arrows and misfortunes like war and this made him the God of the War. As the War God Tursas also had a prominent role of the Demon of the Wound Fever.
The symbol of Tursas was an image of four arrows, The Heart of Tursas (see the picture below). This was used as a powerful symbol on various objects.
There are many pictures of this Finnish God but this is the closest I could find that relates here. Check it out on the net, I never knew there were so many. My HeadBangers here we go, yet another Band with a great sound and a great story.
“Battle Metal 2008”
Now my HeadBangers let’s look at some Bio on this band, taken from their site. I cannot wait…
Hear the roaring thunder? Finland’s finest metal export, Turisas is coming back – stronger than ever. Prepare yourselves for another wave of fist-pumping beat, catchy melodies and undisputed attitude, as the band is preparing for the launch of its 4th opus in Battle Metal.
Ever since the debut album ”Battle Metal” (2004) came out, the band has become known as one of the most energetic, innovative and exciting metal acts both on record and onstage. Turisas has made its name through hundreds of shows and headline tours in Europe, the US, Russia and Latin America, and wherever the guys have set their foot, they have triumphed.
Often labeled as simply a folk metal band, the band defies easy genre definitions. Incorporating elements of symphonic power metal along with elements from prog, punk, death metal and even stadium rock, Turisas has truly carved a sound of their own. With no comparison, Turisas is as unique sounding battle metal as it gets.
After the groundbreaking albums ”The Varangian Way” (2007) and ”Stand Up and Fight” (2011), the band is now ready to push the envelope for the fourth time. Expect to be amazed in summer 2013.
Check out their website, it would take me a week to list all the information not to mention the tours and the great bands they have toured with all over the planet.
Let’s meet the band:
Mathias “Warlord” Nygård – lead vocals
Jussi Wickström – guitar
Olli Vänskä – violin
Jesper Anastasiadis – bass
Jaakko Jakku – drums
Robert Engstrand – keyboards
“The March of the Varangian Guard”
Well my HeadBangers, they clean up really good.
But I do love their enthusiasm for their work, and that makeup job.
My thoughts:
Well my HeadBangers, this band has been around for awhile, and I looked at a lot of their videos. I can honestly say that they are as good if not better then when they started. They put so much energy out into every song and video. Their videos are like little movies, and I love that. The metal man turned me on to this band, and you know how I love a band that takes time to come up with a unique name and has great history. They have toured in Mexico and North America with Cradle of Filth, and that is impressive my HeadBangers. If you like that edgy folk metal with a little violin thrown in, and a painted crazy vocalist, with a great voice, you have to appreciate what they have created. Check out their website and see how many tours they have done, you will be surprised, they have been everywhere. I hope I get to see them live someday, but until then I have the music and the videos.
Well my HeadBangers, that’s it for this week. Join me next week for another band and another song, until then don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..
Awesome. I love Turisas.
I really appreciate your breakdown of the history behind the bands.
I’ve been doing a project about the European Pagan Gods. And I was wondering about the connections between Thurisaz, Thurs, Taranis and Turisas. So reading this was timely.
I was always interested in the connections between Finns and Vikings, but recently I’ve been stunned at how deep the rabbit hole goes.
The info on the God is great, and I like that you did the Tuursansydan, if I remember it right. (Forgive me my grammar, as my Finnish is nonexistent.)
But now I’ll be off to check my local Bullmoose and see about Turisas’ post ‘Varangian Way’ albums.
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest.