Finntroll meets Bal-Sagoth. I can't remember where I have read that, but I just rushed to the band homepage to check out what seemed to be the latest viking-black-folkish sensation around. As soon as I had downloaded the samples available on their homepage, I had to rush to my dealer to get my latest fix of this viking-black-folkish vintage. Alas for me, he didn't have in stock so had to wait for three weeks before getting it.

Turisas is not simply a viking metal band, nor are they simply a folk metal band or a black metal band. They are so much more. The music is a great blend of all the possible combination this Finnish band has to offer as their sound is very rich. They indeed have that symphonic epic feeling such as Bal-Sagoth along with the viking feeling of band such as Falkenbach meets Thyrfing and the Finnish or Celtic folk influences of the latest Finntroll, but they also have the epic symphonic touch of bands such as Rhapsody. In fact their sound is rather hard to describe due to the wealthness to their music by using orchestral and epic tunes of trumpets, piano and strings and other organic instruments. The lyrical context is based on Zacharias Topelius' "Finska rytteriets march i Trettiåriga kriget (The March of the Finnish Cavalry in the Thirty Years War)" which is to me just anecdotal. If this doesn't help you paint a pretty real picture of the audio-landscapes called to life by Turisas, then I could add the great powerful choir performances done in their own uniqueness style, the beautiful combination of all the aforementionned elements that makes the compositions catchy and easy to listen to, the varied vocals, from clean and harsh growling raging vocals that emphasize completely what the genre is about, while in some tracks female vocals appear as counterpart of the male group.

While it may not offer anything outside the realm that has already been explored, Turisas's Battle Metal is a solid, impressive intro into the extreme metal scene and it should draw a great deal of attention to this band. Besides, this musical battle hymns might as well find people that are not familiar with extreme metal enjoying listening to it.