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Turisas – Stand Up and Fight

Label: Century Media
Release: 28-02-2011

By Laetitia
With a big gap between albums come big expectations. The same goes for Turisas, The Varangian Way (TVW) was released in 2007 and now in 2011, ‘Stand Up and Fight’(SUAF) is about to be released! The new album sounds nothing like Battle Metal (BM) but continues in the lines of TVW but, in my opinion, better. Where The Varangian Way bores after a few plays, ‘Stand Up and Fight’ grew on me the more I listened to it. SUAF pickes up where TVW left off, in Constantinople. Though the album is not a sequel:

“In any In general, the songs are much more universal and deal with topics that can be placed just as tightly into the modern world as in the 11th century Byzantine Empire.” (from Blabbermouth)

Besides a new album, Turisas changed their logo and appearance a bit. They’ve shed their fur and look ready for a new era.

After hearing the album a few times, I felt dissapointed. I only liked a few songs: The March of the Varangian Guard (the melodies remind a bit of Holmgard and Beyond but this song is more bombastic) End of an Empire (a fast, dynamic and epic song with massive choirs) and The Bosphorus Freezes Over (Some parts are sung in Finnish and the song has a historical movie feeling to it.) These three songs are still my favorites but I’ve also learnt to appreciate the other songs. ‘Hunting Pirates’ brings us back to the really folky, hummpa-ish sound of Turisas. Together with Stand up and Fight, they’re the weakest songs of the album.

My conclusion to ‘Stand Up and Fight’: Turisas delivered us a good album, a bit in the style of The Varangian Way, but better. The album sounds less metal, and more symphonic but that hasn’t bothered me. However I could see how it could bother somebody else. ‘SUAF’ is more dynamic than its predecessor, it proved to be a strong release in the discography of Turisas.

Rating: 80/100
Tracklist:
01. The March Of The Varangian Guard
02. Take The Day!
03. Hunting Pirates
04. Venetoi – Prasinoi!
05. Stand Up And Fight
06. The Great Escape
07. Fear The Fear
08. End Of An Empire
09. The Bosphorus Freezes Over

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