Review Summary: Turisas the musical: Coming to theatres near you soon.
Turisas would like you to think they are a unique band. Supported by a solid foundation of diehard fans the folk metal world's cult favourites built their reputation upon superb live shows and a single unwavering principle; to bring the Vikings to life. In 2004 when Turisas released
Battle Metal, the success it garnered was, in part, due to its unique appeal and considered execution. The strength of the record’s identity and (whisper it) conceptualisation, paired with its unabashed use of folk metal clichés led to an experience focussed upon pure
entertainment. The musical flaws evident in
Battle Metal were soon rectified and the group’s sophomore effort
The Varangian Way built upon every facet of
Battle Metal to become one of the stand out releases in its genre. The softer side of Turisas was shown through extended polka interludes and yet remained true to the band’s morals by remaining unremittingly metal. Truly,
Stand Up And Fight, the Fins’ third full length album, has a lot to live up to. Improving upon an album that is, in many respects, a stand-out in its field is a thankless task, but despite the best efforts of ‘Warlord’ Nygård and company, it’s a task in which
Stand Up And Fight ultimately fails.
The inherent problem with
Stand Up And Fight is that it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. Well actually that’s not entirely true;
Stand Up And Fight is Turisas… but bigger. Turisas’ records have always had the grandiosity that orchestral music delivers, but never before has it felt as forced as it does here.
β*νετοι! – πράσινοι! attempts to step up the regality of previous releases with its string-led introduction only to implode in on itself through unnaturally strained vocals and weak construction.
End Of An Empire gets in on the act too, its dramatic monologues bellowing with a flamboyancy unbefitting of such a record. While a complete stylistic upheaval was never expected of such a band, variety is the spice of life, and the familiarity of the majority of material on offer here is disappointing. The prominence of electric guitar passages and the emergence of harmonized vocals attempt to advance the band’s general formula, but the haphazard utilisation of both techniques leads to an inferior compositionality throughout.
On top of this, the album fails to live up to expectations musically too. Nygård’s newfound love for clean vocals is all well and good, but the execution shown here suggests he may need vocal coaching. Moreover the scarcity of his distinct narrative passages is a sore loss for the juxtaposition and added vigour they could have added would have been truer to the band’s personality. The added emphasis on power metal-esque electric guitar passages rip through the traditional atmosphere and the lack of polka interludes is a criminal loss. Conceptually the album is jumbled, with a seamless progression from
The Varangian Way tainted by contemporary drivel. These skits break the unification of the overriding theme and fail to strengthen the record as a whole. Ultimately
Stand Up and Fight is let down time and time again by inconsistencies and its curious penchant to the excessive. Its over-the-top gestures and unnecessary splendour secedes itself from its predecessors and leads to the bands weakest effort yet. It would probably work well as a musical though.
Overall 2.5 Average
