Album Review: Turisas – Turisas2013 (Century Media Records)

Turisas are a band that has gone from strength to strength over the course of their 3 album career but with the grandiose Stand Up & Fight they had effectively backed themselves in a corner…the answer? Strip it back & revert to an earlier sound albeit a more refined one.

Turisas2013 (awful title for an album) is Turisas of old but with the added experience of a band that has released 3 albums before & toured the world. It’s a grown-up album that focuses heavily on vocals & guitar more than anything else.

For Your Own Good is a keyboard driven number that really highlights the song writing skill of modern Turisas well as the strength of Warlord’s vocals. He sings mostly clean throughout but there is a flash of that roar near the end that reminds you of just how heavy they can be when they want to be. First single Ten More Miles is classic Turisas; it is a very battle metal style song complete with gang vocals as well.

Piece By Piece picks up the pace of the album with a fast & heavy introduction but it doesn’t manage to keep it up unlike Into The Free which speeds along at a break-neck speed. It’s a catchy number with a simple sing-along chorus that should be great live.

Run Bhang-Eater, Run is another throwback to Turisas of old but with a very confusing & somewhat mis-placed sex noises section. It’s a little strange & spoils a pretty good song with a nice epic end. Greek Fire continues this epic momentum & almost feels like an album ender. For anyone suggesting that Turisas has dropped their battle metal sound then Greek Fire should silence them.

The same applies for those who are bemoaning that there is far too much clean vocals as The Days Passed is a brutal number. The fun side of Turisas comes out again with No Good Story Ever Starts With Drinking Tea which is a bouncy number before album finisher We Ride Together signs off in true Tursias style. It doesn’t have the impact of previous album finishers but it works in relation to the album as a whole & will sound huge live.

This is an album that will divide opinion as it is Tursias at their ‘lightest’. For me this album is a natural progression for the band & it sounds exactly like Turisas. There is a huge variety of songs & each stand out on their own. The added sex noises during Run Bhang-Eater, Run are a questionable inclusion & the album feels far too short (9 tracks) but it is a great ride while it lasts.