The Varangian Way is the second full-length album by the Finnish folk metal band Turisas, released on 27 May 2007 through Century Media. It is a concept album that tells the story of a group of Scandinavians traveling the river routes of medieval Kievan Rus' (territory of modern Belarus, Ukraine and Russia), through Ladoga, Novgorod and Kyiv, down to the Eastern Roman Empire.
A special director's cut edition was released with the "Rasputin" single.
Track listing
- "To Holmgard and Beyond" â 5:17
- "A Portage to the Unknown" â 4:50
- "Cursed Be Iron" â 5:03
- "Fields of Gold" â 4:34
- "In the Court of Jarisleif" â 3:17
- "Five Hundred and One" â 6:18
- "The Dnieper Rapids" â 5:20
- "Miklagard Overture" â 8:18
- "Rasputin" (Boney M. cover) (Director's Cut bonus track) â 3:53
- "To Holmgard and Beyond" [Single Edit] (Enhanced edition bonus track) â 3:00
- "Rex Regi Rebellis" [Finnish Version with Prologue] (Enhanced edition bonus track) â 10:20
- "Battle Metal" Live at Party San '06 (Enhanced edition bonus track) â 5:40
A Limited Edition "Pagan Fest Tour Edition" version comes with two bonus tracks, Rasputin and To Holmgard and Beyond (single edit), and a DVD containing the video for Rasputin and several live performances.
Credits
- Mathias "Warlord" NygÃÂ¥rd â vocals, orchestral programming, keyboard
- Jussi Wickström â guitar
- Tuomas "Tude" Lehtonen â drums, percussion
- Olli Vänskä â violin
- Hannes "Hanu" Horma â bass, backing vocals
- Janne "Lisko" Mäkinen â accordion
- Music by Mathias NygÃÂ¥rd, except track 3 (NygÃÂ¥rd/Wickström), 5 (NygÃÂ¥rd/Lisko/Vänskä) and 6 (NygÃÂ¥rd/Vänskä).
- Lyrics by Mathias NygÃÂ¥rd, except track 3 (traditional/Elias Lönnrot), taken from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.
- Classical choir recorded at Vanha Kirjastotalo Music Hall, Tampere, Finland.
- Orchestral samples included in this recording from the Vienna Symphonic Library.
See also
References
Sources