Now the European summer festival season is finally wrapped up, and with extensive Heidenfest and headline touring looming for the fall, we come to the start of a new chapter in TURISAS' history.

The band have announced that Jukka-Pekka Miettinen (ex-ARTHEMESIA, ENSIFERUM, pictured below) will be joining the band on bass for forthcoming shows, and Robert Engstrand (ex-KOTIPELTO, THE FLOWER KINGS) will be coming into a completely new role in the band - as keyboard player. This change is in response to the sad news that current bassist Hannes Horma and accordionist Netta Skog have decided to leave the band due to personal and motivational reasons. This announcement will NOT affect Turisas' tours this fall in any way: the band will perform as advertised at this year's Heidenfest tour in Europe, and afterwards will do a full length headlining tour in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.

The band comments: "A band is not something that can be kept together by force. If someone wants to quit, there's not much the rest of us can do about that. Both for Hannes and Netta it came down to the same thing: a choice between the band and other personal interests had to be made. We tried to find a compromise where both could be combined, but unfortunately in both cases it didn't seem possible at their end. Neither Hannes or Netta played a critical role in the creative process and studio work of the band, so in this sense not much will change. Still, they were always great onstage and we shared many memorable moments together. We would like to make it very clear that there is no drama here, and thankfully no hard feelings. Both Hannes and Netta made their decisions completely independently, based on their own personal reasons. Their departures are not connected in any way, it was just that this short quiet period between the Euro festivals and the forthcoming touring was the only meaningful time to make a smooth changeover to the new members.

We'd like to thank Hannes and Netta for all the good times we had together over the years, and wish them both the best of luck in the future. As far as Jukka-Pekka and Robert (pictured below) go, these guys are both very talented musicians, and we are very excited about hitting the road with this new lineup. Please welcome our newest reinforcements this is the beginning of a new era!"

Hannes Horma joined the band on bass right after the release of the debut, Battle Metal, in 2004.

He says: “My career with the band started 2004 - at the time I was only nineteen years old. It felt like a dream come true and since then, we've had some amazing time and unbelievable shows during these years. For the past couple of years I've been studying orchestral composing, arranging and classical singing and with the touring responsibilities, I haven't had a lot of free time and couldn't pursue my other interests. Lately, I've also felt that the "flame" is not there anymore for me personally: it was time for me to move on to do the things I feel most passionate about. I love playing concerts with Turisas but I cannot be on tour for 6 or more months a year and try to study at the same time - no one can. I would like to thank everybody I've met during the years, all the fans around the world, the bands we're toured with and our crew - you rock! I also hope all the best for everybody in Turisas: thanks for letting me to be a part of this for all these years. It's been a hell of a ride but now it's my time to jump off. Hopefully we'll meet again, someday, somewhere."

Netta Skog has been with the band since 2008 (the previous accordion player Lisko having disappeared whilst on tour in Amsterdam). Skog was only 16 years old when she first joined the band as a last minute stand-in player for a European tour in 2007, subsequently becoming a full-time member. Earlier this year, she was forced to leave the band's U.S. tour because of personal issues, but returned for summer festivals.

She says: "I sadly announce that now is the time when I have to say goodbye to Turisas. I'm going to start my studies in college soon and also need to focus on my personal life; thus, I had to make the decision and this is the final result. These almost four years with the band have been amazing. I've got a lot of new friends and seen the world all around. I'm so lucky I was the one the band wanted to have as their accordion player and there are definitely no regrets. All the good memories will stay in my heart forever! Of course, it's sad to leave but still, I have to think that this band was one chapter in my life, and now it's time for me to turn the next page. I'm more than thankful to all of you for your amazing support and just for being amazing fans! I've had so much fun and I will never forget you. Thank you for everything."

The Heidenfest 2011 European tour will take place from September 30th - October 23rd, featuring FINNTROLL, Turisas, ALESTORM, ARKONA, TROLLFEST and SKÁLMÖLD. More extended shows with WINTERSUN, DORNENREICH and TODGELICHTER have been announced.

Check out the second part of the tour trailer below:

The first tour trailer can be viewed below:

Heidenfest 2011 dates include:

September

30 - Geiselwind, Germany - Music Hall *

October

1 - Gieben, Germany - Hessenhallen *
2 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
3 - Warsaw, Poland - Stodola
4 - Krakow, Poland - Studio
5 - Hannover, Germany - Faust
6 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
7 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn *
8 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle *
9 - Tilburg, Netherlands - 013 *
10 - Leeuwarden, Netherlands - Poppodium
11 - London, England - HMV Forum
12 - Lille, France - Aeronef
13 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
14 - München, Germany - Backstage
15 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
16 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Trix
17 - Lindau, Germany - Vaudeville
18 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
19 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Cvetlicarna Mediapark
20 - Budapest, Hungary - Club 202
21 - Wien, Austria - Arena
22 - Linz, Austria - Posthof
23 - Innsbruck, Austria - Hafen

Special guests at extended shows (*) are WINTERSUN, DORNENREICH and TODGELICHTER.

More info at Heidenfest.eu.

Turisas previously announced the support bands for the upcoming UK headline tour, which will start on October 27th.

Violinist Olli Vänskä says: "We're glad to be able to announce what we feel is a really strong support package for the UK shows - both bands have been to the UK before but probably haven't yet had the exposure they deserve - we'll try to change that! Make sure you get down to the shows early to experience something a little bit different!"

The support bands will be cult Taiwanese metallers CHTHONIC, plus fellow Finns KIUAS. The tour consists of 17 dates, including 2 co-headline gigs with THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and and appearance at Leeds' Damnation Festival.

Dates include:

October

27 - Brighton, England - Concorde 2
28 - Bristol, England - O2 Academy 2
29 - Plymouth, England - White Rabbit
31 - Norwich, England - Waterfront

November

1 - Glasgow, Scotland - Garage
2 - Newcastle, England - Northumbria Uni
4 - Wolverhampton, England - Wulfrun Hall
5 - Leeds, England - University Union (Damnation Festival) *
7 - Belfast, Ireland - Limelight (co-headline with Devin Townsend) *
8 - Dublin, Ireland - Whelans (co-headline with Devin Townsend) *
9 - Wrexham, England - Central Station
10 - Sheffield, England - Corporation
12 - Cardiff, England - University SU: The Great Hall 2
13 - Reading, England - Sub 89
15 - Southampton, England - University: Garden Court
16 - Leicester, England - Sub 91
17 - Manchester, England - Academy 3

* without Chthonic, Kiuas