Finnish battle metal outfit TURISAS have released an EPK (electronic press kit) in support of their new album, Stand Up And Fight. Check it out in two parts below:

Turisas will release Stand Up And Fight on the following dates:

Finland/Japan - February 23rd

Germany/Austria/Switzerland - February 25th

Europe/UK - February 28th

Australia/New Zealand - March 4th

North America - March 8th

Stand Up And Fight track listing:

'The March Of The Varangian Guard'

'Take The Day!'

'Hunting Pirates'

'???????! - ????????!'

'Stand Up And Fight'

'The Great Escape'

'Fear The Fear'

'End Of An Empire'

'The Bosphorus Freezes Over'

“Stand Up And Fight is a loose continuation of the story from The Varangian Way, and picks up where the previous one left us, in Constantinople,” explains mainman Mathias Nygård. “However, it is not a sequel as such. 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. Stand Up And Fight has much more to offer the contemporary listener.”

Their more contemporary and universal approach is also reflected by a revamped look: "Turisas has always been about progression and evolution, and now with a new album we're not here to repeat ourselves but to have something new to come with - also visually. Our look has developed through the years, and it's never been something we created once to be static forever. Innovation is reinventing yourself regularly. We toured The Varangian Way for three and a half years with a look that was tied to the album. With a new release, it was time for a makeover. The visual side has always played a very strong role in Turisas, and fear not - that's not going to change. Stronger than ever, Turisas has returned!"

The biggest, boldest and most gloriously extravagant album of the band’s career, Stand Up And Fight erupts like the ultimate heavy metal musical, with many layers of orchestration and choral harmonies adding to these songs’ intense sense of drama and mischief.

Although remaining true to the spirit of past Turisas records, the new album, which was mixed by Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA) at

Fascination Street in Sweden, takes the Finns to a whole new level of depth and bravado, as their unmistakable sound expands before our very ears, consistently conjuring up vivid images of the Vikings’ ongoing adventures.

“On Stand Up And Fight the storytelling and flavour of musical drama is more strongly present than ever,” agrees Nygård. “The album also introduces some new flavours like ‘80s stadium rock. For the first time, Stand Up And Fight features real string and horn sections played by some of the best Finnish classical musicians, hand-picked from leading symphony orchestras at home and abroad. I'm sure Turisas fans will be surprised, but in a positive way!”

The title track is available as free download, just click here http://bit.ly/hmAtXH and spread the word about Stand Up And Fight.

Turisas is to join CRADLE OF FILTH on a North American tour in February/March 2011. The other supporting bands on this tour are NACHTMYSTIUM and DANIEL LIONEYE.

Dates include:

February

1 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
2 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
4 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
5 - Pomona, CA - Fox Theater
6 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
8 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia Live
9 - San Francisco, CA@ Regency Ballroom
11 - Seattle, WA - Showbox Theatre
12 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
13 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
15 - Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Events Center
16 - Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall Ballroom
18 - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
20 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
21 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Zoo
25 - Detroit, MI - Harpo's
26 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix
27 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
28 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial de Quebec

March

2 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
3 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater
4 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
5 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
6 - Baltimore, MD - Bourbon Street Ballroom
8 - Norfolk, VA - Norva Theatre
9 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
11 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
12 - Orlando, FL - Firestone
13 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade

Right after returning from North America, Turisas will join forces with DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER on a European tour in March/April 2011. This is the second time the bands hit the road together: Turisas did their very first European tour with Die Apokalyptischen Reiter in 2005. Since then, both bands have taken giant leaps and now, six years later, their paths will cross once again.

Violinist Olli Vänskä comments: "In 2005 we only had a few shows under our belt and were total beginners with touring. We had such a blast on that first tour, played really nice shows and were happy with how Die Reiter treated us rookies. When they asked if we wanted to join them on tour again it was a kind of a 'why not' decision for us - an interesting and entertainment-guaranteed combo."

Turisas and Die Apokalyptischen Reiter's Moral & Wahnsinn Tour 2011 (with openers AKREA) includes the following dates:

March

24 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
25 - Bremen, Germany - Aladin
26 - Dresden, Germany - Alter Schlachthof
27 - Schwabach, Germany - Markgrafensaal
29 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
30 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
31 - Graz, Austria - PPC

April

1 - Linz, Austria - Posthof
2 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
3 - Budapest, Hungary - Wigwam
5 - Wuerzburg, Germany - Posthalle
6 - Herford, Germany - X
7 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
8 - Darmstadt, Germany - Centralstation
9 - Kaiserslautern, Germany - Kammgarn
10 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
12 - Memmingen, Germany - Kaminwerk
13 - Hannover, Germany - Capitol
14 - Kassel, Germany - Nachthallen
15 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys
16 - Erfurt, Germany - Stadtgarten
17 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle

Tuisas performed the new song 'The March Of The Varangian Guard' in Tampere, Finland at Pakkahuone on October 29th. Fan-filmed footage is available below.

For more info visit Turisas.com.