Turisas Announce Lineup Changes

Coming off a busy summer festival season, Finnish folk metal band Turisas have just announced some lineup changes following the departure of bassist Hannes Horma and accordionist Netta Skog.

Jukka-Pekka Miettinen (ex-Arthemesia, Ensiferum) is set to join the band on bass while Robert Engstrand (ex-Kotipelto) will be stepping into a new role in the band -- keyboardist.

The band had this to say on the lineup changes:

"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 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!"

The band has made clear that the lineup changes will not affect the band's current touring plans.

On his departure from the band, Hannes Horma commented: "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."

Turisas released their latest album, Stand Up and Fight , back in February of this year.