On Friday Turisas Announces New Lineup was a top story. Here is the recap: Turisas have announced a new lineup as they get ready to continue to tour this fall. Here is the official word: Jukka-Pekka Miettinen (ex-Arthemesia, Ensiferum) 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." - more on this story
