The Varangian Way

The Varangian Way is the second full-length album by the Finnish folk metal band Turisas, released on May 27, 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 "Directors Cut" edition was released with the Rasputin single.

Track listing

 * 1) "To Holmgard and Beyond" – 5:17
 * 2) "A Portage to the Unknown" – 4:50
 * 3) "Cursed Be Iron" – 5:03
 * 4) "Fields of Gold" – 4:34
 * 5) "In the Court of Jarisleif" – 3:17
 * 6) "Five Hundred and One" – 6:18
 * 7) "The Dnieper Rapids" – 5:20
 * 8) "Miklagard Overture" – 8:18
 * 9) "Rasputin" (Boney M. cover) (Director's Cut bonus track) - 3:53
 * 10) "To Holmgard and Beyond" [Single Edit] (Enhanced edition bonus track) - 3:00
 * 11) "Rex Regi Rebellis" [Finnish Version with Prologue] (Enhanced edition bonus track) - 10:20
 * 12) "Battle Metal" Live at Party San '06 (Enhanced edition bonus track) - 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" Nygård – vocals, orchestral programming, keyboard
 * Jussi Wickström – guitar
 * Tuomas "Tude" Lehtonen – drums, percussion
 * Olli Vänskä – violin
 * Hannes "Hanu" Horma – bass, backing vocals
 * Janne "Lisko" Mäkinen – accordion
 * Music by Mathias Nygård, except track 3 (Nygård/Wickström), 5 (Nygård/Lisko/Vänskä) and 6 (Nygård/Vänskä).
 * Lyrics by Mathias Nygård, 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.