Stand Up and Fight is the third album by the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 symphonic

Symphonic metal

Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...

 / folk metal

Folk metal

Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...

 band Turisas

Turisas

Turisas is a Finnish folk metal band from Hämeenlinna. It was founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström and named after an ancient Finnish God of war....

, released worldwide on February 23, 2011 through Century Media as a single disc jewelcase and two disc digibook. The album continues to develop the themes started by The Varangian Way

The Varangian Way

The Varangian Way is the second full-length album from Finnish folk metal band, Turisas and was released in 2007. It is a concept album that tells the story of a group of Scandinavians traveling the river routes of medieval Russia, through Ladoga, Novgorod and Kiev, down to the Byzantine Empire.A...

, but it is not wholly a sequel.

According to Nygård, the lyrics, (dealing in part with the 11th century Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

) have a universal appeal and are applicable to the modern world. Musically, the band incorporated more progressive elements, as well as influences from such genres as the 1980s stadium rock. For the first time, real string

String section

The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...

 and horn

Horn section

In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...

 sections were used to record the album, adding to the dynamic sound.

Track listing

1. "The March of the Varangian Guard" - 3:51
2. "Take the Day!" - 5:26
3. "Hunting Pirates" - 3:43
4. "Βένετοι! - Πράσινοι!" (Venetoi! - Prasinoi!) - 3:49
5. "Stand Up and Fight" - 5:27
6. "The Great Escape" - 4:51
7. "Fear the Fear" - 6:13
8. "End of an Empire" - 7:16
9. "The Bosphorus Freezes Over" - 5:37

Bonus disc track listing

1. "Broadsword" (Jethro Tull
   Jethro Tull (band)
   Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
   
    cover, audio bonus track)
2. "Supernaut" (Black Sabbath
   Black Sabbath
   Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
   
   cover, audio bonus track)
3. "Acoustic Jam Session" (DVD content. A live in-studio recording of the band playing acoustic versions of The March Of The Varangian Guard, Stand Up And Fight, To Holmgard And Beyond)