A lot of black metal music probably hides behind the fact that it's shit and also shittily produced.

Don't get me wrong - there are a lot of crappy music out there regardless of genre, but black metal is just about the only musical genre where some people factually take great pride in recording their music in the most abhorrent audial qualities. For example, some of the ur-black Norwegian bands recorded vocals and guitars by singing/playing into headphones to make their music more "true", which is black metal verbiage for "good". The more true, the closer to Satan, at any point.

The point I'm trying to make is that there is quite a lot of muck one has to wallow through in order to sift out the good stuff.

And as an example of good, there is Turia.

Turia's music is the opposite of bad in a lot of ways, of which some came completely unexpected to me; sure, the guitars don't sound expensive, and the production is often quite dense in relation to atmosphere, but that's nothing to get hung up on: this is some really good music!

Speaking of which, one has to like a black metal band whose profile picture at Bandcamp is the picture above, and then contrasts it with a very black-looking biography:

Utilizing a minimal setup of drums and guitar they bring to life a mirage of sound while anguished screams drag the listener into a vastness of desolation.

Why didn't I hear their music played while I was in Amsterdam a short while back!? ((The band is from the Netherlands, by the way. Netherlands. That's black-metal funny.)) Perhaps I did, and the mirage made me think otherwise; I've no idea what "a mirage of sound" is, but black metal verbiage is just too funny not to use. I dig it.

The screams on the band's recordings are some of the best I've heard in black metal for quite some time. I'd say the song is more of a shrieking than a screaming nature, but that's just me. ((There's a sentence I, having written it, realise I never thought I'd ever produce; what a fucking word nerd I can be.))

The two albums that Turia have released are notably more densely produced than their new split single ((With another black metal band, Brooklyn-based Vilkacis.)) which lends more atmosphere, room, and drum cymbals to the tracks. It's quite seldom one hears a band manage to play quite bare-boned black metal without oodles of distortion, but Turia pulls it off and surprised me for hearing it.

The cover for the split single with Vilkacis.

Also, the guitar melodies are at times near-folksy in tradition; I've heard some traveling Roma play similar styles, and I once again must say it's a fucking great and somewhat ballsy move to play non-distorted guitar parts when dealing with black metal. Talk about standing out by not using guitar effects, that's something. However, don't worry, it's not all Django Reinhardt: there are plenty of harsh and dissonant chords to get around here overall.

To paraphrase Frank Zappa, writing about music is like dancing about architecture, so here's Turis's entire first album, "Dor":

There's some contrast between the first track and "Zuiverheid" on that same album. Or why not compare with the album closer, "Halsstarrig de Dood Tegemoet", with its deep-resounding cello paired with acoustic guitar.

It only took them little more than a year between their first and second album to be released! Please keep the pace up, guys, it's laudable considering the high quality that you're birthing!

The second album, "Dede Kondre", is also hypnotically harsh:

Is that a flute on the first track? It must be. It fits in. It surprised me. Thank Bog. This is some eye-opening shit!

Listening to Turia's music, as opposed to other black metal bands that I've heard, is somehow reminiscent of my listening to David Sandström's solo stuff that he made after Refused, his old/current band, dismantled itself; it really is that much of a contrast to myself. It's so refreshing to hear Turia, I tell you.

I'm glad to hear the sound from the new single which is released this month (June of 2018). Both of the tracks by Turia are available below, one played after the other:

By the way, do check their label out; they're named Haeresis Noviomagi and are "focused on releasing dark musical art on cassette format". They do have an online store where they also sell vinyl, CD, clothes, and other regalia. Go get!

All in all: if Turia makes it to Stockholm, Sweden, I'll definitely be there and up close.