Year Of Metal #095: Turia - Degen Van Licht

Hailing from Amsterdam and boasting fewer than 1,000 monthly Spotify listeners, these atmospheric black metallers take the crown for the most obscure act I’ve covered so far. The only information they seem to have ventured themselves is a brief, fluffy blurb on their Bandcamp page, and aside from that all I’ve got to go on is a Reddit thread asking if they’re a dodgy bunch (no, is the consensus). 

I don’t know if black metal isn’t on trend at the moment or if they’re just not getting their name out there enough, but as far as I’m concerned, this stuff rules. Perhaps they don’t push the subgenre forward too much, but from my perspective as a dilettante, I’m more than happy to absorb another record full of blown out soundscapes, haunting guitars, anguished cries, and explosive drums (though I could do with a little restraint on the latter point). 

For the most part, Turia aren’t massive on tension and release. Their songs tend to employ a slow build up, then they unleash. Indeed they use the same trick on the album itself, with brief opener “I” a harbinger of things to come, spooky but pretty peels of feedback, a plucked bass warming itself up. When “Merode” kicks off the album proper, everything’s in place. The vocals are haunted and bestial, screaming from the back of the room. The melody is one you’re forced to work for, hidden as is it beneath waves of frenzied drumming, but buried down deep is a cracking little hook. 

My favourite song is probably the title track. It’s a far starker, slower affair, and it’s all the better for it. The drums hit no less hard, but they’re restrained and spacious, with waves of guitars taking centre stage instead. The combination of a low buzzsaw tremolo, a higher lead line, and the occasional glacial chord creates incredible texture. This here is my sweet spot - I’ve talked before about metal that sounds elemental and folkloric, and we get some of that on “Degen Van Licht”. It’s sweeping, epic, outdoorsy music, and the goblin growl vocals only sell the concept even further. 

I’m well into the closer “Ossifrage” too. Give or take the frantic vocals and the occasional blast beat drums, this one strays away from metal somewhat. The insistent riff comes closer to shoegaze, and Turia jam on this pattern to hypnotic effect. The album then squares itself away with a return to a wash of almost peaceful noise, here a drawn out synth patch with twinkling accoutrements. 

From the sparse reviews I can dredge up for this album, I get the impression that those steeped in black metal found this a bit underwhelming and/or undercooked, citing a lack of momentum and development in the songs. Maybe it’s my lack of knowledge or just my taste, or both, but that repetitive, droning feel is so often exactly what I want out of my music. On Delen Van Licht’s best tracks, these guys really latch onto something, and if they keep hold of it for longer than some metalheads would prefer, for me they’re ideas worth exploring at length.