Turian – Blood Quantum Blues (Review)

This is the fourth album from US metallic hardcore band Turian.

Blood Quantum Blues contains 38 minutes of music that mixes together punk, metal, and hardcore, with electronics and progressive elements thrown in for extra flavour and texture. Turian have produced an album that rages and snarls, but does so with skill and ability.

The songwriting is tight and focused, delivering thick slabs of heaviness that nonetheless incorporate more than a few interesting ideas and enhancements across the record’s running time. Turian don’t take it easy on themselves. Frequently, where they could have opted for a filler riff or a generic breakdown, they instead unleash something far more engaging and individual. This might be a certain riff, a harsh vocal pattern, the use of an acoustic guitar part, synth layers, a dissonant edge, an atmospheric soundscape, a twitch of technical intricacy, or much else. Turian have more ideas on this single album than many bands display across ten. Honestly, there’s a lot going on here, but it all gels together very well, and you never feel like the songs don’t work with each other, or on their own.

As an attempted example of the range of ground covered by Blood Quantum Blues, the following bands come to mind at various times across its running time – The Armed, Converge, Employed to Serve, Escuela Grind, Every Time I Die, Make Them Suffer, Mastodon, Opeth, and more. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means, but offers a taste – Turian are their own masters, and their style is a well-developed one in its own right.

This album is punishingly heavy, yet has hooks, memorability, and catchiness aplenty. It’s like Turian have taken the template for a metalcore album and then beaten and battered it into something far better. They’ve given the style a much-needed injection of energy and new life, and Blood Quantum Blues stands tall above its erstwhile peers.

Yes, Turian are a creative bunch, and their music sounds fresh and vibrant. Importantly, they also have the songs to win the day over and over again. Every track here is a quality outpouring of idea-rich metallic hardcore heaviness. The hooks are everywhere, and the songs stay with you easily and freely.

Dynamic and infectious, Blood Quantum Blues is a remarkably strong and enjoyable album. It’s an essential listen for anyone into song-based heaviness that boasts both hooks and longevity.