Since the band’s inception in the winter of 2014/15, Turia has attained a reputation as one of the proponents of a vitalized and ambitious Dutch black metal scene. Their name has been built on several well-received releases garnering international attention, and a restless touring schedule that brought their primal and austere live performance to nearly a dozen countries. Turia aims to bring the listener into a state of morbid trance, evoking harrowing sublime landscapes. Through ferocious drums entangled with spectral guitars, the menacing vocals conjure ancient cycles of death and rebirth.
Turia proclaimed themselves with the release of their debut album “Dor” (Nov. 2015). Released on cassette through their own Haeresis Noviomagi collective, the album quickly made waves in the international black metal underground. Shortly after, an LP edition was produced by the Portuguese cult label Altare Productions (Jun. 2016), solidifying their reputation. The album displayed a driving and hypnotic form of raw black metal with a lingering, turbulent structure.
After playing shows in support of “Dor” in the Netherlands, Germany and Greece, Turia released their follow-up album “Dede Kondre” (Jan. 2017). The album was again released by Altare Productions (LP and CD) and Haeresis Noviomagi (cassette), and supported by extensive touring, culminating in a well-received appearance on the esteemed Roadburn festival. “Dede Kondre” built on the foundations laid out by “Dor”, injecting their established sonic texture with elements of drone and sparse acoustics. The theme of the album revolved around archival church documents describing missionary efforts to violently convert the maroon population in Suriname. “Dede Kondre” is Sranan Tongo for ‘Land of the Dead’. The term was used by Dutch missionaries to refer both to a specific place where many missionaries had died, and to the entirety of the perceived chaos and disharmony of the rainforest. The album encompasses an admiration for the rainforest and a praise to its bravely heroic inhabitants.
The year 2018 saw the release of two split records. The first was a split with the New York based project Vilkacis by M. Rekevics (Fell Voices, Yellow Eyes, Vanum), with an LP edition on Altare Records and a tape by Psychic Violence and Haeresis Noviomagi (Jun. 2018). The second split was a conceptual collaborative effort with fellow Dutch band Fluisteraars entitled “De Oord” (Sep. 2018). Composed, produced, recorded, and mixed together, the split album’s theme dealt with the symbolic mythology of the rivers defining the southern Gelderland region, which both bands call their home. Recorded in a century‑old farmhouse in a nature reserve adjacent to the Waal river, the split married the sound of both bands into a whole that managed to get named metal album of the year by Stereogum.
In December 2019, Turia unveiled their third full-length album, entitled “Degen van Licht”, to be released on February 14, 2020. The record is an ode to the ageless lure of the unyielding mountains, and an exploration of the sweltering warmth which encompasses these heights every summer. The sound of the record will be familiar for long‑time followers of the band. Cavernous reverbs evoking great depths and heights, analog delays reminiscent of the phantasmal rays of the sun. The album is once again produced, recorded, and mixed by the band themselves with assistance of longtime collaborator M. Koops. A greater clarity in the production is enhanced by the tasteful mastering courtesy of Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios. The album will be granted a worldwide release by Eisenwald on LP and CD while a cassette version will be available under the banner of Haeresis Noviomagi.
Vocals: T
Drums: J
Guitar: O
