AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): TURIAN — “SPIRAL & THE HERMIT”

On March 20th the Seattle-based grindcore band Turian will release their third record, which will be self-titled, adding to a discography that includes 2017’s Voiceless and 2018’s The Near Room. To give fans a preview of the new album, Turian are releasing a two-song excerpt — Spiral & The Hermit — and we’re helping spread the word through a premiere stream on the day of its release.

Turian’s brand of grind pulls from a lot of different strands of music, with thrash, punk, and noise rock in the mix (among other ingredients), and you’ll discover through just these two new tracks that they’re adept songwriters, delivering adrenaline fueled music that’s packed with twists and turns but also seasoned with head-busting grooves, and their creations turn out to be damned contagious as well.

Photo credit: Aya Sato Photography

The band launch “Spiral” with an urgent bass pulse delivered by Cris Sanchez, and the bass provides a prominent and persistently interesting ingredient throughout. Guitarist Ryan Moon uses his instrument to thrash, claw, jolt, shriek, and dart in insectile fashion through this blood-rushing song, while drummer Andrew Nyte provides a battering and thundering drive-train, shifting gears on a dime. It’s a furious surge, made even more electrifying by the tag-team vocal tandem of vicious roars, skin-splitting shrieks, and maniac howls (all three members contribute vocals).

“Spiral” proves to be an addictive as well as a hasty piece of work, but so is “The Hermit“. Mid-paced at first with a neck-bending drum-beat and a hook-y riff, this second song’s central melody has an ominous and cruel character, and the gigantic booming beats that periodically erupt feel like punches to the neck. But the song also delivers freakish, dissonant arpeggios, inflamed yells, and a mauling finale, all of which add dimensions of wild abandon to the music.

Spiral & The Hermit was mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios, and the artwork is by Michael Flanagan. The new album, Turian, will be released on March 20th by Buster Room Records. For more info about the album as it becomes available, keep an eye on these locations.

TURIAN – BANDCAMP:
https://turian.bandcamp.com/

TURIAN – FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/turianband/