Sometimes you’ve gotta just let your freak flag fly. Since 2017, Seattle quintet Turian has had no qualms about playing with their sound, regularly injecting numerous disparate sounds into their central metallic hardcore, well, core. Blood Quantum Blues, however, is their most varied and ambitious to date. There’s a bit of an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink feel to some of this, which may not work for everyone, but those with a penchant for the unusual are in for a good time. In fact, this feels like the album where the band members looked at each other and said, “What have you always wanted to do but haven’t been allowed to with this band?” and then did all of those things.
Odd enough for you, yet? Just wait, there’s more! The brief middle track “Mache” is just straight up synth notes and echoing dreamy vocals that progress into a big climactic movie moment, all under a minute. Blood Quantum Blues pulls a strange trick by having perhaps its most bizarre track second in line with “Chemical Bath.” The blend of electronics with simple, chugging guitars is very reminiscent of Wisconsin Death Trip era Static-X, but maybe that’s coming to mind because of the repeated use of the phrase “push it.” That song also features minimal notes with a punk approach to shouting over top as well as a brief stargazing bit that likely came from a Devin Townsend fan. Mind you, the whole time Vern Metztli-Moon’s husky bark is calling out medicalized violence, racism and even a nice loud shout of “YOU FUCKING PIG!” It’s a real journey in only four minutes.
The beauty of Turian is that despite all these diversions and unexpected sections, they absolutely bring the thunder throughout the album’s 38 minutes. Opener, “Spill,” is pure metallic hardcore with a crusty mentality. “Place of Darkness” opens with death metal riffs and blast beats before going into a slower crush to let the song deteriorate before Metztli-Moon lets out one final, exacerbated line that goes from shout to whimper. Despite some post-rock leanings in “Leash,” it also features a riff that is a pure hard rocker, not a heavy metal riff, but a hard rock one, giving it a bit more swagger. The title track, in particular, is downright BURLY for most of its runtime and features a massive grooving breakdown. Riffs, chugs and grooves abound among the wild mix.
While this album sounds nothing like The Dillinger Escape Plan there is a similar spirit of fuckery afoot. In some ways, it comes across like an album created by many collaborators with competing ideas that was originally an hour and a half long, but precise editing pulled it all down into something manageable. At times, that means some ideas feel cut short or shoehorned in; at others, it’s a perfect whirlwind of madness that keeps the listener on their toes. Regardless, it’s damn fun listen to and if you take into account that little “woo” that pops up in “Nite Flights,” among other fleeting touches, it’s a safe guess the band had fun making it, too.
