HERUKA from Italy are already active since nearly two decades now but only released one EP and one full album so far. “Turning To Dust” is their second EP and offers pretty solid melodic Black Metal. After a stringed intro similar to mighty DISSECTION with public screams in the back the band starts with title track ‘Turning To Dust’ which offers melodic Black Metal with very melodic twin guitars and precise, fast drumming. The vocals are raw but very well-fitting and get varied by spoken passages. The track is very well-done and hails the releases of the mid 90s of labels like No Fashion, Wrong Again and Invasion Records. ‘Dig Me Out’ starts very slow and calm before continuing the direction. A CANOROUS QUINTET somehow comes into my mind just to drop another name but the Italian brothers have their own interpretation of this ancient style. This track is really outstanding again as it is full of fine melody lines and breaks and varies in speed and brutality. Well-dozed keyboards fit in perfectly and again I am happy to discover really good bands via my job working for VFTD. ‘Near The Worms Far From The Light’ starts also melodic but continues with a raw Death Metal edge and some faster guitars and even faster blast beats but not lacking of the needed variety. ‘Murrain’ starts with some calm strings again and continues with some medieval keyboards and guitar tunes. ‘Earth’s Core Tumor’ is another fast track with some good rhythm guitars in it and shows that they band really worked on each single track to incorporate at least a handful of good melodies. ‘Spleen’ is another uptempo track and has a vibe similar to ISTAPP, who I also really adore. The lead melody is really catchy and again the melodies offered are pretty cool and the audible bass-lines are damn killer. The lLast track is the title track ‘Turning To Dust’ just presented in the Italian language and with rawer vocals but shows again the quality of the track as it also works out with rawer vocals and a different language. I am once again more than happy to have been introduced to another band, which perfectly fits into my taste of music and my current playlist as I re-discover the catalogue of defunct Invasion Records currently. I am sure that we will hear more of HERUKA in the future as the quality of the material definitely will convince a label to sign them. For more info, please check one of the following sources or simply trust me, that this one is worth to order. www.facebook.com/herukaproject, www.facebook.com/narcolepticaprod