Undeniably Heavy
Not all that glitters is gold, not all that struts on seedy street corners is actually a woman, and not all that is heavy is brutal. Torche is undeniably heavy, but definitely not brutal. They’re not even dark. But I think you’re going to want to hear them anyway.Restarter brings me actual joy—not that catharsis stuff, not the pleasure-through-displeasure of violent dissonance. Pure joy. And they do it while still satisfying that physical need for a thundering low-end.
It’s kind of weird to call it doom metal, or sludge, because there’s certainly no doom and no Louisiana swamp gas. There really isn’t an established genre name to cover what this is. These are simple, heavy riffs, mostly played at a slow pace (a few are faster). But they’re not all minor key, and they’re definitely not downbeat. Between the hooky melodies and the clean vocal parts, these giant slabs of metal are turned into pop songs. It’s a weird trick.
Now I haven’t followed Torche too closely before now (I only have the Songs for Singles EP) so I can’t tell you exactly how this fits into their discography. But I can predict, with some degree of confidence, that Restarter isn’t going to sound like any other album that comes out this year. It’s also going to end up on a lot of year-end lists. And you’re going to love it.
The Verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I remember when I first grabbed their Meanderthal album. I didn't like it for the feel-good vibe it shared and decided to delete it. Now I want to listen to them again, because, pop in my metal? Why not? Good job you have done, I suppose. :)
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