Torche
Restarter
This is the fourth album from Miamis eclectic metal heavyweights Torche and continues in the rich vein of form from 2012s Harmonicraft.
Opening track Annihilation Affair starts with the crashing drums and sludgy fuzzed out guitars that the band are renowned for. Slow paced vocals from Steve Brooks lead up to a crescendo at the end of the song.
The quick paced Bishops In Arms flies straight into the slower paced but driving first single Minions complete with catchy guitar work and epic and chant along chorus that defies your head not to nod.
Loose Men changes to a quicker style with killer riffs and a solo from Brooks and Andrew Elstner with the rhythm section of Rick Smith (drums) and Jonathan Nunez (bass and who also produced the album) working well together and this is especially evident on the next two tracks Undone and Blasted.
No Servants brings it back with a slower, more crushing vibe reminiscent of Kyuss (which is high praise!) while Believe It turns up the sludgy guitars which seem to creep through the song and raise it to a triumphant conclusion complete with fade out.
Restarter ends with the trippy Barrier Hammer and the title track which is the longest song and ends with a truly hypnotic outro and is a fitting way to end a brilliant album.
Combining metal riffs and pounding drum beats combined with a flowing pop sensibilty are what Torche do best and Restarter sees them going from strength to strength and even though the album is quite short at under 40 minutes, it begs to be played again as soon as is ends.
One of the years best so far and not to be missed when they tour the UK in May.
Annihilation Affair
Bishop in Arms
Minions
Loose Men
Undone
Blasted
No Servants
Believe It
Barrier Hammer
Restarter
May 03 Wroclaw, PL Asymmetry Festival
May 04 Prague, CZ 007
May 05 Munich, DE Ampere
May 06 Milan, IT Lo Fi Club
May 08 Barcelona, SP Rocksound
May 09 Madrid, SP Boute Live!
May 10 Lisbon, PT Musicbox
May 11 Bilbao, SP Kafe Antzokia
May 13 Zurich, SZ Dynamo
May 14 Wiesbaden, DE Schlachthof
May 15 Cologne, DE Underground
May 16 Berlin, DE Bi Nuu
May 17 Hamburg, DE Hafenklang
May 18 Nijmegen, NL Merelyn
May 19 Haarlem, NL Patronaat
May 20 Paris, FR Glazart
May 21 Antwerp, BE Kavka
May 22 London, UK Underworld
May 23 Leeds,UK Belgrave Social Club
May 24 Galway, IR Roisin Dubh
May 25 Cork, IR Crane Lane
May 26 Dublin, IR Grand Social
May 27 Belfast, IR The Limelight
May 28 Glasgow, UK CCA
May 29 Manchester, UK Sound Control
May 30 Bristol, UK Temples Festival (2105)
May 31 Nimes, FR This is Not a Love Song
Jun 01 Nantes, FR Le Ferrailleur
Restarter is out now and available on CD/LP/Deluxe 2xLP/Cassette/Digital via Bandcamp and Relapse.
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