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Super deluxe and limited vinyl version of the new Torche album (Cd is out on Hydrahead): Can a band be absolutely crushing yet sweepingly anthemicat the same time? Miamis Torche have not only figured this out, theyve mastered it. Their third release, Meanderthal, is simultaneously oppressive and powerfully uplifting. Torches gargantuan return to their patented mega-heavy-pop n roll streamlines their form into brief and precise slabs of songwriting brilliance. Prepare to head-bang while singing along at the top of your collapsed lungs as Meanderthal surpasses all groundwork laid by the bands self titled debut and last years In Return EP. Copious hooks abound and psychedelic swarms of drone weave throughout riff-wizardry while the sheer heaviness is downright overwhelming. Robotic Empire goes huge on their most ludicrously elaborate packaging yet, because Torche absolutely levels the earth with their finest work to date.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Every review of Torche I've read seemingly refer to them as `stoner pop'. I have no idea why. The music on here is definitely of the sludge variety. Huge guitar sound, big energetic drumming, yet the twist that is confusing people is the melodic vocals. Steve Books has a very clean voice and it is often harmonised & seems to trick reviewers into writing, "wow, it must be pop music!" all over the place. Torche are nothing of the sort. They're fast, heavy, lively and just happen to be handy at the `ol melodic songwriting malarkey.
The opening track `Triumph of Venus' is a short, thrashy instrumental which gives way to `Grenades', Torche's best song yet; huge catchy chorus & great melodic guitar lines.
Torche are quite a unique band really; it's quite impossible to sub-categorise them, you just have to call them `rock' which is definitely what they are. They use melodic riffs and vocals yet are still very heavy whilst also not being aggressive; just incredibly energetic.
`Across the Shields' is another favourite; it begins with a very melodic riff and verse, the catchy chorus follows and then it breaks into a massive thrashy riff section untill the end. `Healer' is how the Foo Fighters wished they sounded and one listen to `Amnesiac' & the title track will quash any `stoner pop' tags Torche have accumulated so far.
All in all, Meanderthal is Torche's most satisfying and complete record yet. Stoner pop? I think not, let's not get carried away; it's a highly enjoyable heavy rock record indeed, nothing more, nothing less. Recommended.
The opening track `Triumph of Venus' is a short, thrashy instrumental which gives way to `Grenades', Torche's best song yet; huge catchy chorus & great melodic guitar lines.
Torche are quite a unique band really; it's quite impossible to sub-categorise them, you just have to call them `rock' which is definitely what they are. They use melodic riffs and vocals yet are still very heavy whilst also not being aggressive; just incredibly energetic.
`Across the Shields' is another favourite; it begins with a very melodic riff and verse, the catchy chorus follows and then it breaks into a massive thrashy riff section untill the end. `Healer' is how the Foo Fighters wished they sounded and one listen to `Amnesiac' & the title track will quash any `stoner pop' tags Torche have accumulated so far.
All in all, Meanderthal is Torche's most satisfying and complete record yet. Stoner pop? I think not, let's not get carried away; it's a highly enjoyable heavy rock record indeed, nothing more, nothing less. Recommended.
Format:Audio CD
I'm gonna keep this short this album is really a great achievement. It sounds like 65% Baroness and 35% old school Biffy Clyro and it really makes a very nice sound. I agree with the previous review that this is a poppy album, it is. This is mainly due to the vocals which are very similar to the harmonies of Baroness but less screamy and in your face. Another reason I like this album is because of it's diversity. The only problem I've ever had with Baroness is that they seem to have a very distinctive style which they never tend to move from (that doesn't include the song Steel That Sleeps The Eye) making some of there songs sound a bit samey however Torche have managed to move away from this with there almost poppy influence. One song can be melodic and soothing and then all of a sudden it moves into ear raping(in a good way) heaviness. definitely worth checking out especially if your into Baroness, if not and you just strayed to this page from some of your more 'pure-metal' bands i still recommend it as a bit of a change. At least download Amnesian, if that doesn't persuade you nothing will. Peace hope this helped :)
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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17 reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Sludge/Drone-Metal Sophistication Meets Rock Energy
22 May 2008
Format:Audio CD
The problem with a lot of rock and punk music is that all-too-often there isn't enough backing the standard "catchiness" and energy to make it hold up over repeated listens. And especially for those of us headphone-listeners, such music seems flat and lacking texture.
For sludge/drone/"post"-metal (there's far too many names for this loose confederation of bands), the problem is very much the opposite. For all the carefully-crafted texture, soundscapes and melodies, time/signature changes and complex drum-work there isn't much of the music that is instantly accessible - no melodies that are easy to hum along with, no beats that are easy to tap out - and hence the genre toils in obscurity.
If only there was a band that could combine the strengths of both and hence eliminate their weaknesses... fortunately, TORCHE is to the rescue with their sophomore effort Meanderthal.
Writing almost radio-friendly rock songs and infusing them with the ponderous depth of post-metal and the energy (and brevity) of punk rock, Torche have found a groove that should resonate with a lot of people. This is music that you can play at parties or with a car-full of friends who have never heard of Isis or Pelican or Neurosis (I tried this experiment myself), but also music that you can take home and throw on the home stereo or headphones and also appreciate the details that Torche have ingrained into each one of their songs.
For sludge/drone/"post"-metal (there's far too many names for this loose confederation of bands), the problem is very much the opposite. For all the carefully-crafted texture, soundscapes and melodies, time/signature changes and complex drum-work there isn't much of the music that is instantly accessible - no melodies that are easy to hum along with, no beats that are easy to tap out - and hence the genre toils in obscurity.
If only there was a band that could combine the strengths of both and hence eliminate their weaknesses... fortunately, TORCHE is to the rescue with their sophomore effort Meanderthal.
Writing almost radio-friendly rock songs and infusing them with the ponderous depth of post-metal and the energy (and brevity) of punk rock, Torche have found a groove that should resonate with a lot of people. This is music that you can play at parties or with a car-full of friends who have never heard of Isis or Pelican or Neurosis (I tried this experiment myself), but also music that you can take home and throw on the home stereo or headphones and also appreciate the details that Torche have ingrained into each one of their songs.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
8/10
30 July 2008
Format:Audio CD
Meanderthal clocks in pretty short, with only one song surpassing the 5-minute mark, and several under the 3-minute mark, but it flows as easily as thirteen cheap beers through a funnel and does about as much damage. "Triumph of Venus" acts as a short, instrumental introduction to the album, but right from the start you can tell that nothing is going to be held back here. It's the topic sentence of the album, and lets you know right up front what's in store: fast-paced Sabbath-inspired tunes that blend the highs and lows of sludgy metal and stoner rock. Even if the vocals leave something to be desired, you get a good share of creative riffage and murky guitar solos throughout.
Meanderthal is a marked improvement over Torche's first album. The sound is cleaner and more refined, yet it still somehow contains the raw heaviness expected from this band. Like that crunch in the self-titled track; drop-F tuning, or whatever it is they did there. Overall, it's a happy brand of doom-laced sludge with a dash of pop, that instead of making you want to simply crawl in a hole and die, may make you want to pilot a hand-glider over a stretch of desert in the American southwest, and culminate the experience by slamming full speed into the side of a cliff, dying thusly. Recommended for fans of early Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age, Isis, etc.
Meanderthal is a marked improvement over Torche's first album. The sound is cleaner and more refined, yet it still somehow contains the raw heaviness expected from this band. Like that crunch in the self-titled track; drop-F tuning, or whatever it is they did there. Overall, it's a happy brand of doom-laced sludge with a dash of pop, that instead of making you want to simply crawl in a hole and die, may make you want to pilot a hand-glider over a stretch of desert in the American southwest, and culminate the experience by slamming full speed into the side of a cliff, dying thusly. Recommended for fans of early Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age, Isis, etc.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
What is this?
3 Jan 2009
Format:Audio CD
I had to stop listening to this album on the first few attempts. The question `what the f**k?' was constantly ringing through my head, along with shifting enjoyment and cringing. And really, numerous listens later, I still don't really know. "Meanderthal" is some kind of pop-sludge-mainstream rock-doom-prog metal thing. And I'm really unsure what to think of it all.
Torche's EP "In Return" was all I had previously sampled, and it was good, fuzzy stoner metal with some doom and shoegaze influences. "Meanderthal" is a whole new sound. The first two tracks are immediate examples of this, with the opener "Triumph of Venus" drifting into cheesy prog-metal, masturbatory guitar noodling, whizzing up and down an ascending scale pattern. It's terribly cliched and just completely bores me. Then "Grenades" comes in with an insipid guitar hook, followed by some rank vocal harmonies that sound ripped from a throwaway North American emo-rock band. But then, once I picked up the confidence to go beyond track two, I found some real enjoyment.
There are times when the odd pop-stoner sound works. This is most notable with "Across The Shields", which builds to an absolute blast of a finale - a booming happy-sounding riff thunders in, the vocal harmonies actually work, and it's all fitting into place. It's fun stoner metal. I bob my head along with a smile. This song is what every song on "Meanderthal" should be doing, yet only a small few accomplish.
I understand that the stoner/doom genre is quite inaccessible for many. There is room for a band from the genre to bring in a more immediate and catchy sound, and at times "Meanderthal" achieves this. But there is too much variation. Often I can both enjoy and deeply loathe moments within the same song. So, fans of stoner/doom expecting more of "In Return" should approach with caution. Those who want a more catchy heaviness might want to give it a try.
Torche's EP "In Return" was all I had previously sampled, and it was good, fuzzy stoner metal with some doom and shoegaze influences. "Meanderthal" is a whole new sound. The first two tracks are immediate examples of this, with the opener "Triumph of Venus" drifting into cheesy prog-metal, masturbatory guitar noodling, whizzing up and down an ascending scale pattern. It's terribly cliched and just completely bores me. Then "Grenades" comes in with an insipid guitar hook, followed by some rank vocal harmonies that sound ripped from a throwaway North American emo-rock band. But then, once I picked up the confidence to go beyond track two, I found some real enjoyment.
There are times when the odd pop-stoner sound works. This is most notable with "Across The Shields", which builds to an absolute blast of a finale - a booming happy-sounding riff thunders in, the vocal harmonies actually work, and it's all fitting into place. It's fun stoner metal. I bob my head along with a smile. This song is what every song on "Meanderthal" should be doing, yet only a small few accomplish.
I understand that the stoner/doom genre is quite inaccessible for many. There is room for a band from the genre to bring in a more immediate and catchy sound, and at times "Meanderthal" achieves this. But there is too much variation. Often I can both enjoy and deeply loathe moments within the same song. So, fans of stoner/doom expecting more of "In Return" should approach with caution. Those who want a more catchy heaviness might want to give it a try.
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