Torche - Meanderthal
Hydra Head - HH666152 - 8 April 2008
By Paddy Walsh
Although the fuzzed-up guitars may make
Torche sound like another troupe of stoner rock pretenders, the frantic heaviosity is too upbeat, nay, too much fun, for it to languish in predictable
Black Sabbath worship. And whilst they mightn't like to admit it themselves, the ghosts of early 90s luminaries such as
Soundgarden and
Melvins are invoked throughout
Meanderthal. Hell, 'Grenades's soloing even recalls
Smashing Pumpkins at their most space rock (think 'Starla' from
Pisces Iscariot for a more distinct reference). This kind of ballsy, unabashed riffery may have been superceded in the mainstream by a slicker, more flaccid offspring in the last 10 years (see
Audioslave versus
Soundgarden, or
Velvet Revolver as opposed to
Stone Temple Pilots, yeuck!), but listening to
Torche has the essence of the heady days of Seattle at its core. The time is right for a re-ignition of this kind of thing - like most musical fads a backlash emerged soon after the suicide of its reluctant flag-bearer - and
Torche are far better equipped to herald this than the piss-taking likes of
Chris Cornell +
RATM.
So we have
Melvins,
Soundgarden,
Nirvana,
Mudhoney - if you miss the days when these flannel-clad fuckers ruled the roost, then
Meanderthal has lots to offer.
Queens of the Stone Age,
Mastodon - these guys can be found under the bonnet of this work too, and as such
Meanderthal is no mere piece of revivalism. The most important thing about
Meanderthal is that massive riffs are delivered in spades, the solos are ear-bleedingly intense, the drums roll like thunder, and Steve Brooks's vocals are howled with that perfect mixture of slacker nonchalance and righteous anger. Sure, it could do with a little more variation at times, but this is nullified by its all too brief running time and the fact that some of the songs barely push 2 minutes. You never even get a chance to to take a breath anyway, and thus
Torche are nothing short of a riotous revelation. Ignore them at your peril you assholes.
Official Torche Website
Official Torche MySpace
Official Hydra Head Records Website
