Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of lineout.thestranger.com The album cover to Torche's latest, entitled Meanderthal, is pictured above. The album redefines the metal genre.

Heavy metal band, Torche, released their second album, Meanderthal, on April 8, 2008. Critics are saying the album is redefining heavy metal.

Meanderthal balances pop and metal together in such a way where it has the potential of uniting both fan bases. Meanderthal is an important album, as it proves that music does not have to classify itself under one genre, but can cross over to other types.
Torche's vocalist and guitarist, Steve Brooks, was formerly a member of the heavy metal group, Floor. Once Floor split up, Brooks recruited Floor's guitarist, Juan Montoya to be a part of a new heavy metal group.

Brooks then found drummer, Rick Smith, and bassist, Jonathan Nunez, to create Torche. In 2005, the Miami band released their self-titled debut on Robotic Empire, introducing the world to a new style of doom metal that replaces the bleakness and despair typical of the genre with a more delightful metal sound.

Meanderthal is Torche's second full-length album released under the Robotic Empire label. It's title, a play on the prehistoric man, suggests Torche's evolution to an improved sound. Their melodies are carefully balanced with the heaviness of their sound. Combined with Brooks' soaring vocals, the overall sound is immense and triumphant.

Many of the songs on the album are less than three minutes, and a few are even under two minutes. This is one of the reasons the album is such a success.
The overpowering guitar tone would be too much for the ears of one who is not accustomed to heavy metal, or dull for the average heavy metal fan if it went on for longer than two minutes. Therefore, both types of listeners are satisfied, which is another reason why Torche redefines the genre.

Band member Rick Smith said in an interview: "To me it's mostly a combination of everything we listen to collectively as a band. We take what we like from what we grew up on and use it as creatively as we can. I think the meshing of different sounds comes naturally just because we all have different musical backgrounds yet have a ton of common interests."

The second track, "Grenades," is an example of the genre-defying harmony as it demonstrates a blend of melodic pop and sludge metal that takes the best qualities of both genres, metal and rock 'n roll, and exalts them.

"Sundown" exemplifies the evolution of Torche's songwriting. Instead of the constant buzzing of guitars reminiscent of most metal songs, the guitars weave around each other, preparing the listener for one of the catchiest choruses Torche has ever written. The final song on the album, "Meanderthal," is a tribute to their explosive doom metal sound.

Meanderthal has proven to be Torche's breakthrough album by defying the limits of a genre and broadening its audience. Decibel magazine, which champions extreme music, ranked Meanderthal #1 on their list of the Top 40 Extreme Albums of 2008. Torche will be going on tour with heavy metal band, Dredg, beginning April 3 in Portland.

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