By Jack Lynch
Metalheads Torche have keen ear for aesthetics (read: making shit as loud as legally possible), and a coherent, long-form vision on their latest album, Restarter.
Setting the album’s tone is opening track “Annihilation Affair,” a polyrhythmic mosh pit stomp in a constantly shifting time signature that hurls the listener around with every dropped beat. By the three minute mark, the song has descended into a vortex of pounding drums and noise, in what I can only imagine was an attempt at simulating the inside of a space pod reentering earth’s atmosphere.
That is to say: it’s heavy as fuck. This shit will flatten you.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/179663725″ /]One of the band’s greatest assets to this end is producer Kurt Ballou, the guitarist and producer of critically acclaimed extreme metal band Converge. Ballou has a knack for being able to crank up the distortion on the Torche’s downtuned guitars and still have every instrument sound distinct from one another, maintaining clarity even at the album’s heaviest moments.
The album’s second track, “Bishop In Arms,” is an uptempo counterpoint to the crawling pace of “Annihilation Affair.” There’s plenty of bass to go around, from tonic drones to booming toms, but the real highlight here is the high end of the track: strident guitars reminiscent of Liturgy or Deafhaven that keep the energy level high.
At just over two minutes, “Bishop In Arms” doesn’t overstay its welcome, moving quickly on to “Minions,” the Torche equivalent to a radio-ready single. With a killer riff, a catchy prechorus hook, and a constant drone of warm, fuzzed-out eighth notes, “Minions” is Restarter’s strongest standalone track.
Other album highlights are “Undone,” which is almost guaranteed to start pit fights, and “No Servants,” an absurdly slow track with an excellent buildup of tension and a huge subsequent release, calling to mind Japanese sludge gods Boris in their prime.
Set against the aggression and creativity of these standout tracks are others that sound closer to the brainchild of aimless guitar noodling. Some tracks like “Believe It” play the same uninteresting riff for about four minutes without much variation, rendering them forgettable.
Furthermore, there isn’t much dynamic variation on Restarter, which isn’t something to complain about at its most powerful moments, but after half an hour of constant guitars turned to eleven, the repetition of indulgent eight-minute album closer and title track “Restarter” is too much to take.
Restarter has a consistently superb sonic aesthetic, and while many of its songs have great moments, a few tired tracks hold it back from excellence.
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