Torche
Torche make their Liverpool debut and Getintothis’ Simon Kirk is there along with a handful of other excited punters to revel in the action.
Every now and then I Love Live Events like to throw us a curve ball and before we say goodbye to 2019, there’s one left up their sleeve, this time in the way of Florida shredders, Torche.
By and large, alternative metal is largely underrepresented in Liverpool, with many International acts instead preferring the climes just up the road in Manchester, so tonight it’s refreshing to see a band of Torche‘s aesthetic pay us a visit.
Torche (Steve Brooks – vocals, guitars, Jonathan Nuñez – guitars, Rick Smith – drums, and Eric Hernandez – bass), have always played by their own rules. Whilst nestled in the metal pantheon, they seem like the bastard child of the genre in many ways.
Given their longevity and consistency of output – Admission being Torche‘s fifth record since their 2008 breakthrough, Meanderthal – on the former they shift the goal posts somewhat, this time incorporating glistening pop elements with their well renowned bruising aggressive textures.
Having supported Torche throughout this run of UK shows, Slow Crush are a nice addition.
Having released their debut album, Aurora, last year, they provide a nice marriage of shoegaze heaviness and swirling dream-pop tenderness. Tonight, it hits us in all the right places, with the final two tracks Aid and Abet and Glow bringing the set to an enthralling climax.
Torche arrive shortly after and get straight to work on material from their latest opus, with the one-two gut-punch of From Here and Submission getting things off to a blistering start.
Minions from Restarter follows which gets the crowd’s blood flowing while Slide and Time Missing ricochet off instruments at a burning pace at the audience.
Refused interview: “I like to call it incredibly violent pop music”
The frighteningly good Admission is one of the best songs written this year and tonight it’s equally as mesmerizing.
Smith‘s sprawling drums tumble from the stage like we’re suddenly the subject of an alligator’s death roll. Brooks‘ Byrdsy-like guitar riff rings and swirls around the Zanzibar as he parts with his finest verse yet.
“I won’t get left behind/My overwhelming mind/The fence is up for reasons/I cannot share that side/Yes, I will pretend/I don’t need to love again/Again/Again/Again.”
So splendid, the rest of the set feels like its standing on the shoulder of the giant that is Admission – no fault of the band, such as the lofty heights the song reaches.
The crowd aren’t fussed, though. Head-banging, shadow drumming and bedroom-mirror air guitar continues to dominate the front of stage as Torche rip and tear through their back catalogue with Harmonicraft‘s In Pieces and Reverse Inverted getting the good treatment along with more Restarter material.
Torche was easily the heaviest and probably the best show this year.
— Sam Robinson (@samuelorobinson) December 3, 2019
Throughout the set it’s evident that Smith has eviscerated his drum-kit with a relentless performance around the skins, which includes giving the hit-hats a literal kicking between beats during Barrier Hammer and What Was.
Brooks joins the crowd, clapping in mock humour suggesting the band play an encore and that they do, finishing with Annihilarion Affair and Harmonslaught, which rounds out the high-octane set. Who said metal was too serious?
Torche are a band that colour outside the lines, illustrating an importance in a genre that a lot of the time is very much marginalised. Tonight, while heavier in a live setting, Torche‘s tracks have an elusive warmth that strikes an ideal balance between beauty and brutality.
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