Torche

There’s a template for higher-brow metal bands. Firstly, get your checked-shirt-wearing fans to sway with meandering guitar drifts, punctuated by chugging heavy riffs. Get the merch stall up, complete with intricate, limited-edition prints, then bask in acclaim. Unfortunately for Miami’s Torche, this set-up doesn’t allow for pop-rock songwriting, Foo Fighters gallops and a flair for accessibility. With a poor sound set-up hindering attempts at something different, unfortunately this patchy set came across as somewhere between a heavier Therapy? minus the tunes and an Isis without intensity. Flailing in a no-man’s land of not-pop, not-metal, then, this felt like a misguided attempt to please everyone, satisfying none.

The Haunt, 17 September 2012

Rating:

                                                        Nick Aldwinckle