Meanderthal

Somewhere between punk, stoner metal, indie, post-hardcore and a significant Soundgarden influence lies the far-off soundscape grown organically in “Meanderthal”. Each and every influence is melded perfectly as the band and their bottom heavy, near fuzz guitars and alternative/grunge styled vocals flow from one song to the next. The thirteen songs are generally pretty short, but it’s difficult to tell as every song simply flows from one to the next. There are points of subtle gear shifting, but much like the way an automatic shifter in a car has been nicknamed a “slushbox”, you tend to suspect that a song has ended and another started, yet your not entirely sure.

The most significant moments are actually the alterative/grunge era similarities, such as the Soundgarden like wah solo in “Grenades” which is sandwiched between even more Soundgarden like melodic riffs. The same 90’s era sound is hidden beneath much of the music, although it is apparent most in the vocals.

This album helps to remind us that the 90’s had some truly great moments, and it only takes a band like Torche to take an old, and once abused sound to a place where it was supposed to go - an inspiration to try something a little different.

Originally posted at www.waytooloud.com

Torche are a bizarre band; they’re hardly ever mentioned but what few opinions I’ve heard show a distinct distaste for them. I suppose this can be attributed to many things: 1) Eyehategod fans get their knickers in a twist because people call them sludge metal and 2) they seem to fit in amongst the new breed of bands that are deemed as hipsters ("hipstercore" is a term I've heard thrown around). Despite being an Eyehategod fan and also wanting to kick the shit out The Sword, I rather like 'Meanderthal'.

I fail to see how people can mention the words sludge, doom or even heavy when it comes to a band like Torche because 'Meanderthal' is super-duper ultra catchy; yes you have to use those adjectives with describing this album, it's the law. I should clarify that doom metal can be catchy (YOU ARE BEWITCHED!), however the tone of the album anything but oppressive, gloomy or doomy for that matter. In fact, between the clean vocals and melodic lead work, 'Meanderthal' is a very happy and upbeat album. Most of the songs barely clock in at or above two minutes and considering that the band have written maybe a handful of a riffs, this is ideal since each song manages to avoid overstaying it's visit. Songs like "Speed of the Nail", "Healer" and "Piranha" are quite straight forward, being primarily composed of a fast, simple hardcore-esque riff and then some melodic refrains or a sudden chugging riff will change things up. It's pretty droll on paper but for such short and simple songs it works in their favour.

As per usual though, I've lied by making blanket statements since the last two tracks are longer and use tempos that are actually associated with doom metal. They're pretty forgettable though thanks to being poorly written. "Amnesian" is the slower of the two and contains a fairly simple stoner riff while the bloke on lead guitar wails on the same note for ten seconds before picking a different one for shits and giggles. There's something of a solo towards the end but it's not unlike the other lead work heard on the rest of the album. "Meanderthal" is appropriately titled because it does just that; there's no vocals just a dawdling riff. I wish I was kidding; the word anti-climatic has never been more accurately described in musical form.

There's little more to add about Torche; the drums are solid, the bass guitar is notably present but not flashy and the production values are above average. 'Meanderthal' is a fun album and the band's approach to writing stoner metal could be described as grind-esque, which sounds quite puzzling but it works. If they lopped off the last two tracks and maybe wrote another "Across the Shields" or "Sundown" we'd have a winner. As it stands though, we have a bronze medallist or whatever sporting award/ranking equivalent you wish to use.