Torch

...I'm a man of darkness, I'm a man of evil...

This Swedish five-piece are probably best known for the goofy cover of their second offering, Electrikiss, ‘cos for some reason their style of super middleweight power metal with the standard amount of NWOBHM didn’t really knock people off their rocker, not that tons of people had heard of the band. Being on the supra-obscure Tandan label didn’t help either. Even decades later Torch’s sound hasn’t been rediscovered and retro compilations featuring them are all but scarce. A shame? Yes, ‘cos with as many fans who fire ten gun salutes in the name of the ‘ol English sound, this would most likely receive some decent stereo time.

Power-wise on this album, Torch could duke it out with Tokyo Blade, bruise and batter Saxon nicely, and easily clean the clock of about 17 of the bands featured on the first six Metal Massacre compilations. Musically, there’s no doubt they could hold their own against most of the bands in this genre in this period. Vocalist Dan Dark usually lives in the land of rough tenors, but often visits the soprano realm much like the aforementioned bands' vocalists as well as, say, Lizzy Borden, clean or with a scratchy veneer that lend more than just one dimension to the fold and never sound out of place.

After a low, fairly provolone demonic proclamation to start off “Warlock”, a song that I consider one of those ‘safe’ songs that start off an lp – not over the top, nor terribly boring - a moderate pacer with a fairly simple riff that doesn’t do much more than introduce the band, and for the most part the vocals follow suit. “Beauty And the Beast” is more the teeth-sinker, more vibrant and hectic with an exceptional breaking riff and Dark running freely over it. A fretboard-dynamic solo slopes into bass n’ drum semi-serenity, then pumps up again to mimic the original rhythm, now only heavier. Up yet another notch is “Watcher of the Night”, one of the closest brushes with thrash the band will have on this lp. Guitarists Claus Wild and Chris First are a two-pronged attack, feeding off one another as solos explode in stride with a strident main riff that Anthrax could have generated on their debut. Relentless in their high-octane delivery, “Rage Age” is the recipient of a catchy main riff and somewhat anthemic chorus, allowing percussion to lead the charge of “Beyond the Threshold of Pain” with its interesting stop-go chorus and a small collection of rhythm shifts ranging from carefree to forceful to churning.

Strangely hollow acoustics swings side two and the mid-paced “Battle Axe”, a darker, more serious track akin to early Savatage/Avatar, owed to Dark’s now threatening vocals and a slightly deeper guitar tone presence. On par with “Watcher of the Night” is the frantic “Hatchet Man”, rabidly perpetual with a speedy gait, frenetic solos, and a raging chorus that is perhaps the heaviest moment on the lp. While the lengthier “Sweet Desire” hits the off-ramp brakes a bit, the built up velocity is harnessed and unleashed as heaviness for the chorus and main riffs to soak in. Unfortunately, both “Sinister Eyes” and “Gladiator” could be called filler tracks, or ‘safe’ tracks for that matter, the former really nothing more than an indistinctive mid-pacer, while the latter swings the anemic final blow of the lp, the band’s energy seemingly spent like gunshot-provoked runners who just found out the track was extended another 500 yards.

Song placement could have saved the album’s finish. “Hatchet Man” could’ve had a nice home there, or if they wanted something a bit saner, “Beauty And the Beast” wouldn’t have been out of bounds, but at the end of the day there are at least seven tracks cemented at the exceptional to outstanding level. The songwriting and overall sound is strong throughout, and if more people had heard this at the time, their history would have probably been a bit different.