Torche - Admission review
| Band: | Torche |
| Album: | Admission |
| Style: | Sludge metal, Stoner metal |
| Release date: | July 2019 |
01. From Here
02. Submission
03. Slide
04. What Was
05. Times Missing
06. Admission
07. Reminder
08. Extremes Of Consciousness
09. On The Wire
10. Infierno
11. Changes Come
This is a metalgaze record. Alright now hear me out.
I never really cared about Torche, finding them to be an okay sludge band in a sea of okay sludge bands. Enjoyable but nothing to really stick with me. I listened to this album expecting it be more of the same, so it was to my surprise to find that I actually payed attention to it and it kinda stuck out from what I remembered from them. This is the closest thing to an actual metalgaze album.
When listening to this, the thought crossed my mind that it really sounds like actual shoegaze, or alt rock stuff from the same period. We tend to think of metalgaze as stuff really close to what either Alcest or Deafheaven are doing, by mixing post-rock/shoegaze/dream pop with black metal or screamo or whatever, but the sound kind of gravitated to a certain way of sounding that really doesn't sound like the 90s scene that it takes the "gaze" part from. Who knew that you could approach that sound of the 90s, from the equally 90s sound of Melvins-worshiping sludge? Enter Admission.
The blend of sound makes it such an interesting listen, both for the nostalgia of the period and for how it still manages to sound modern. It may be the closest thing to a metalgaze record, but the sludge core is still quite strong, so expect a lot of slow down-tuned riffs sometimes raw to the core, sometimes played as a really distortion-heavy Smashing Pumpkins or My Bloody Valentine track. The results aren't completely homogeneous, but the sheer power of the sludgier cuts and the haziness of the alternative ones don't feel at odds with one another either.
Torche just managed to expand their sound palette in a lighter direction without sacrificing any of their trademark heaviness. The blend may not be completely homogeneous yet, but they show great mastery of the sound already, while also proving that they would be a kickass alternative rock band if they really wanted to. So now they're both.
 | Written on 25.07.2019 by Doesn't matter that much to me if you agree with me, as long as you checked the album out. |
Comments
Comments: 6
Visited by: 60 users
| musclassia Posts: 7033 From: UK  |
I can kinda see what you're coming from, there's definitely moments where I get a bit of a -gaze vibe. It does sound a lot like 90's alternative rock in a lot of places; feel like the sludge side only really comes through certain songs like Infierno. Unfortunately, not sure they have the vocal or songwriting abilities to live up to the legacy of those sounds. I do like patches of it (the more melodic cuts like the title track and Changes Come work pretty well for me), but it can get a bit repetitive and flat at times, and more often than not I was left somewhat unconvinced by the vocals (probably the only time I found them working for me off the top of my head was the title track).
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| RaduP CertifiedHipster Posts: 8628 From: Romania  |
Written by musclassia on 31.07.2019 at 22:16 I appreciated the originality of the attempt rather than the result itself, but I can't say I was as unimpressed with the latter either
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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| Ball Fondlers Posts: 511 From: Australia  |
Not hearing any metalgaze in hear at all to be honest Seems like a good album anyway
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| RaduP CertifiedHipster Posts: 8628 From: Romania |
Written by Ball Fondlers on 03.02.2020 at 11:22 That's because we are used to metalgaze sounding in a certain way that is black metal / screamo + post-rock / dream pop. Torche still blends metal and gaze, but it's sludge metal with shoegaze / alt rock and it's honestly the first metal album recently to take such heavy inspiration from that sound. It's kinda like how if a band like Xibalba or Fuming Mouth blends death metal and hardcore it is deathcore that doesnt sound like what we are used to when thinking about deathcore. Some other albums from this year that take a similar approach to metalgaze are Spotlights and Arctic Sleep. It is still mainly a stoner/sludge album, don't get me wrong, and my assessment of it as metalgaze plus its nomination in that category in the MSA is meant as us endorsing this pretty fresh blend of sounds that I feel should be explored and polished even more than the tired usual blackgaze sound.
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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| Ball Fondlers Posts: 511 From: Australia |
I heard it a bit more on the last track. But that was about it. And yes, I base what I know of shoe gaze on Alcest and Deafheaven. Violet Cold is an example of what I really like in this genre. Anyway I did listen to it because it was in the MSA metalgaze category... I guess that's what you were after when you put it there
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| RaduP CertifiedHipster Posts: 8628 From: Romania |
Written by Ball Fondlers on 03.02.2020 at 12:01 Admittedly a bold move on our part, hopefully one we managed to justify. Torche wouldn't have made it in the final cut if we were to keep Sludge and Stoner together, but maybe with them separated, they would've made it in either Sludge or Stoner, or based on the same reasoning for us putting in it Metalgaze we could've put it in Alternative. Hopefully this also makes folks a bit more interested in checking out some classic shoegaze.
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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