Every review of Torche I've read seemingly refer to them as `stoner pop'. I have no idea why. The music on here is definitely of the sludge variety. Huge guitar sound, big energetic drumming, yet the twist that is confusing people is the melodic vocals. Steve Books has a very clean voice and it is often harmonised & seems to trick reviewers into writing, "wow, it must be pop music!" all over the place. Torche are nothing of the sort. They're fast, heavy, lively and just happen to be handy at the `ol melodic songwriting malarkey.
The opening track `Triumph of Venus' is a short, thrashy instrumental which gives way to `Grenades', Torche's best song yet; huge catchy chorus & great melodic guitar lines.
Torche are quite a unique band really; it's quite impossible to sub-categorise them, you just have to call them `rock' which is definitely what they are. They use melodic riffs and vocals yet are still very heavy whilst also not being aggressive; just incredibly energetic.
`Across the Shields' is another favourite; it begins with a very melodic riff and verse, the catchy chorus follows and then it breaks into a massive thrashy riff section untill the end. `Healer' is how the Foo Fighters wished they sounded and one listen to `Amnesiac' & the title track will quash any `stoner pop' tags Torche have accumulated so far.
All in all, Meanderthal is Torche's most satisfying and complete record yet. Stoner pop? I think not, let's not get carried away; it's a highly enjoyable heavy rock record indeed, nothing more, nothing less. Recommended.
