Meanderthal

Torche | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hydra Head Records
• ASIN: B0013N4CLG
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,572 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Torche boasts members of Hydra Head alumni band Cavity as well as Floor. Call this the latest and greatest bomb-string stoner pop/thunder rock/doom pop classic from Torche mastermind Steve Brooks and his fellow hook heroes. Call it the sweetest, catchiest, hugest riff colossus since "Sky Valley". "A pure sludge bulldozer" - Spin. "At long last, we know what life would be like in a parallel universe where The Melvins became a pop sensation instead of Nirvana" - Revolver. Look for them at SXSW and on a full European tour. They've shared stages with Isis, Jesu, Baroness, and Mogwai, among others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sludge/Drone-Metal Sophistication Meets Rock Energy, May 22, 2008

By 

durandal_1707 (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meanderthal (Audio CD)

The problem with a lot of rock and punk music is that all-too-often there isn't enough backing the standard "catchiness" and energy to make it hold up over repeated listens. And especially for those of us headphone-listeners, such music seems flat and lacking texture.

For sludge/drone/"post"-metal (there's far too many names for this loose confederation of bands), the problem is very much the opposite. For all the carefully-crafted texture, soundscapes and melodies, time/signature changes and complex drum-work there isn't much of the music that is instantly accessible - no melodies that are easy to hum along with, no beats that are easy to tap out - and hence the genre toils in obscurity.

If only there was a band that could combine the strengths of both and hence eliminate their weaknesses... fortunately, TORCHE is to the rescue with their sophomore effort Meanderthal.

Writing almost radio-friendly rock songs and infusing them with the ponderous depth of post-metal and the energy (and brevity) of punk rock, Torche have found a groove that should resonate with a lot of people. This is music that you can play at parties or with a car-full of friends who have never heard of Isis or Pelican or Neurosis (I tried this experiment myself), but also music that you can take home and throw on the home stereo or headphones and also appreciate the details that Torche have ingrained into each one of their songs.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 8/10, July 30, 2008

By 

Rifugium (Newtown Square, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meanderthal (Audio CD)

Meanderthal clocks in pretty short, with only one song surpassing the 5-minute mark, and several under the 3-minute mark, but it flows as easily as thirteen cheap beers through a funnel and does about as much damage. "Triumph of Venus" acts as a short, instrumental introduction to the album, but right from the start you can tell that nothing is going to be held back here. It's the topic sentence of the album, and lets you know right up front what's in store: fast-paced Sabbath-inspired tunes that blend the highs and lows of sludgy metal and stoner rock. Even if the vocals leave something to be desired, you get a good share of creative riffage and murky guitar solos throughout.

Meanderthal is a marked improvement over Torche's first album. The sound is cleaner and more refined, yet it still somehow contains the raw heaviness expected from this band. Like that crunch in the self-titled track; drop-F tuning, or whatever it is they did there. Overall, it's a happy brand of doom-laced sludge with a dash of pop, that instead of making you want to simply crawl in a hole and die, may make you want to pilot a hand-glider over a stretch of desert in the American southwest, and culminate the experience by slamming full speed into the side of a cliff, dying thusly. Recommended for fans of early Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age, Isis, etc.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Foo Fighters Get Raped by some Doom Metal Cavemen..., April 22, 2008

By 

Douche Baggins "Don't Mock It" (A Rift in Reallity) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meanderthal (Audio CD)

Torche's follow up to their self-titled debut is a mighty monolith of pop melodies caked over-top a sludge powered rocket engine hurtling itself into the sun. This is some mighty, mighty, mighty awesome music, whatever your musical sensibilities may be, because, as opposed to other "doom metal" acts, the music Torche craft on this album retain a sense of happiness, like a blissful smile painted on the face of a person lost in a pair of headphones. The whole of this album has a huge potential for radio play, it is that accessible. As stated above, it seems similiar to the Foo Fighters at times, just vastly contorted, as if it were being transmitted from some rock radio station in a different dimension where stoners rule as the status quo.
My only complaints about this album are the sometimes haphazard transitions between songs, and it's meager length (I can't get enough, I fear that my copy will be ruined from being overplayed). Besides those relatively small gripes, Meanderthal is an excellent album that anyone who likes rock music at all will be able to appreciate.