Sweet and low-end

Miami’s Torche take heavy music
to a new extreme… of pop

MIAMI NICE: Torche

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

With metal right now, or better yet the whole aggressive rock oeuvre, the music has never been more devastatingly heavy and innovation has never moved at a more rapid rate. One of the record companies leading the charge is Los Angeles label Hydra Head. Releasing everything from face-melting noise and brutal black metal to cutting-edge bands taking heaviosity to new extremes, Hydra Head is hardly nipping at any heels—but sometimes teeth-gnashing intensity can come at the price of catchy melodies and solid songwriting. No such worries with Miami’s Torche. The recent Hydra Head signees have hooks in spades. Their new record, Meanderthal, lets their Beatles-esque harmonies come more to the fore, hovering over their downtuned onslaught of noise, doom, hardcore and… pop. The Mirror spoke to guitarist Juan Montoya over the phone from a tour stop.

Mirror: You’re on a label that is primarily known for its intensity. Has been a positive thing, sticking out from the rest of the roster?

Juan Montoya: I think it’s worked out really well for us and them. If you’re a good solid label, you will take risks, and I think they did with us. We all come from pretty heavy backgrounds, but I think the pop element that a lot of people are bringing up is just that our singer has been touring a lot and just really gotten confident with his voice. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve always been melodic and it’s just natural that we would want to do something a little bit more dynamic and psychedelic.

M: I’ve noticed that the record has really garnered accolades outside of the usual aggressive music circles.

JM: Yeah, we’ve been lucky and don’t really get that weird Avenged Sevenfold kind of crowd. It’s usually a pretty young crowd that seem to like all kinds of music, and some older dudes who like bands like the Melvins and Kiss and stuff we grew up listening to.

M: Mogwai were really early supporters of Torche, having released your records in the U.K. on their label Rock Action as well as bringing you out as support on their U.S. tour. How was the reaction with their audience?

JM: It was cool but their audience can be pretty tough and are these kinds of indie rock people that barely move. I think that tour definitely made us tougher and watching them play every night was really inspirational. They are just so incredible at what they do. It really wasn’t that weird with them, though, because they’re really into extreme heavy bands like Converge and stuff like that, but when they asked us and said they were fans, I just couldn’t believe it.

M: It seems like you guys are coming from a metal background, but there seems to be more at play when you listen to your record.

JM: In the van, we listen to everything from Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine to Air and Dead Can Dance, but there are other people in the band that play in a grindcore band as well, so we like our heavy stuff too. I think the best bands out there are the bands that are able to take musical influences from everywhere and then make it there own. Bands like Celtic Frost did that, and that’s why their music still stands up today.

With Boris and Nachtmystium
at la Sala Rossa on Saturday,
July 12, 9 p.m., $15