Torche

Steve Brooks, who handled vocals and guitar in Torche, assembled the group after Floor dissolved in 2004 to sustain the thunderous approach of his prior outfit, bringing in guitarist Juan Montoya—likewise an ex-member of Floor—plus drummer Rick Smith and bassist Jonathan Nuñez. The resulting Miami quartet refined the sonic foundation Brooks had laid with Floor into a richer, more expansive texture. Their self-titled debut arrived in 2005 via Robotic Empire, presenting a strain of doom and stoner metal that substituted the genre’s usual gloom and despondency for an exultant, anthemic quality; the effect recalled the heavy-metal counterpart to Chariots of Fire. By merging heavily detuned, sustained guitars in the vein of Earth and Sunn 0))) with elevated, harmonized singing, the band forged what came to be called “doom pop.”

Following the album’s appearance, Torche embarked on wide-ranging U.S. tours, appearing alongside the Sword, Mouth of the Architect, Jesu, Isis, and Mogwai. A remastered edition of the self-titled record, now including the additional cut “Make Me Alive,” surfaced in March 2007. That summer the band issued the lavishly presented EP In Return on Robotic Empire, its cover art supplied by Baroness’s John Baizley. Toward the end of 2007 the members disclosed that they had completed work on their follow-up full-length, Meanderthal, which emerged in 2008. Later the same year guitarist Juan Montoya departed over creative disagreements. The remaining musicians proceeded as a trio, sharing stages with Harvey Milk and Coheed and Cambria. In 2010 they released the EP Songs for Singles through Hydrahead.

Two years afterward, Torche delivered the melodically driven and widely praised Harmonicraft, which appeared on multiple year-end lists. Brooks reconvened Floor in 2014 alongside Anthony Vialon and Henry Wilson; the three-piece finally returned with Oblation. Early in 2015 Torche issued their fourth studio album, Restarter, which revisited the sonic domain of its predecessor while emphasizing catchier hooks without sacrificing force. After a four-year interval the band resurfaced in 2019 with the singles “Slide” and “Times Missing,” both included on their fifth album, Admission, which came out that July.