Pegstar Presents: Torche

Rudyard’s presents Pegstar Presents: Torche. With Eagle Claw * Omotai.

TORCHE are a band consisting of four dudes playing the loudest and heaviest hard rock on the planet. Formed by vocalist and guitarist Steve Brooks in 2004 after the dissolution of cult sludge and stoner metal pioneers Floor, the group introduced the world to a refreshingly unique version of rock n’ roll flavored with stoner and sludgy sensibilities.

Torche is often referred to as a “Miami band” in the press, but these days, the members are scattered across the country. Brooks decamped to San Francisco about a year ago after roughly five in Atlanta, where Elstner still currently lives.

Smith still lives in Miami. But Nuñez is packing up Pinecrust soon and moving it temporarily to Gainesville, a north-central Florida college town that’s home to both the University of Florida, and enough nearby, down-tuning bands to keep his studio in business.

But still, it’s Miami where the band first gelled – and where it truly found its doom-metal-referencing (but undeniably hook-driven) sound. Some have tried to draw a constant comparison between the city’s humid, wet-carpet air and Torche’s “swampy” vibe, but that’s not really it. Rather, Torche comes from a creative scene with no rules, one of weird juxtapositions and low stakes. ~ Arielle Castillo