Healer/Across the Shields on Clear Orange

Florida’s Torche may not pigeonhole themselves as a “Metal” band, but one thing they undeniably are is LOUD.  We’re talking Motorhead loud.  When I saw them open for The Sword last year I was immediately a fan in the fanatical sense of the word.  Melding metal, punk, brutality, and melody is second nature to these guys.

The other thing that I love about this band and it’s something we hold dear at FSS is that they don’t half step when it comes to the style and packaging of their albums.  Their art extends from their music to the medium in perfect harmony, and their latest release is no exception.

Healer/Across the Shields comes in a few varieties of colored vinyl (I got it on clear orange) and is packaged with a DVD of two music videos for the title tracks.  As always before even spinning the record or DVD I was blown away by their style.  The care and attention to detail that this band puts into how their albums will look is off the charts.

The videos for Healer and Across The Shields make me really miss shows like 120 Minutes and old school Headbangers Ball, which I imagine would have these in regular rotation.  Healer is somewhat of a straightforward rock video with the band playing in some abandoned woodland shack, but in an odd twist there’s something outside stalking them all the while (Bigfoot?).  Across the Shields looks as though it might have been shot on the same day but this time has us out in the woods entirely with the bands members engaged in some sort of Kaiju Big Battel / dance number in the costumes you see them rocking on the album’s cover art.

Healer and Across the Shields are both taken off the bands most recent stellar album Meanderthal.  Mash it Up and Sugar Glider on the B Side are both previously unreleased so if you own Meanderthal you’re still getting something new besides the videos and insane production value.  All four tracks are fucking killer and will not disappoint.

Shook Ones / End of A Year

The Shook Ones are back with a new batch of some of their most infectious pop hardcore tunes ever.  I can’t say enough good things about this Seattle by way of Bellingham, WA band.  If you’re a fan of Lifetime or Kid Dynamite you’ll love these guys.  On their side you’ll find four songs in just as many minutes with no rest in between tracks to catch your breath.  This 7” is probably worth it just for the hardcore breakdown on It’s Not What You Think alone.  I haven’t seen these guys live yet but I imagine their sing along choruses and gang vocals make for some great crowd participation.  There are really great lyrics here if you can pay close enough attention to catch them as they blaze on by.  From the opening line of Raised by Woofs, “If we all lose our minds and souls, can we at least lose them together” to “At 10 O’clock you’d said all you’d ever say, not all you’d ever wonder” from Asterisk these guys make it hard to not like them.

On the flip side, End of a Year pitch in with their track, Dan Cooper.  I had not heard them before buying this 7” and was pleasantly surprised not only because their track was so diametrically opposed to the Shook Ones’ tunes on side A but also because it was damn good too.  Lyrically dense, poetic, and deliberately paced, End of a Year won me over with their brand of prodding post-hardcore.  I’ll keep my eyes open for more of their stuff the next time I’m out record shopping for sure.

This 7” can be bought direct from Runner Up Records and comes in a variety of colors (black/white half and half, grey/clear half and half, and green/clear half and half).