TORCH – Death To Perfection

Death To Perfection is the debut album from Torch, a young and energetic Hardcore/Metal band from the mid-region of Norway. Since the band’s birth six years ago, Torch has been gathering quite a decent fan base in their home country, and as the band will tour to support this record, they are pretty much destined/determined to pick up some new supporters.

Torch, easily comparable to Deftones and Korn, is first and foremost reputed as a brilliant live act, and they have made a decent attempt on capturing this live quality on this long play recording. Still, as the title might reveal, they might have been a bit too focused on perfection in the studio, as the result from time-to-time sounds a bit over-produced for the genre.

Torch has, in the recording process, not failed to pour out all the energy that makes them so enjoyable live, but it looks like they have forgotten that an album does not contain the visual aspect of a live gig. On a stage, Torch’s enthusiasm and vitality are among the band’s strongest cards indeed, but their songs as album material would have gained a bit from more diligent attention on the composition side.

Death To Perfection might lack the X-factor that gives the individual songs strong enough legs to stand on their own. However, despite this, it might very well be that Torch is a band that will bring the Hardcore genre out to a broader audience. The track “The Experiment” is, as the album’s highlight, a clever choice for a single, and the music press from their home country have given Torch quite a warm embrace. As well, festival arrangers seem to want to make sure that Torch is not a name that will be easily forgotten on this side of the upcoming summer.

Along with the aforementioned “The Experiment,” other solid moments on Death To Perfection are “K-Bomb,” “Previously Cured,” and “So We’ve Come To This.” If you are up for some fresh Hardcore, you should check Torch out.