by Black Bubblegum

Torche in San Francisco 2008 (By Yasuyuki Takaha)

Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta is TOMMORROW (Feb 28th), but until the opening tones of Kylesa's guitars, we'll present a series of discussions with some of the key artists taking one of the four stages at the Masquerade. Monday we spoke to Scott Hull of Pig Destroyer and Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Tuesday meant CT of Rwake, Wednesday equals Jacob Bannon of Converge, and Thursday was Kat of Salome/ANb. In our final interview of this week, we are talking to Steve Brooks of Torche.

Nachtmystium, Disfear, Leviathan.... there were a shit ton of great records that dropped in 2008. Each had their own de/merits, but my conclusion was simple: Torche's Meanderthal was the best album of the year.

Torche emerged from the ashes of Floor, one of a number of notable bands that form the basis of the southern crew (Cavity, Shitstorm). Robotic Empire did the honors of their first LP, as well as the critically acclaimed follow-up, the In Return EP which hinted at the "thunder-pop" direction to come. Released in early 2008 on Aaron Turner's (Isis) Hydra Head imprint, the Kurt Ballou-produced Meanderthal followed. Cheers and massive touring ensued with the likes of Pelican, Boris, The Sword, and others. Unfortunately, along with the acclaim and the odometer clicks came the departure of guitarist/founding member Juan Montoya in the tail-end of last year, prompting the band to remain as a trio.

That brings us to today. Torche are 24 hours away from burning the main stage at Scion Rock Fest to the ground. We sat down with Steve Brooks (Vocals/Guitar) to discuss plans for new material, what kind of hours they are planning to log in the van, and the recent departure of Juan Montoya.

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Meanderthal was lavished with tons of praise upon it's release, and it was my favorite record of last year... Are you surprised with the reaction?

Of course I'm surprised. All we can do is write whatever makes us happy and hopefully others will dig it. Working with Kurt helped a great deal. Our previous releases were self recorded, so it was nice to have an outside ear help guide us with Meanderthal.

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Continue reading "an interview w/ Steve Brooks of Torche"

by Black Bubblegum

Ex-Torche-er Juan Montoya @ Webster Hall (more by Jason Bergman)

According to Lambgoat, and seemingly validated by the band's MySpace page (peep the "band members" section), guitarist Juan Montoya is no longer with Torche. Information is limited, but according to one message board poster, the band said,

We havent made a real announcement about it yet but we will. Juan is no longer playing with us due to lots of personal reasons. We'll be a three piece for a while. Did it two nights in a row and we think it was excellent. Sorry if anyone's bummed out. We're not.

Thanks!

According to a poster on Lambgoat who was at the show on November 24th in Gainseville, FL, "Torche played as a 3-piece (they're typically a 4 piece, right?) and the singer/guitarist had a fresh black eye." This news comes as Torche's 2008 album Meanderthal continues to be lauded by critics. Decibel Magazine named it album of the year. Pitchfork's Show No Mercy listed it at #2.

Juan Montoya, while he was in Torche, recently interviewed Harvey Milk's Steven Tanner for Revolver. You can read that HERE. All tour dates, and videos of Torche playing as a trio in Orlando on November 25th, below...

Continue reading "Juan Montoya 'no longer playing with' Torche (now a trio)"