Album Review: Admission by Torche

The follow-up to the Sunshine State doom-poppers' stellar 2015 effort Restarter, Admission delivers pummeling delights and underscores Torche's reputation for striking a winning balance between might and brevity. Their fifth studio long-player, the 11-track set doesn't veer too far from the formula the group set out to perfect in 2005 with the release of their eponymous debut. Combining combustive beats and face-melting blasts of doom, sludge, and stoner metal-worthy riffs with soaring, shoegazey melodies, Admission feels both punitive and uplifting; it's a stentorian call to arms that uses the sonic template set forth by bands like Earth and Sunn 0))), but tempers the acrid smoke and hellfire with clarion blasts of icy blue water.

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Having a legacy is a fickle thing. On the one hand, wanting to expand and explore new sonic territory is essential, and yet it is also important to refine a sound that you helped build a foundation for. On Admission, Torche have put it upon themselves to create the ideal one-album experience that encapsulates the band's entire discography. On Admission, Torche are being Torche to the fullest extent.   Admission has stripped much of the extra rock'n'roll vibes that have become customary on their previous records. "From Here," "Submission ….

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Torche has always been able to ride a solid line between heavy metal and poppy gloom yet fall on either side as they see fit. It's been four years since Restarter, but it seems like very little has changed. However, on a technical level that's not true. Jon Nuñez switched from bass to guitar and produced Admission.

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