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Restarter
Studio album by
Torche
ReleasedFebruary 24, 2015 (2015-02-24)
RecordedPinecrust Studio (Miami, Florida)[1]
GenreStoner metal, sludge metal, alternative rock
Length38:11
LabelRelapse
ProducerJonathan Nunez
Torche chronology
Harmonicraft
(2012) 		Restarter
(2015) 		Admission
(2019)

Restarter is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Torche. The album was released on February 24, 2015, through Relapse Records.[2] Restarter was produced by Jonathan Nunez of Torche and mixed by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou.

Promotion and release

[edit]

To promote the release of the album, Relapse worked with the band to create a 16-bit video game called "Torche vs Robots: Annihilation Affair". In the game, players act as one of the members of Torche to destroy the robots which have taken over the city. Fans were invited to upload videos of themselves beating the game—fans demonstrating the fastest time with each band member before the official release of the album would win a prize package including Restarter on vinyl, a Torche T-shirt, two tickets to see the band on tour, and a set of Torche stickers.[3] The initial release on February 6 was limited to desktop only; a mobile version, for iPhone and Android devices, was released February 19.

Restarter began streaming in its entirety on SoundCloud on February 16.[4] The album was officially released on February 24, along with a trailer for the animated "Annihilation Affair" music video, directed by Phil Mucci,[5] which premiered on March 23.[6]

Critical and commercial reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(79/100)[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
DIY(3/5)[9]
Exclaim!(9/10)[10]
Kerrang!(4/5)[11]
MetalSucks(4/5)[12]
Pitchfork Media(7.9/10)[13]
PopMatters(7/10)[14]
Nefarious Realm[15]

Restarter garnered generally positive reviews from music critics. Many praised it for "[refining] the doom-pop/melodic hard rock" for which Torche is best known.[10] Songs like "Loose Men" and "Blasted" were celebrated for continuing the tradition of incorporating pop elements into their brand of sludge-tinged hard rock, while the last 4 songs were lauded by many as some of their heaviest - Jon Hasudek called them "the least compromising songs they've ever written."[16]

Some critics complained that the album did not deviate enough from the band's prior work and felt it was too dense, particularly the last 3 tracks.[17] Despite this, many of the mixed-to-negative reviews still appreciated the album - Sarah Jamieson (DIY) gave the album 3 stars, saying it "isn't by any means leaps and bounds from what they've done before" but still manages to "reverberate" with satisfying sludgy weight."[9]

Restarter became Torche's highest charting album, which debuted at number 133 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart.[18]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Annihilation Affair"4:18
2."Bishop in Arms"2:06
3."Minions"4:43
4."Loose Men"2:28
5."Undone"1:40
6."Blasted"2:34
7."No Servants"3:47
8."Believe It"4:04
9."Barrier Hammer"3:51
10."Restarter"8:40
Total length:38:11
Deluxe edition[19]
No.TitleLength
11."Harmonslaught"4:02
12."Rock 'N' Roll Mantasy"3:38
Total length:45:51

Deluxe Edition bonus tracks, "Harmonslaught" and "Rock 'N' Roll Mantasy", originally released together as a 7" single in 2012.[8] [20]

Personnel

[edit]
Band members[1]
  • Steve Brooks – lead vocals, guitars
  • Jonathan Nuñez – bass, guitars, violin, synthesizer, production, recording
  • Rick Smith – drums
  • Andrew Elstner – guitars, backing vocals
Other personnel[1]
  • Kurt Ballou – mixing
  • Alan Douches – mastering
  • Santos – album artwork

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Restarter (Media notes). Torche. Relapse Records. 2015. 7268.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Beauchemin, Molly (January 5, 2015). "Torche share "Annihilation Affair" from new LP Restarter". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  3. ^ Firecloud, Johnny (February 6, 2015). "Torche Fight Killer Robots in Video Game Restarter Album Promo". CraveOnline. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  4. ^ "Sugary Doom Metal Pop from Torche and Their New Streaming LP 'Restarter'". Noisey. February 16, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  5. ^ "Torche Upload "Annihilation Affair" Video Trailer; Restarter Album Streaming in Full". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. February 24, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  6. ^ "Torche Release Epic, Wild Video For "Annihilation Affair"". Bloody Disgusting. February 24, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  7. ^ "Restarter – Torche". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Monger, James. "Restarter – Overview". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Jamieson, Sarah (February 20, 2015). "Album Review: Torche - Restarter". DIY. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Falzon, Denise (February 20, 2015). "Review of Restarter". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  11. ^ Travers, Paul (January 28, 2015). "Review: Restarter". Kerrang! (1553). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Bauer Consumer Media Ltd. ISSN 0262-6624.
  12. ^ Wingerschmidt, Kip (February 18, 2015). "Review: "Restarter"". MetalSucks. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  13. ^ Haver Currin, Grayson (February 23, 2015). "Review: Restarter". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  14. ^ Stevens, Nathan (February 25, 2015). "Review: Restarter". PopMatters. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  15. ^ Miller, Ronnie (January 16, 2015). "Review: Restarter". Nefarious Realm. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  16. ^ Hasudek, Jon (February 19, 2015). "Review: Torche - Restarter". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  17. ^ Bland, Benjamin (February 18, 2015). "Torche: 'Restarter'". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  18. ^ "Chart History – Torche". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  19. ^ "Restarter: Music". Amazon. February 24, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  20. ^ Currin, Grayson (December 13, 2012). "Review: Torche "Restarter"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
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