Live Review: Torche, Lo!, Sumeru

Sumeru opened to a receptive if disappointingly lukewarm crowd that did not do justice to the pure energy and power emanating from the stage.

The band’s blend of stoner metal rock angst was like an unexpected slap to the face, especially when they tended to go from second to fifth gear just when you were getting used to the grind. Sumeru know how to mix it up and there was enough songwriting finesse guiding the chaos to make you want to stay ‘til the end of the show, leaving this reviewer slightly breathless and eager for more.

LO! took to the stage next with a decidedly darker energy. More black metal in temperament, the four-piece also had a few surprises during their performance, melodic, theatrical and atmospheric in the middle of the set before hitting back hard with some sludge metal to bring the crowd back to the present and ending things on a high, kind of.

Then it was finally time for Torche to grace the stage like four angels who’d come to herald the good and heavy news. Playing a mix of infectious riff-heavy tunes mostly from their last three releases, including 2008’s Meanderthal, a personal favourite of this reviewer’s, and their most recent release, Harmonicraft, their wall of supremely loud sound was sonically brutal, yet somehow the nuances of each song didn’t get lost in the mix, something that could easily happen when there’s so much going on.

Torche proved that there is still a place for heavy, melodic and brutal pop. Tonight was a beautifully bruising note with which to end their short tour and one that should keep fans happy until their return in January ’15.