Torchia: oNe (2013)

I have been getting a lot of melodeath bands sent to me lately.  Torchia is yet another one.  I have mentioned before that Finland has an impressive melodeath scene these days.  And Torchia is another Finnish melodeath band.

This is a short, three-song demo from Torchia and it exhibits the stereotypical characteristics of the genre.  The vocalist snarls and growls throughout the release, the riffs are pretty standard Gothenburg-style riffs, and the songs fly by pretty fast.  The lead guitarist is pretty impressive and his blazing soloing throughout the songs is probably the most impressive aspect of the sound.  They do also show some influences from Finnish bands like Children of Bodom, Norther, and Kalmah in their riffing style, in particular with regard to how fast some of the riffs are.

I will give credit to the band for their enthusiasm for the music.  They had a blast recording this thing and it is very clear from listening to it.  This is certainly not the most original-sounding band ever.  But this is just their first release.  With time some more original ideas may creep their way into the music.  Only time will tell.