Torche

Having toured with the likes of Boris, Isis, Baroness and the Sword, Torche would seemingly be metal by association, but the quartet proves to be a lot harder to peg than that. Occasionally referred to as "doom pop," the Miami-based combo takes the gritty, riff-heavy influence of doom metal and melds it with the shoe-gazey melody of dream-pop. Heavy but not overbearing, harsh without sounding grating, Torche crafts big, stoner-rock anthems within obtuse pop songs, particularly befitting the Mogwai-owned Rock Action imprint that issued the band's earlier releases. The band's latest full-length, Meanderthal, demonstrates the band at the height of its powers. The openers are Louisville-based Coliseum, which blurs the line between punk and metal without delving into any of the many metalcore clichés, and Boston's Clouds — playing hardcore as if its heyday never passed.