MUSIC: Torche Ignites AS220

MUSIC: Torche Ignites AS220

Who says during the middle of the week you can't go out and get your eardrums blown to smithereens? AS220 was the prime destination to enjoy that deafening experience as Miami sludge metalheads Torche rolled into town. Lady Osiris and Lo-Pan were also part of the show, it was bound to make the walls cave in and your head explode. Every fiber of your being was about to get obliterated but no body had to panic, this night at AS220 was the source of an electrified extravaganza guaranteed to rip your senses to shreds.

Lady Osiris

Starting off things on the floor of the performance space, psychedelic metal power trio Lady Osiris was a driving force that lit the room on fire with authority. Think if Jimi Hendrix came back to Earth from the depths of hell and decided to start a heavy metal band with King Crimson, these guys made that fragment of the imagination come to life. They're a new incarnation of an older band by the same name so they don't have any song titles yet, but Lady Osiris has solos that go on for days and I couldn't believe the brilliance I was witnessing. I will definitely make sure to see these guys again. And again, and again, and again.

Lo-Pan

An epic stoner metal band from Columbus, OH, Lo-Pan went up next and crushed the stage like a meteor crashing into Mt. Everest. I definitely enjoyed the sound Lo-Pan produced but my only criticism is that I didn't get why the frontman was behind the drum set. It could have been the size of the stage but when you have a howling voice like this monster did, you should be getting into it with the crowd and generate some excitement. Regardless, Lo-Pan caused an explosion with "Colossus", "El Dorado", "NPD", "The Duke", "Eastern Seas", "Deciduous" and "Dragline". Lo-Pan have a bunch of albums out including Salvador, Sasquanaut and one that's self-titled; I suggest listening to them all while turning the volume all the way up.

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Torche

There was a little bit of delay but the anticipation mounted to an all-time high and Torche finished the night off with reckless abandon. "Letting Go", "Kicking", "Reverse Inverted", "In Pieces", a sludgy rendition of "Happy Birthday" for a special lady in the audience, "Snakes Are Charmed", "Sky Trials", and "Kiss Me Dudely" were part of a raucous performance that had a crazy mosh pit going on in the middle of the room by the end with bodies flying everywhere. Torche currently has their latest album Harmonicraft available and In my opinion it's one of the best metal albums to come out so far in this decade.

AS220 is a haven for art & creativity as well as showcasing the best and most diverse independent bands you'll ever see at a music venue. Log on to as220.org to see all the cool things and events this one of a kind place has to offer.