One of the more musical thrash metal/death metal releases that came out in 1999 was this self-titled debut album by
Blo.Torch, whose songs are too melodic to be called grindcore but are blistering and extreme enough to be part of thrash. Michel, the Dutch band's lead singer, loves the larynx-crushing, choking, demonic vocal style that is among grindcore's trademarks, but unlike grindcore bands,
Blo.Torch doesn't favor ultra-fast tempos 100% of the time. There are enough fast tempos to put this CD in the thrash category, but the tempos vary a lot -- and
Blo.Torch, unlike grindcore bands, uses real melodies a good bit of the time. Lyrically, this is very much a death metal effort; tunes like "The Inkblack Sky," "Seem to Be the Enemy" and "King of Karnage" show a fascination with the occult, and Michel's evil-sounding vocals are quite appropriate for the subject matter. Though unlikely to reach the pop/rock mainstream,
Blo.Torch is a respectable and fairly interesting, if uneven, debut that will appeal to metal's underground. ~ Alex Henderson