The EP kicks off with Time Served, a song about perseverance. It’s starts out gritty with a driving first verse. Choruses open out with cleaner vocals with a great hooky refrain. Time Served is the perfect, high energy way to open an EP. The bridge kicks in and switches things up, getting into some dirty, grooving riffs. A pick slide and we’re back into that chorus for another spin.
Paralysed is a much riffier track than Time Served, kicking in with sharp little licks. The two part chorus is a night little twist I didn’t see coming with its woahs and vocal switch. The second half of the chorus sounds like it’s riding a thunderstorm, as does the solo section. It’s a raucous track with a heavy breakdown bridge towards the back of the track that really pushes it up there.
Ascender is the halfway point in the release, starting out with building guitars before it balloons into a fast paced verse. The Chorus has all the tempo of the verse just with a big old hook stuck on top. Verse two comes in super groovy at first, edging on Rage Against the Machine style riffs. The bridge on this song comes through heavy, leading to more melodic grooving afterwards.
Drown follows with it’s blasts of dissonant guitar sounds buried in the throbbing verse riff. It’s a shorter track and a pretty great ride. The vocals get more aggressive and the instrumentals heavier.
Self-titled track Torchbearer closes the album out, starting with the quietest moment on the album before diving back into the riffs. It’s a great note to end the EP on, encapsulating some of the best bits of the record with a couple extra bits of its own.
Fans of hardcore along the lines of Gallows or Comeback Kid are sure to find something to enjoy on this EP. It’s an exciting collection of tracks from an exciting band. Torchbearer will be playing a few dates this summer which are sure to be worth it for anyone fans of this EP.
DATES
26.07.2019 – London, The Old Blue Last (w/ Chaos Reigns)
03.08.2019 – Liverpool, The Zanzibar
10.08.2019 – Cardiff, Fuel Rock Club (w/ Dead At 27)