Vengince
Torch The Trophy
6.9
Many of you may not have heard of Vengince, but the name is well known in their native Bay Area, CA, having plugged away for over a decade in one form or another. They’ve released four demos and a full-length along the way, and cultivated a very fruitful relationship with the Jagermusic program, which has enabled this six piece to head out on their first U.S. tour and put out their second official release, the four-track Torch the Trophy EP.
“But what about the music,” I hear you all asking. Well, it’s a bit difficult to categorize. The title track starts off with a very Dark Funeral-esque intro before settling into a more straightforward, keyboard-accented heavy groove. It has a metalcore feel – crashing riffs and breakdowns - without actually being metalcore, and is probably best described simply as heavy. “Caskets and Coffins” is musically similar but is set apart with a pro-soldier/anti-war message and a smattering of soundbytes. Ironically, “Forced to Remember” is a bit forgettable, following the same basic formula yet again. Thankfully, closer “Typecast” brings the keyboards back to differentiate it and create some good atmosphere around the solid riffs. The shout/growl vocals sparingly diverge into clean passages throughout, and there are a lot of random guitar sounds filling in the background to keep your ears tingling.
I have to admit I was more excited about this when I first heard it, but over time have found that, as a whole, it gets old pretty quick. The tracks are all just a bit too similar. Taken one at a time, though, you may find yourself becoming a repeat listener. I’ll be watching them to see if they expand upon the more interesting elements of Torch the Trophy on their next release.
