Torche has the distinction of being referred to as a ‘metal’ band, which is true in some respects. Their urgent, loud riffs are marked by a decidedly metal-sounding C-sharp tuning. Their long-maned guitar player looks like he could have stepped out of Slayer (though his telling grin reveals that ...

There are years in which the world of music is rocked by certain events that will forever live on in people’s memories. And then there are years in which very little of note happens. As for 2008, it’s somewhere in between. While tragedies were minimal and triumphs were few, there were several ...

If New Order did nothing more than release “Blue Monday” in their time together as a band, they still would have done a greater service to rock, pop and dance music than just about any other band in the ’80s. Arguably few artists mastered the art of the pop single in the same way that New Order ...

On Nov. 14, , the 22nd in a long line of James Bond films will premiere in theaters across America, carrying on a long tradition of international espionage, intrigue, secrecy, finely tailored suits and tuxedos, expensive automobiles, sexy exotic women, badass electronic ...

This week, the people of the United States of America will elect the country’s 44th President, he being either Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Or, should something go horribly wrong, a third party candidate may win. But that’s unlikely to happen. Nonetheless, the race ...

There was a time when children’s tales were fraught with gruesome acts of violence, and even the youngest ones were fed stories that today’s parents wouldn’t dare expose the wee ones to. Similarly, there existed a time when popular music was dominated, not by love songs, but by narratives of ...

The longer we go without examining the short-players that come in the mail each week, the bigger the pile gets. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes it’s just a reminder of how much work we have to do, but either way it presents a sort of ‘crisitunity.’ Though it may be intimidating to dive headfirst ...

Though it sometimes seems appropriate to turn out an Album of the Week every eight weeks or so, when all else fails, there’s bound to be a new one whenever the seasons change. Given that Fall has officially begun, it’s time once again to usher in a new series of amazing tracks that we’ve been ...

Summer is nearly over before I finished planning my spring. For a change, I’m not segmenting my column in relation to loose geographical boundaries. I attended the excellent Indietracks festival in Derbyshire last month, and was really impressed by several bands there. On the Saturday night, ...

Last year, I had an absolute blast providing coverage for San Francisco’s very first Treasure Island Festival. I took the time to note how “traditionally, San Francisco has not boasted a festival scene that can truly compete with cities like ...