TORCH Band Description:

I remember Torch as one of those Swedish bands that got mislabeled by lazy shorthand. People hear the gallop and the steel-toe riffs and go, “NWOBHM!” — as if geography is optional. Torch weren’t British; they were watching what was happening in Britain, soaking it up, and then doing it their own way in Sweden, starting in 1980 (and even earlier as Black Widow in 1979).

The early core is pretty clear once you sweep away the invented stage-names salad. Dan Dark on vocals (after early singer Stefan Wedlund), Chris J. First and Claus Wildt on guitars, Ian Greg on bass, and Steve Streaker on drums. That’s the engine. Two guitars up front, bass and drums pushing like a snowplow, and vocals that don’t politely “feature” — they lean in.

Their first statement was the EP "Fireraiser" (1982). It’s short, sharp, and it doesn’t waste time trying to be profound. Then came the full-length "Torch" (1983) — also known in some circles as "Warlock", which is confusing in the way only the early-80s metal underground could manage without laughing. The point is: the band had songs. Real ones. The kind tape traders would rewind until the cassette squealed.

By the time "Electrikiss" landed in 1984, Torch sounded tighter and more street-lit: still metal, still hungry, but with a slightly cleaner bite. Not “radio friendly” in the modern marketing sense — more like the band learned how to aim. If you’ve ever watched a crowd wake up the moment a riff locks in, you know the feeling. Torch could do that.

They didn’t have the global machine that carried the giants, and honestly, that’s part of the charm. The original run stops in the mid-80s (around 1986), and then Torch later came back — active again from the 2000s onward, with releases like "Dark Sinner" (2009) and "Reignited" (2020). I’m not going to pretend every comeback record rewrites history, but I do respect the stubbornness. Some bands retire. Torch relit the fuse.

So no, Torch didn’t “change metal forever” like a brochure wants you to believe. They did something better: they made honest heavy metal that still sounds like it was built by people, not committees. Put it on loud enough and you’ll hear the old bargain: riffs for your blood pressure, attitude for your patience.

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