TORCH RUNNER From the outset, Greensboro’s Torch Runner seems like a high-test crust-metal band. Yet the pummeling assaults, which lay the groundwork for a rusty-nails vocal approach, give way to slow, noisy breaks. Some of these inhabit sludgy, down-tuned riff-worship, while others wield sharp industrial angles or follow the solemn march of plodding deep-forest doom. Yet with these, there’s room to breathe and, ultimately, to appreciate the sheer frenzy of the fast parts. Rather than draw from a single heavy style, Torch Runner’s expanded palette makes for a fascinating journey through punk, metal, and hardcore — one that gives and gives. With Full of Hell, Nailbiter, Towering Pyre, and Veda Woolf. $6-$9. 9 p.m. The Milestone.
This article appears in Jul 11-17, 2012.
