Torque was an American
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band from the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
, that was formed in 1994. The band consisted of
Phil Demmel
Phil Demmel (born April 2, 1967) is an American musician who played lead guitar in the heavy metal band Machine Head between 2002 and 2018, making him their longest running member in that position. He has also performed in other bands such as Vi ...
(
Machine Head
A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...
,
Vio-lence
Vio-lence is an American thrash metal band formed in 1985 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout its existence, they released demo tapes, one EP and three studio albums. Vio-lence is best-known for their association with the 1980s Bay Area ...
) on lead guitar and lead vocals, Ray Vegas on rhythm guitar, bassist Deen Dell and drummer Mark Hernandez.
Torque released three demos between 1994 and 1997; the self-titled debut album, released on
Mascot Records
Mascot Records is a record label and rock music subsidiary of Mascot Label Group.
Artists
*10 Years (band), 10 Years
*Agent Steel
*Black Country Communion
*Black Label Society
*Black Stone Cherry
*Bootsy Collins
*Crobot
*Conquer Divide
*Dragged ...
in 1996, stands as their sole studio release.
Three songs from the original release were written whilst the band was still recording as Vio-lence, which means that three of the songs have lyrics written by Sean Killian before he left the band in 1993: "Breed", "Again", and "Shooter". Upon making the decision to form Torque, Demmel entered the studio to re-record the vocals and on the strength of those demos, Mascot signed the band, who then went to 'O' Street Studios in
Antioch, California
Antioch is the third-largest city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,291 at the 2020 Unite ...
to record the full album with Rob Beaton.
References
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Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups from San Francisco
American thrash metal musical groups