Torch at Skogsröjet
Swedish band Torch set the Skogsröjet festival on fire with a great set of heavy metal.
Torch at the Skogsröjet festival, Rejmyre, Sweden on 2nd August 2025
An outdoor heavy metal show at noon, in glorious sunshine, isn’t something many bands can pull off. But Swedish classic heavy metal band Torch did. They were helped by a dedicated, and beer-fuelled, audience and great songs.
The band performed the two new singles, “Wages of Sin” and “Trail of the Damned”, and proved that the new songs are on par with classic songs from the band’s early to mid-80s material. Torch is, and always was, proper 80s heavy metal. It is the type of music this festival loves.
Still in the band from the classic 80s line-up are Ian Greg on bass and Chris J. First on guitar. In the current version of the band, they are backed up by Hocky Nyström on guitar and Pat Stix on drums. In 2022, classic Torch vocalist Dan Dark moved on to a solo career. His replacement, Lasse Gudmundsson, has stepped up and taken Torch into the future. He is not trying to be a Dan Dark copy. He delivered the goods in the sunshine at Skogsröjet, just like he has on the band’s recent singles. A full-length studio album will soon be released via Metalville Records.
Torch made a name for itself in the early to mid-1980s with songs such as “Electrikiss”, “Watcher of the Night” and “Warlock”. They released a few albums, now considered cult classics, and toured in Europe before breaking up in 1986. In 2013, four of the original band members reunited. The reunion was well-received and they kept playing. In 2019, they started working on new music and subsequently released the comeback album “Reignited” in 2020. That was followed by the live album “Live Fire” in 2022.
Torch’s sound is a melting pot of 1980s metal that has been updated and given a contemporary upgrade. They manage to sound a lot like 1980s metal but without becoming a retro or tribute act. In 2025, as they proved at the Skogsröjet festival, they have a fresh band line-up ready to deliver both the classics and new songs.
