Torche - “Annihilation Affair” (Official Video)

Torche’s latest album, Restarter, is a chugging beast. It’s “darker, heavier, and moodier” than a lot of their previous work, as bassist Jonathan Nuñez told us last month. And as the album’s leadoff track, “Annihilation Affair” begins the entire experience in a cloud of dust gargantuan enough to soundtrack a post-apocalyptic hellscape. That’s exactly what unfolds in the song’s animated video, directed by Phil Mucci. As charred human remains pile up and crucifixions litter the broken streets, a gaggle of robotic overlords bash each other’s heads in pursuit of — what else? — a beautiful woman. As bleak as the subject matter might be, the cinematography and illustrations are vivid and arresting, like the music itself