Torched is the final recording guitarist Michael Hedges was working on at the time of his death, caused by a fatal car accident on December 2, 1997. It was released posthumously in 1999 on the Windham Hill label.
Music critic Jason Anderson, writing for Allmusic, wrote the album "In this raw format, the rock influences of Hedges' youth appear most notably in vocal phrasings that are more expressive, almost aggressive at times."[1]