By Jason Beardsley

Released Friday June 22nd, 2018 - Sony Music

If there is one word I could use to describe the metal world it is family. Metal fans are the most passionate fans around. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, you just fit in. You have each others back and you are passionate about the music. In a band sense I think of Like A Storm. Three brothers who have harvested their passion for music and built a grassroots following from the ground up by uprooting their lives from New Zealand and moving to the other side of the world, before relentless touring with the likes of Alter Bridge, Korn, Three Days Grace, Sevendust and many more. A fresh approach to re-writing the metal playbook as we know it, solidified their brand and defined them as a force to be reckoned with. Now here we are in 2018 and the band have just released their most honest, raw and hard hitting album yet, ‘Catacombs’.

I can feel my blood boil as the album opener ‘The Devil Inside Of Me’ hits me in the face like a brick with solid riffs and a punchy wall of synth and didgeridoo. There’s nowhere to hide with this devil inside of me.

This very song sets the tone for what is to come. There is one thing you are guaranteed throughout the entire length of this record and that’s jaw dropping guitar performance and vocal melodies. The time the band have spent under the wing of Alter Bridge is evident with guitar riffs and solos that rival Mark Tremomti, this very element once again sets the world on fire in ‘Out of control’.

The band appear to have unearthed a lot of darkness and lessons learnt by self producing this record. It’s an honest representation of not only where the band is at personally, but also where society is as a hole.

No stone is left unturned as I make way through hit after hit with the likes of personal standouts ‘Catacombs’ (which delivers a soulful ballad fused with some fierce riffs and a hooky melody which I cant let go), ‘Solitary’, and arguably one of the best songs written this decade ‘The Bridges You Burned Down’, giving the listener a brutal taste of honesty and reality reminding us not to push everyone away in times of hardship. ‘The Bridges You Burned Down’ immediately reminded me of some old school Rob Zombie.

Vocalist Chris Brooks lyrically and melodically has delivered his best works to date and drummer Zach Wood compliments the pulse of this band with uncompromising groove and precision. The best part about this album is it is not just an album you listen through once or put on shuffle. Each time you listen you unearth something else you may have missed before. It takes you on a journey where no compromise is made. I certainly cant seem to pull myself away. Its on repeat.

In terms of production value, being self produced has only enhanced this band. The quality of the recording and post production is the best I have heard this year and is a testament to the commitment and hard working ethic this band has always had and Ive always known since I started following them in 2005.

From little things big things grow they say, with an album as big as this it’s built for stadiums and arena’s, it’s built to last, to be timeless and to cement Like A Storm a place in Metal history in a way we have never seen it before.

4 / 5