Review by Lauren Rae

While it’s not entirely unheard of at this point, it’s still something of a rarity to witness an organic rise to the top for any band today. We’re so used to the publicity machine working overtime to get artists over that when you see a small rock band go from nothing to something without the backing of major labels or PR firms, you know you’re seeing something special.

Such is the case with Like a Storm, an alt-metal band straight out of New Zealand, Peter Jackson’s neck of the woods, who has recently joined Another Century’s artist roster. Though these brothers (and I mean that literally – Kent, Chris and Matt Brooks are blood) have been paying their dues since 2005, it’s been in the past three years that they’ve started to gain momentum, having two singles (“Love the Way You Hate Me”, “Wish You Hell”) steadily climb the US Mainstream Rock charts while headlining their own tours and also being tapped to tour with national acts such as Alter Bridge, Saving Abel, Sick Puppies, Puddle of Mudd, Drowning Pool, and currently Hellyeah.

In case you haven’t been able to tell at this point, I am a huge fan of these guys. I’m not one to fall for a band from the start, but they’ve had me hooked my personal day one. Really, it was their energy onstage and the way they engage their fans that made me pay attention…and also the fact that they make ample use of a didgeridoo in their performances. That’s not to say I can’t be objective. Their first album, The End of the Beginning, I found to be enjoyable enough, but it was nothing spectacular, didn’t exactly stand out to me. Their second album, Chaos Theory Pt. I, is where I felt they were making strides and coming into their own; it kept me reeled in for weeks on end.

So when they announced they were working on a new album, naturally, I was excited. Especially after they dropped the first single, “Wish You Hell”. It was fresh and intriguing, with it’s grainy opening like an old vinyl record popping and its dirty south bluesy feel. Plus, how many rock bands today use a jaw harp in their songs? Um, none, that’s how many. When I was asked if I’d like to review the new album, Awaken the Fire (set for release on February 24th), I jumped at the chance.

I’m not going to placate to anyone. I’ll openly admit that I went from sixty to zero in terms of excitement once I got the album and saw the track listing; mildly disappointed wouldn’t even begin to cover how gipped I felt (and this was free!). I believe the words that came out of my mouth were “What the hell? Only TWO new songs?!” Actually, I may have made that statement PG, brought down from R.

Okay, fine. I get it. They’re on a new label, so they’re going to take their most popular songs, re-master them and then package them up all pretty with some new material. While their hardcore and very loyal fanbase may be familiar with their work, Like a Storm are about to be presented to a whole new audience and as such, a good sampling of their work has to be presented. Like with an art portfolio or a resume, you don’t show everything, you only show the best content. If you’ve got to touch up some of that work a tad, so be it! But that didn’t mean that I wasn’t skeptical and wasn’t going to listen close to see if there were any differences at all between those previously released songs and what I was about to check out. To which I heard none, so half this album doesn’t even need to be addressed. I’ve already spoke about it. No need for redundancies, right?

Except for “Break Free”. This was already a pretty somber song to begin with. But it seems that there have been subtle changes to the song, mainly in form of faint background vocals, which gave it added depth. I listened to both versions of this song a few times to make sure I wasn’t hearing the song incorrectly, too. Nice touch, boys.

In regards to the new material, I’ll just say it right now; “Chaos” is probably their best opener. It’s not even a slow build, really. You get tossed right into the fray. It’s take-no-prisoners right there with that didge lead-in, which just seems to continue on, sonic guitar blast to your eardrums and the lyrical demand that you just embrace life and all its wildness. “Ordinary” is just absolutely beautiful. I’ve been waiting years for this song to be released en masse and this final version has done it justice. Matt’s vocals are extremely haunting and I can’t wait to see this played more live.

There is one song in particular that I need to address. If I had to choose one song in Like a Storm’s entire discography that showcased their progression as artists, it’d be “Become the Enemy”. In viewing the title, I instantly thought, “Wait a sec…” and listened to this one first. One of their set list staples is “Enemy”, which can be found on their first album. While the original is catchy enough and tends to get the crowd involved, it’s like they completely renovated this song. The music is the same, but not entirely same. There’s a whole new title, new verses, and new energy. You do a back-to-back listen and you can hear the maturation of the band as a whole. Frankly, it blew my mind.

The one thing about Awaken The Fire, which is also preventing me from giving this anything higher than a 4, is the actual flow of the material. Maybe Chaos Theory Pt. I spoiled me in the perfection of how the songs rolled into one another, or perhaps I’m just picky. But there was something about the actual song arrangements that didn’t sit right. It didn’t sound seamless to my ears, it was almost choppy to me. This and the whole issue of me being nitpicky about wanting more new material had dropped this down to a 3. However, the total revamp of “Enemy”/”Become the Enemy” and the inclusion of “Ordinary” saved this portfolio-esque piece, and popped it up to a 4.