Like a Storm is a band from
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, best known for combining heavy
baritone guitar riffs and hard rock songs with
didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...
. They are the highest charting New Zealand hard rock band in American radio history. Both of their two studio albums, "The End of the Beginning" and "Awaken the Fire", debuted in the
''Billboard'' 200. Like a Storm have toured North America extensively as a headline act and have shared American and European stages with
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American Rock music, rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eig ...
,
Alter Bridge
Alter Bridge is an American Rock music, rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips (musician), Scott Phill ...
,
Gojira,
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
,
Shinedown,
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Asphodel–Norwood, Norwood, Ontario, in 1992 originally as Groundswell. Groundswell played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1 ...
,
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...
,
Black Stone Cherry,
Steel Panther
Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by lead singer Michael Starr, the band formed in 2000 as Metal Shop and was also known as Metal Skool before adopting the name Steel Panther in 2008. The ...
, and
Hellyeah
Hellyeah, stylized as HELLYEAH, was an American heavy metal supergroup formed in Dallas, Texas, in 2006. The band's last lineup consisted of lead vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Christian Brady and Tom Maxwell, bassist Kyle Sanders, and drum ...
.
History

The band moved from Auckland, New Zealand, to North America. They first began touring the US in 2009, when they were invited to join
Creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets.
Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...
on their nationwide "Full Circle" Reunion tour. Overwhelming fan response to the band's live show saw their first album, ''
The End of the Beginning'', enter ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s New Artist Charts at No. 61, as well as the Billboard 200 from tour sales alone.
The band continued extensive American touring into 2010, in support of their first single "Chemical Infatuation" - sharing stages with artists such as
Shinedown,
Skillet,
Puddle of Mudd
Puddle of Mudd is an American post-grunge band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. The band has sold over seven million albums. Their major-label debut, '' Come Clean'' (2001), spawned the single " Blurry", which peaked at number 5 on the ...
and
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie ...
, as well as playing major festivals including Rock on the Range. "Chemical Infatuation" reached No. 43 in the U.S Active Rock Top 100.
2011 saw Like a Storm complete two tours of the US with
Alter Bridge
Alter Bridge is an American Rock music, rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips (musician), Scott Phill ...
. In between tours, the band entered the studio to record ''Like a Storm Unplugged'', an unplugged album featuring acoustic and piano-driven interpretations of some of their most popular songs. ''Like a Storm Unplugged'', produced and mixed by the Brooks brothers, showcases the Brooks brothers playing a wider range of instruments - including didgeridoo, piano, church organ and djembe. In the words of singer/guitarist Matt Brooks, "We all grew up playing any instrument we could get our hands on, and it's awesome to be able to explore these different ideas within the music of Like a Storm. We see it more as re-building the soundscape with different instruments and textures than stripping the songs down".
In 2011, Like a Storm played main stage slots at 3 summer festivals - Boonstock in Gibbons, Alberta, Canada; "Pain in the Grass" for KISW Seattle; and the PDX "RockFest" in Portland. In December 2011, the band was voted Tunelab's "Most Fan Friendly Band." The Brooks brothers responded by thanking their fans on social networking sites. In January 2012, Like a Storm returned to their native New Zealand for a monthlong holiday, and recorded the band's first unplugged DVD "Southern Skies" which was released 22 February 2012. In the movie Chris, Kent, and Matt take viewers to some landmark places and tell of stories growing up in Auckland before playing acoustic versions of fan favourites while at those sites. Southern Skies also gives you a sneak peek at two new songs off of the upcoming album as well as Matt's humorous home video documenting the little time they spent in Australia. While in their hometown, Matt and Kent went on to do an interview with New Zealand's largest rock radio station. At the time singer/guitarist/didgeridoo player Chris was ill and could not attend. A filmed version of the interview can also be found on the "Southern Skies" DVD.
In the Spring of 2012, the band went out on an acoustic tour of the United States with more than 50 shows to promote the Limited Edition Acoustic EP and their Southern Skies DVD. In these shows the band frequently covered songs from other artists as well, such as: "
Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Shortly after their acoustic tour, the band went back to tour alongside Creed in May 2012 with drummer Roye Robley. Like a Storm also played several festivals in Summer 2012. Shows include:
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Third Ward business district. Summerfest is known ...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Common Ground Music Festival in
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...
, Jinxfest and Cornfest in Illinois; among others. The day after headlining Jinxfest, Like a Storm headed off to tour with Creed for several more dates. Their first show of their US headlining tour, titled "Unleash the Chaos", was held on 13 October 2012, in support of their EP, "Chaos Theory, Pt. 1." The first single from the record, "Never Surrender," has a music video that came out 21 November 2012. The seven-track "Chaos Theory Part 1," followed shortly after, being released just two days later. Included in the album is a cover of
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known by his stage name Coolio, was an American rapper. He was best known for his single "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995), which won a Grammy Award, and was credited for changing the cours ...
's "
Gangsta's Paradise" which has received airplay on multiple stations including Sirius XM's Octane.
In 2013, the band released the live double-album ''Worlds Collide: Live from the Ends of the Earth''. The album includes two live discs, recorded on opposite sides of the world. The first CD features Like a Storm's high energy rock show, recorded during an American arena tour - while the second disc showcases the band's unplugged side, and was recorded in their native
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. The album features a range of instruments in addition to the traditional
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
sound - including
didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...
,
djembe
A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa.
According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...
,
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
,
synthesizers
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
,
choirs and
programming.
The single "Love the Way You Hate Me" was #1 on Sirius XM Octane in North America for five weeks. Its stateside success makes the band the highest-charting New Zealand rock act in US radio history. The song charted for 19 weeks on the
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart and peaked at No. 21 there.
Their subsequent single, "Wish You Hell" peaked at #17 on the
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart.
It combines hard rock with delta blues into a sound referred to as "Voodoo Metal", and features slide guitar, jaw harp, and mandolin alongside a heavy rock band track. The third single, "Become the Enemy", peaked at number 11 on the same chart.
The band is signed to
Another Century Records. The band's second full-length studio album, and first with record label support, "Awaken the Fire", is also one of the first releases from Another Century. It was written, produced & recorded by the band. Featuring updated versions of the tracks on "Chaos Theory, Pt. 1" along with 4 new tracks, the album was released on 24 February 2015.
In 2015, the band toured in support of Hellyeah alongside of Devour the Day and play festivals including Rock on the Range and Rocklahoma. They also played at Bay City River Roar 2015 in Michigan, along with Devour the Day and Three Days Grace. The band also toured all across Europe supporting the release of "Awaken the Fire".
On 10 May 2018, Like A Storm announced that their upcoming third album, titled Catacombs, will be released on 15 June 2018.
On 18 May 2018, the band released their latest single "The Devil Inside" off of ''Catacombs''. That same day they released a music video for the track and announced the album would be released on 22 June 2018.
Musical style
Like a Storm's musical style has been described as
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
,
[ ]post-grunge
Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...
, and alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
.
Band members
* Chris Brooks – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, programming, didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...
(2005–present)
* Matt Brooks – lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, programming (2005–present) studio drums (2025-present)
* Kent Brooks – bass guitar, backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming (2005–present)
Past Members
* Paul Sievers - drums, percussion
* Roye Robley - drums, percussion
* Thomas Karanasos - drums, percussion
* Zach Wood – drums, percussion (2014–2025)
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
* ''Like a Storm Unplugged'' (2011)
* ''Chaos Theory
Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of Scientific method, scientific study and branch of mathematics. It focuses on underlying patterns and Deterministic system, deterministic Scientific law, laws of dynamical systems that are highly sens ...
'' (2012)
Live albums
* ''Worlds Collide: Live from the Ends of the Earth'' (2013)
DVDs
* ''Southern Skies'' (DVD) (2012)
Singles
Music videos
Notes
References
Staind, Creed and Like A Storm rock out at Mid America Center
Like A Storm living dream Wednesday with Creed and Staind tour stop
Top Ten Heavy Metal/Rock/Hardcore Albums of 2009
Taking the US by Storm
article on National Rock Review 11-Dec-2013
Concert Review & Interview
from Machine Shop, Flint, MI performance on 26-Apr-2014 by National Rock Review
Chaos Theory: Part 1
reviewed by National Rock Review 30-Mar-2014
Concert Review
from Dirt Fest performance on 09-Aug-2014 by National Rock Review
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
New Zealand hard rock musical groups
Musical groups established in 2005
Another Century Records artists
Didgeridoo players