LIKE A STORM – CATACOMBS

I have a fever…and the only prescription…is more DIDGERIDOO. The droning that echoes through and within Like A Storm songs moves them into a different category of metal.
Arriving fashionably late to the party, this review finds Like A Storm reveling off the success of their first single “The Devil Inside” off their third album, Catacombs. At this point, the views/listens, are astronomical, and growing.

Let us get to it…Catacombs is crazy amazing. Like the previous albums, that didgeridoo is literally a 5th member of the band, and layers himself all over pretty much every song, overshadowing everyone. He is kind of a diva, but oh lord, we cannot get enough Didgeridoo, ever…

“The Devil Inside” is the opener and sets the tone for the album as a whole. The vibrating drone of the didgeridoo and the haunting vocals, paired with the metal goodness offered by all that Like A Storm dishes out gives us a good path to begin exploring our Catacombs in.

As we travel down the paths of Catacombs, “Out Of Control”, wants to set the world on fire. Heavy in the right places and uplifting in the other spots, we gladly bask in the Like A Storm sound.
We move on through to “Catacombs”, which offers more of that didgeridoo gooiness. Like A Storm break it out and show us their classic sound, yet with an edgier and more industrial/electronic prog-rock feel.
“Complicated (Stitches & Scars)” fills us up with an industrial crunchy intro, uplifted by vocals that meander intertwining soft and ascorbic styles, and sharpened and punctuated by the electronic rhythm provided by the strings.

More gooey didgeridoo goodness is dished upon us in “Solitary”! Nobody but this band can make a didgeridoo sexy. Almost like a cry for help, “Solitary “adeptly uses lyric and musical composition to create pleading utterances that make us want to throw our arms around Matt and rescue him from himself. The Didgeridoo too. Come on Didgeridoo, you do not need to be alone again, baby.

After the pleading nature of “Solitary” comes “The Bitterness”. Hold on a second here, Matt! We are seeing a pattern here…you were alone and now you are just bitter. You need to get out of the rut. Are you jealous of all the Didgeridoo attention? I mean, he is kinda sexy…Don’t worry man. You may not be as sexy as the Didgeridoo, but I am sure you have some irresistible qualities too.

“Until The Day I Die” trickles into existence with an angelic harp intro that splatters into Like A Storm’s savory style. Their rolling sound intermingles the harp refrain, giving the song a unique texture, making it stand out from the other songs on Catacombs.
With a delicate intro that blasts into solid melodic onslaught, that creates a delightful unease, “Hole In My Heart” moves between heavy elements and sweet tantalizing teases, concluding in an aggressive unbridling sound.

“Bullet In The Head” takes the didgeridoo into an orgy of sound that makes the rest of us wonder where we went wrong with our lives to not have discovered this instrument of pleasure before. Adding a woman’s vocal sample paired with the lyrics of “I need you, under my skin” gives the song another unique sexual undercurrent…beyond the didgeridoo. The thing alone is sex incarnate. Have you seen this thing?

DO NOT LISTEN TO “These Are The Bridges You Burned Down” BY YOURSELF. This is a severe warning. If you listen to this song in the privacy of your own home, you risk damage to yourself and your furniture. I mean, the destructive capabilities of this song are immense. This is strictly mosh-pit tunage only. You have been warned.

The culmination of the colossal adventure, which is Catacombs, is “Pure Evil”, a song that moves through an obvious commentary on contemporary powers that be. It is truly a luscious finale to a super charged album. It is a ballsy song, the longest on the album clocking in at almost seven minutes; it proves to be a solid representation of everything that Like A Storm is capable of, which is some of the most solid metal you’ve been yearning for this year.

By the way guys, uh – can you hook a girl up? Give Didgeridoo my number? Please?

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