The Storm is a pioneering Spanish hardrock band that was founded in the early Seventies, they started to play covers from The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Guess Who. Soon after a fourth member on Hammond organ joined and the band changed their name from Los Tormentos into The Storm. In that time everybody was impressed by progressive hardrock, like Led Zeppelin, and especially Deep Purple. The band too, and decided to change their musical direction, hardrock with omnipresent Hammond organ work. The Storm joined gigs with known Spanish rock bands Smash and Maquina! and gradually became pretty popular among the hardrock aficionados, known as 'the Spanish Deep Purple'. In 1974 The Storm released their eponymous debut album (see review), and the single I've To Tell You Mama/It's Allright even reached the top in the Spanish charts! The Storm also impressed Freddy Mercury when they were support-act for Queen during one concert in 1974, the sky looked very bright. But unfortunately due to different reasons things didn't work out as planned and foreseen, and between 1976 and 1978 there were no activities. But in 1978 The Storm reunited and one year later their second album entitled El Dia De La Tormenta (see review) was released, with a lot of changes: a new bass player, vocals in Spanish, and a new musical direction, more towards melodic progressive rock. I notice elements from Dutch masters Focus and Earth & Fire, and 70s and 80s Camel. The Storm disbanded in 1981 but since 2011 the band is active again, supported by the Spanish prog label 5 Lunas Producciones, with remastered CD reissues from the 2 studio albums in 2023, and a double LP (2020) and 2-CD (2022) featuring a live concert from May 3rd, 2019 in Seville. The current band members are Diego Ruiz (drums and backing vocals), José Ramón Torres (bass and backing vocals), Ángel Ruiz (lead vocals), and Manuel Muriel (keyboards), the only member that didn't play on their first two albums. The Storm plays pretty straightforward hardrock but sounds as a tight and experienced unit, with a lot of energy, the rhythm-section is a real powerhouse, the singer does a decent job (in Spanish and English) and the compositions are tastefully arranged. The most interesting elements in the music of The Storm are the excellent guitarwork, and the lush Hammond organ, within short time you will experience why The Storm was nicknamed "the Spanish answer to Deep Purple", but Atomic Rooster also comes often to my mind. Most of the 16 tracks on CD-1 and CD-2 are in a mid - or up-tempo featuring furious drum beats and a thunderous bass, topped with exciting guitarwork, lots of heavy and blistering soli (wah-wah pedal in Wide Open and Caja De Metal), often backed by powerful organ waves (digital Hammond). In Back To The Road I notice a Brian May guitar sound and a swirling Hammond solo. In El Dia De La Tormenta I hear hints of Thin Lizzy, and Swedish Woman reminds me of early Queen, with a heavy guitar solo. The mid-long instrumental Un Señor Llamado Fernández De Córdoba+Saeta Ensayo (1a Parte) sounds like a jam session, in a swinging rhythm, and loaded with soli on guitar (biting runs), synthesizer (Minimoog sound from the Korg X50) and Hammond. The song Trilogia is a fine ballad, first with dreamy vocals, soaring organ and a sensitive guitar solo, halfway the music shifts to more lush with powerful organ and a propulsive rhythm-section. My highlight on this double live CD is the epic instrumental composition Machine Rebellion - Crazy Machine Part 2 (20 minutes), a kind of Made In Japan tribute: first a synthesizer solo, then a heavy guitar solo, both inspired by Bach, I love that'classical meets rock'! Then a duel between the guitar and organ, in the vein of Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord, and finally a Blackmore Plays Bach inspired guitar solo, heavy and with the wah-wah pedal. The rhythm-section again sounds like a powerhouse (including a drum solo), really entertaining, these guys play pretty straightforward rock but they handle their instruments very well! If you like Deep Purple and Atomic Rooster this legendary Spanish hardrock formation is an interesting one to discover. ***+ Erik Neuteboom (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
