REVIEW: Storm - Join The Storm

Do you think that a 16 year old could front a metalcore band? If your answer is no, then let me introduce you to Storm, who might be able to change your mind. Storm is a 16 year old boy from Norway who's already gained a lot of attention online and offline, being nominated for awards and having already played huge stages such as Download and Tons of Rock. His debut album Join The Storm has been four years in the making, with the eyes of the scene already keenly on him. The album is jam-packed with a range of genres from metalcore to deathcore, to rap and EDM, so let's take a walk through each one of them. 

The opening track is a short intro, featuring a robotic voice that feels heavily inspired by the POST HUMAN era of Bring Me The Horizon, and this voice devolves into a crowd chanting the name of the album with EDM building behind, perfectly leading into the first actual song of the album. ‘Moonlight’ is a genre-melting track, in much the same vein as the album mas a whole, bringing elements of EDM and metalcore together, with sections of autotuned vocals much like modern rap and trap tracks. The breakdown is quite short, with not much build up, but is suitably heavy nonetheless. It also calls back the chanting heard into the intro to the album. The lyrics are somewhat simple yet catchy, and will certainly be an easy sing along for a crowd. 

The next track ‘Alien Perspective’ is much more electronic and features a drum and bass beat - the vocals are much more rap-based than the last track, but it still keeps an alt metal backing, especially in the chorus. The lyricism is very conversational, which in some circumstances can be done well but in this scenario there are many words that aren't needed, almost feeling crammed into lines. This might simply be a case of overwriting, or a slight language barrier, but frankly for a 16 year old this is still a commendable effort.

‘Walking Dead’ opens much heavier, with elements of deathcore creeping in before switching to a fast paced drum and bass beat, then again switching to a more metal chorus with the most present drums and guitars of the album. The track also features a shredding guitar solo towards the end over some blast beats, while lead vocalist Leo screams over them. Leo's vocals are stable and comfortable flipping between screaming and singing, and there's no denying the kid's talent as main vocalist. ‘Asphyxiate’ is a short interlude that cleverly leads into ‘Suffocating’, featuring distant EDM music which lays straight over into the start of the next track. ‘Suffocating’ has a very grand feeling, and is the stand out track of the album; it's extremely catchy and a great genre-bending metalcore track. The lyrics are some of their best and the breakdown is devastating, although perhaps it could have lasted slightly longer to get even more out of it.

The following track is ‘Black Hole’ and it's a lot more pop punk than the rest of the album, almost reminiscent of early 5 Seconds of Summer albeit slightly heavier. The lyrics again are simple yet catchy, a relatable track about being attracted to someone so much that they feel like a ‘Black Hole’. ‘Fame’ returns the sound back to the mix of metalcore with EDM, featuring synths and vocal distortion. The lyrics are repetitive but the vocals change tone quite often, with impressive screams to close out the track.  The second to last track ‘Running From My Heart’ starts much more laid back, taking more of an influence from Bad Omens' balladric approach to metalcore. Leo's vocals really take a moment to stand out in the first half as he near-solos, whilst in the last minute the track drops into a drum and synth-filled orchestra to support the last chorus. 

The closing track of the album ‘Fever Dream’ returns to a classic metalcore tune with elements of rap in the second and third verse, with influences from nu-metal and industrial all the way to the -core genres ringing in the background to make one of the heaviest tracks on the album. This track is lyrically the strongest here, and the longest track on the album, allowing it to have a large variety in sections in a solid display of the genres Storm can traverse. 

The album is well put together with interludes, varying runtimes and genres representing different emotions throughout. In fact, the only part that fell slightly flat was the end of the album, as it could've been more emotive for fans with an outro or simply switching songs and making ‘Running From My Heart’ the closer. Every song is incredibly well mixed and mastered with seemingly no flaws sound wise, which for such a young artist still finding his bearings in the metalcore genre is incredibly impressive. As mentioned before, the lyricism on the album is by no means bad, but it would be amazing to see some more complexity in future, to allow for even deeper connection and variety.

Storm's music is good, no doubt, and this 16 year old has a clear passion for the genre. We just hope to see him continue in this direction, continue improving and to not give up on the music he wants to create. He's clearly poised to be a potent musician for decades to come, and hopefully this can be the first step in a long and successful journey along that road.

Score: 7/10

Join The Storm will be released on August 22nd 2025 via Indie Recordings.

Words: Amy Smyth

Photos: Storm