New Zealand’s Like a Storm were invited to headline this year’s Sirius XM Octane Accelerator tour with support coming from Royal Tusk and Afterlife. The trek has been going strong since it started on January 23rd in Anaheim, CA. While schools closed in preparation for a snowstorm that turned into cold rain, we were lucky their show didn’t cancel as we made it to New York City’s Gramercy Theatre on February 12th.  

Afterlife

Afterlife opened up the night as they brought their debut full length effort Breaking Point, which was released on January 11th via Hopeless Records. The Florida hard rockers put on a performance filled with adrenaline, which was a great way to get the crowd to forget about the atrocious wintery weather.

Royal Tusk

Canadian rockers Royal Tusk were up next as they were there to introduce their latest effort Tusk II, which was released in October 2018 via eOne. These rockers brought in true rock n’ roll excitement as not only did they provide their own tunes, they also honored the late Chris Cornell by covering the Audioslave song “Cochise.” Their set also included songs “First Time,” “Freedom,” “Curse the Weather,” “Reflection,” “Stowaway,” “Die Knowing,” “Northern Town,” “Control,” and “Aftermath.”

Like a Storm

After a short break it was time for Like a Storm to take the stage as they brought their new album Catacombs, which was released this past summer via Century Media/RED Music. In addition to their heavier direction, the group has continued to amaze the crowd with their unique live performances, which of course includes the Didgeridoo. We became familiar with the group when they released their sophomore effort, 2015’s Awaken the Fire from their hit song “Love the Way You Hate Me.” The band has made it known how much has changed since as their epic track is how they close their set. This gave the New Zealand hard rockers more time to bring Catacombs to the audience as they went into songs such as “Pure Evil,” “Catacombs,” “Solitary,” “Until the Day I Die,” “The Bitterness,” “Complicated (Stitches & Scars),” and “The Devil Inside.” Another surprise was hearing the group cover Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

Despite Like a Storm’s extensive touring schedule as it wasn’t too long ago they supported Godsmack and Shinedown, the group has maintained their energy and we are sure they are ready to do this all over again.

Remaining tour dates:

02/18 Detroit, MI @ The Shelter

02/20 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Stache

02/21 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge

02/22 St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall

All photos were taken by Jonathan Arevalo.