The foundation of this Dutch Melodic Death Metal act goes back to the year 2001, when lead guitarist/ singer Mike Oude Geerdink and drummer Bob Stolk started jammin' together on an haunted attic of an old building of their hometown Ede, in the North of Holland.
It would take the guys until 2003 before, through the addition of rhythm guitarist Gerdo Schrijver and bassist Rob Hoefakker, Netherstorm as a band became a fact. Several shows later, the band finally enters a studio in 2005 to record what would become their debut mini-album Grand Heretic Paradise, which actually had a more Doom-geared direction that the band's later material. Some shows followed, but the line-up turned out unstable, with Rob and Gerdo both departing, respectively in 2006 and 2007 (Rob apparently went on to play with Atmospheric Black Metal act Nepenthe and Death Metal band Scrotum, recording the latter's 2008 EP Osculum Scrotum, but already left both of those bands since; of Gerdo we find no trace in music history after Netherstorm). Replacements are then found during 2008 in current members Michiel Meurs (rhythm guitar) and Asher de Vries (bass; also active with Fluisteraars), and with the new line-up the band records the 4-track promo Chaos From The Sky, which is self-released (well, actually it was downloadable for free via the band's website, and given away at their gigs) in September 2009, and shows the band going into a faster mode, leaving their initial Doom leanings behind. This then (Mike wanting to focus more on his splendid guitar work), prompted the band to attract a new lead vocalist (Mike would still provide backing vocals where needed) in the person of one Arnold Oude Middendorp, whom joined the fold in early 2010.
This is the line-up which, from December 2010 to April 2011, recorded what would become the Apothis Rise album, in what can be seen as a band effort, with Mike producing, and Asher doing the actual recordings (helped by recording engineer Mink Knoops) and taking care of mixing and mastering the material. And this is the part of the review where things become a little embarrassing for me. You see, I work on a network PC to do my research, and they don't always update as fast as some websites do. Therefore, I was quite unable to check whether the band posted any songs off their new album (new being the operative word, in spite of the material being more than two years old) at (www.) myspace.com/officialnetherstorm. I was quite unable to log onto the band's own (www.) netherstorm.nl, because I my attempt to do so, I got a signal that there was a problem with the site's security certificate, and that it was not advisable to continue to the website. Then, I checked (www.) facebook.com/pages/netherstorm, but there's no music posted there. I eventually found (www.) last.fm/music/Netherstorm/Apothis+Rise where, in spite of what one might think, the band has only posted songs off the 2009 EP. Still, they're precursors of what what's to be expected on Apothis Rise, so...
If you're into Melodic Death Metal influences by the likes of Arsis, The Absence, Death, The Black Dahlia Murder, Nevermore, Opeth, Dissection, Emperor, Enslaved, Satyrico, Behemoth, Iron Maiden, and Cradle Of Filth, then Apothis Rise should be right up your alley. No idea what the band's up to gig-wize for the moment, but what with the album having had a UK release first (in February of this same year), and now only getting a wider European (and worldwide) distribution, it shouldn't be surprising to find Netherstorm on the activities calendars of quite a few Dutch venues pretty soon!