The three Paris natives have been winding their way through, and illuminating the belly of the underground music scene of the city and beyond over the last few years. The trio of Maxime Goudard (vocals, guitar), Adrien Richard (bass), and Loïc Fouquet (drums) has been the gem in the French underground alternative scene since the release of their self-titled debut EP in 2020.

2024 has been a breakout year for the band, their recent single "Drummer", has picked up an incredible amount of playlisting across Amazon, Deezer, Tidal, and Spotify. It has been their smash hit of the year and has clocked up enormous support in the streaming world's end-of-year lists, including Deezer 2024 Rock, Amazon Best of 2024: Rock, Spotify Top of The Rock: Best of 2024, and Spotify 2024 Rock Songs You May Have Missed.

It's music that is built for stadiums but made to connect with people. It entwines the infectiousness of Nothing But Thieves, the captivating driving force of Royal Blood, and the melodic ambition of Muse.

Their second show with this line-up of Max, Adrien and Loïc was on a festival stage to thousands, so the bug was burrowed in immediately. Since then, they grabbed every opportunity a DIY band could and took each blow to the chin that comes with that journey. Whatever the room or the audience, they will do whatever it takes to shake it to its foundations.

"Promoting rock music and gathering a new fan base is a difficult journey for any new band. But if we're put in front of an actual audience, we speak to the crowds, keep them with us and get them to sing. We want to include them and have a party with all the crowds." says Goudard.

So when a moment comes, they must grab them with both hands. One such moment was France's V and B festival when they shared the stage with electronic artists such as DJ Snake, rappers Disiz and Lujipeka and metalcore band Landmvrks. "We enjoy catching the audience that is not necessarily invested in our genre of music. There were about eight thousand people there, and we were alongside many different kinds of artists, and we finished with a huge crowd in front of us singing along with us. That was a great feeling," the singer-guitarist remembers.

They're seizing those moments, driven by their high-intensity moshpit-inducing live shows. They've captured lightning in a bottle and are now selling out clubs across France. It's live where they truly get to express themselves, "It's really emotional to now play to a full house of people. The party goes on all night," says Goudard.

He reflects on their live shows, "We always come to a show with the biggest smile and a crazy load of energy. We want people to get energized, to let off steam, and leave wanting more. We are always exhausted right after the set; if not, it means something went wrong!"

It's eclectic shows like festivals where the band has begun sweeping up fans. "For me, the Spotify era has changed things. Everybody listens to everything, so I think the number of scenes is lower and lower in every genre of music. Everybody listens to the artists they like rather than from a scene," Maxime continues.

They set no boundaries with their genre, even when they caught the attention of Bertrand Poncet from French hardcore-pop-punk crossover heroes Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! who has been working with the band on production since their 2021 self-titled EP. "What he achieved with C!NCC! has been massively inspirational for many bands, including us, in the French alternative scene," says Fouquet.

"We write all the time. Not with the idea of making an album, but when we say let's go, let's make an album, we work in an emergency mindset. Like we have to do this fast." explains Goudard.

"We ping-pong ideas. There's always a decision made by the three of us. There's no leader; we vote because everyone's got to love it. We don't do a song if we don't like it because we have to interpret this on stage later, so everyone's gotta believe in it," he expands.

Talking about what sets them apart, Fouquet says, "I think what makes this special is the dedication of everyone as a team. Often the case is that in a band, you have one leading force, the one who is the engine to do everything. It's not the case in Storm Orchestra. It's a three-engine vehicle."

Their debut album, 2023's 'What A Time To Be Alive,' picked up an impressive combined 4M streams, ending 2023 triumphantly as the "Artist to Watch in 2024" by Spotify France and at the Top of the Rock: Best of 2023 and Deezer's 2023 Rock playlist—an incredible achievement for a then-unsigned DIY band.

In 2024 Mascot Records signed the band up. “The debut album themes were centred around love, global warming and the environment,” Goudard explains. "For the second record, we wanted to do an album about feelings. That's why it's called 'Get Better,' because it makes us think about our problems. Writing these songs made us better people because we went introspective. I wrote some of the lyrics with Loïc, so it's funny. It's introspective but in a group way."

'Get Better' touches on societal issues, relationships, and the inner struggles that we all have, along with the dark side of your personality that it can take you to. "For me, it's all connected," explains the singer. “Society makes us vulnerable, so we need love to keep us sane, you see. So everything is just a piece of a big puzzle."

Storm Orchestra inhabits that place between the mask we wear and the complex emotions that cascades through our brain. "I could say the album represents the inner struggle," ponders Goudard. Explaining further, he adds, "In the morning, you are angry with society, but you tell yourself, 'I've got to have a good day, so I'm going to listen to a party song to make myself smile,' and it's that struggle inside of us. You have one life. So you have to try and enjoy it to stay happy. There's no other way to live, but the state of the world and society makes it hard at times. So it's an internal combat."

They've shone on the festival circuit, captivated crowds on a tour of Germany in September with Lonely Spring, and announced themselves on the big stage when they opened for Black Stone Cherry at L'Olympia, Paris, earlier in November 2024.

"In terms of emotion, the show at L'Olympia is the biggest highlight so far because of the stage, the place, and our name in red letters above the door. It was something legendary," says Maxime.

The elegant 2,000-capacity music hall had a little more significance to the band, as Fouquet recalls a moment a year earlier. "On my birthday in 2023, the guys gave me a frame with a picture of us on stage. And behind that picture, they wrote 'to our first Olympia.' So it's really funny because we had absolutely no idea we would play that venue so soon."

'Get Better' will be released on 11 April, and the band has previously revealed three singles from the record - which are already clocking in at around 1m combined streams. "Crush the Mirrors" sees the band harvest the heavier side of their arsenal, and they are joined by Poncet from Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! who lends his guttural vocals to the anthemic track. "This song really departs from what we've been doing the last few years. The tone, theme and overall vibe is way darker; I'd even say there is an inner violence to it," ponders Fouquet.

Their hit song, "Drummer", explores the clichés of the rock drummers, portrayed as a savage, party-going, unstoppable being. From Goudard's point of view as a singer, whose fragile, sensitive personality appears to contrast with that of his drummer, this song expresses his desire to live his life like a drummer, with all the drama that goes with it. But you have to read between the lines: this song ironically depicts a glorified wild life that actually hides some deep emotional wounds. Behind the surface, this life on the razor’s edge may just be a way of escaping his problems.

This followed the shimmering "Bright Soul," in which Goudard opens up about his fear of letting his dark side take over the person he wants to be.

"Superplayer" draws an ironic parallel between a couple's relationship and the theme of sports, with lyrics borrowing sports lingo to illustrate the quest for a winning romance. To the sound of a resolutely energetic, mid-tempo tune, the couple is sometimes seen as an indissociable, invincible team, sometimes as a competition to deliver the best version of yourself to the other half to maintain this couple-team spirit. Through lyrics like "Super player we are in the game, Super player in the hall of fame," the band celebrates this spirit of conquest, where both partners become teammates, reaching the "hall of fame" of their relationship together.

"I wrote the second verse of this one as well, and so the funny story is that I am a football fan," says Fouquet. "On the bridge, we tried something different because we felt that we could use a sing-along, stadium vibe. I'm a big fan of Newcastle United. I've been there and watched games in Paris and London. So, on the bridge, we had a famous chant at Newcastle, so if you listen closely, you can maybe recognize it."

Their metallic alt-rock sets them apart from their contemporaries—a shimmering grandiose vision blended with marauding contemporary rock. The aggressive, glammy guitar snaps and bites as it spirals around a thunderous, hard-rocking rhythm section that pulsates with elegance, charisma, and raucous dynamism.

Rarely has the complexities of our struggles that they tackle on “Bright Soul”, “Drummer,” “Crush the Mirrors,” “Tear Me Down” and “Get Back in Time” along with societal weight of the likes of “We Will Be The Last”, “Our Victory,” “Cut Loose, Somehow” been packaged with such a visceral and luscious effect - Storm Orchestra are here to be your new favourite band.