Review Summary: Halestorm offer a slice of throwback 80’s hard rock with a modern twist, and the result is hard not to like.
Lzzy Hale has a powerful voice, and she uses it to the fullest on Halestorm’s debut. She delivers a powerhouse performance full of attitude reminiscent of Pat Benatar, a very refreshing quality in a female modern rock singer. Her vocals soar in this album, and make her easily the most stand-out member in this group. Her vocals are what make this band, but that isn’t to say the rest of the band is untalented. Guitarist Joe Hottinger provides a solid performance throughout, delivering driving riffs and short flashy solos that are definitely reminiscent of the 80’s. While he doesn’t necessarily offer anything new or ground-breaking, he compliments Lzzy’s style very well, and his playing is effective for the most part. Arejay Hale provides solid support behind the drumkit, and Josh Smith’s bass work doesn’t stand out but it doesn’t need to.
The band shines best when they deliver the straight-forward hard rock numbers. Opener
It’s Not You gets right to business with a fast and heavy-but-not-too-heavy chugging riff that leads into Lzzy’s powerhouse vocals. Lzzy shows off a self-confident (but not obnoxious) attitude as she belts out “I’m in love with somebody… and it’s not you”, and delivers these lines with an irresistible charm. Single
I Get Off grabs attention with its acknowledgement of the often strange nature of attraction. Lzzy’s vocals are among their strongest in the chorus here. Musically it’s actually a bit weak compared to most of the other rockers here, the solo is a bit sloppy as well, but Lzzy’s vocals make up for this.
Innocence is a pleasant surprise: Joe provides a better-than-average performance here with more active guitar riffs in the verses, and his playing in the solo-less bridge is quite nice. Again, the star here is Lzzy, and her vocals here are once again nearly flawless. When the band drops out for a second after the bridge, she lets out a powerful high note, probably her best moment on here. The biggest highlight here, however, is
Love-Hate Heartbreak; here the whole band is on top of their game. Lzzy’s shows off her range, hitting highs and lows in the verses and bringing it back for her signature powerhouse style in the chorus. Not to mention the fact that the repeated pre-chorus of “Give it all away, take it all away” is about the catchiest moment on the whole album. The guitar solo is well placed, and doesn’t go a second longer than it needs to. Closer
Nothing to Do With Love ends the album just as rockin’ as it started with another solid performance from the band.
As expected, the band drops the tempo a few times for some good ol’ power ballads.
Bet U Wish U Had Me Back sounds like a moodier Kelly Clarkson, both in the title and Lzzy’s performance (but mainly just in the chorus). Clarkson’s not a bad vocalist to be compared to, but whether this is a good or bad thing I’ll leave to you to decide.
Familiar Taste of Poison sounds like a more interesting Evanescence, and it works, but its placement before
I’m Not An Angel, another ballad, makes this stretch of the album drag. Making tracks 3, 5, and 6 ballads was pretty bad track placement. The only other issue with the ballads here: While they’re all pretty solid aside from the boring
I’m Not An Angel, and are certainly enjoyable, they don’t showcase Halestorm’s, or more specifically, Lzzy’s unique sound as well as they could. A few tracks later,
Better Sorry than Safe works the best at being both unique and showcasing Lzzy’s vocals. This track is an 80’s power ballad all the way, complete with hair-metal guitar solos in the intro and between each verse and of course in the bridge.
Overall, Halestorm’s debut is an enjoyable listen. Lzzy’s vocals make this band time and time again, even when lyrics aren’t necessarily the best. Case in point:
Dirty Work’s chorus, which merely consists of “Do my dirty work, do my dirty work” repeated ad nauseam still manages to sneak in some flair by the way Lzzy delivers it. This band is more than a female-fronted Hinder, they bring a fresh sound to the typically male-dominated hard-rock stage. They may not bring a whole lot new to the table, but what they offer is hard not to like.
Top tracks: It’s Not You, Innocence, Love-Hate Heartbreak.
