It’s very hard to speak of the band without mentioning
frontwoman Lzzy Hale. For those who
don’t already know, this is the woman who most recently set the bar for all
singers, both female AND male. Her voice can go from a belting roar down to
soft beautiful, and she never misses a note in the process. It’s her roar that
has been known to put many male singers so shame. I’d recommend giving their
rendition on Skid Row’s Slave To The Grind a listen. It doesn’t
take much to notice that she puts Sebastian
Bach, the songs original singer, to shame.
The album starts out with
Love Bites (So Do I), a song heavier than any off of the band’s debut album.
This would be the song that won the previously mentioned Grammy. It is
impossible not to instantly get in to the song, thanks to Arejay Hale’s pounding drum beat and the tough-as-nails guitar riff
that follows. The following track, Mz.
Hyde, is a song about what has somewhat become Lzzy’s alter ego. Just as
heavy as the previous song, but with a slower pace, it is sure to get heads
banging almost instantly. The album continues to release hard hit after hard
hit with its next two tracks, I Miss The
Misery and Freak Like Me (based
on Lzzy referring to the bands fans as “freaks”)
The band doesn’t shy away from their softer side, much like
their debut. This time, the band gathered three of the albums softer tracks and
put them one after the other, perfectly in the middle of the album. Beautiful With You is a song very much
like a song such as Bet U Wish U Had Me
Back off of the first album. This track is a rather slow song, featuring a
full rock bands worth of instruments, just not as distorted as the previous
four songs. The song is very much a love song, based on its lyrics of the
age-old story of a girl who is only truly happy when she’s by her man, just
told in a very original and modern style.
In Your
Room progresses the album in to an even softer level. This time
an acoustic song and is very softly sung by the beautifully matured voice of
Lzzy. Though a short song, it gets its point across with its lyrics, and leads
the albums listener in to the next track; the piano ballad Break In. This track has become a live favourite of the band’s to
play. It features only Lzzy, both on vocals and on piano. It clocks in at 4:45,
which makes it the longest song on the album, but it’s very easy to get lost
while listening to it, making it seem like 4:45 just isn’t enough.
The album then gets back in to business with Rock Show. It is not the heavy
hard-as-nails song that the first four tracks were; it’s more of a rock opera
of sorts. Getting the listener back in to hearing electric guitars and heavy
drums, but with a chorus that makes the song sound like an opera, with its
dramatic use of organs and vocals. The story behind the track is a slightly
humbling one too. Simply put, it was written for a fan of the band, a very
young girl whom Lzzy met and at a concert who told Lzzy that it was her first
ever concert and it changed her for life. The impact the concert had on this
girl inspired the lyrics to the song.
The album then gets right back in to heavy swing with Daughters of Darkness; a song partially
inspired by the late great Ronnie James
Dio and his song Fear from Black Sabbath’s The Devil You Know. Daughters
In Darkness is not a fast song, but
it’s a heavy one that sticks out with its intro. It starts off with a sort of
tribal drum beat, and Lzzy chanting a hell of a catchy chant. It is among
Lzzy’s most powerful vocal performances on the whole album. The albums next
track is another heavy one, You Call Me
A Bitch Like It’s A Bad Thing.
The track American
Boys, as the title would suggest, is not quite the manliest of songs on the
album. It’s a very catchy tune, not so much an alternative hard rock track, but
more like a 70’s blues-based hard rock song. This makes it a unique song that
displays influences the band has never shown...it’s just not the kind of song a
guy would like to be caught singing along with.
The album ends off with a very important song for the band. Here’s To Us is an immediate fan
favourite by almost everyone who listens to the album. It is a soft song,
acoustic song, not quite a ballad, but sounding like it would have been
released in the 90’s when bands like Cranberries
and Third Eye Blind were releasing
hits. Every note Lzzy sings is a catchy one that is easily accessible to anyone,
while featuring surprising explicit lyrics. The main reason for the songs
importance for the band lies on its feature on the show Glee. Whether you like the show or hate it, whether you like the
fact the song was featured on the show or not, it broadened the bands fan base
substantially almost overnight.
Halestorm is a force
that grows bigger and bigger as time goes by. They are living the dream and
living it well, and the future shows only positive things for them. If you are
a first time listener of the band, this album should not disappoint. It sets
the genre into a field of its own, much like their debut album did. The album is also one of very VERY few albums to feature its best songs released as singles. If you read my other reviews, 9 times out of 10 you'll see that is not usually the case.
It is very important that I note this is a rare album, and first of this blog, that gets a 10 out of 10 for its diversity and recognition and respect in the rock community.
It is very important that I note this is a rare album, and first of this blog, that gets a 10 out of 10 for its diversity and recognition and respect in the rock community.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHT
“I Miss The Misery” – It takes all of 5 seconds for anyone to immediately get caught on
to this track. It's almost incredible seeing the look on peoples faces as soon as Lzzy starts shouting out the inevitably addicting chant that is impossible not to fall in love with.
It is among the albums heavy tracks. It features an almost sinister sound
during the songs verses, with the music calming down and the vocals sounding
like Lzzy is getting ready to pounce
on an unsuspecting victim, only to belt out the killer chorus fit for the best
of hard rock fans.
FINAL RATING
10 (Out of 10)
Track List:
1.
|
"Love Bites (So Do I)"
|
3:11
|
2.
|
"Mz. Hyde"
|
3:22
|
3.
|
"I Miss the Misery"
|
3:03
|
4.
|
"Freak Like Me"
|
3:38
|
5.
|
"Beautiful with You"
|
3:16
|
6.
|
"In Your Room"
|
2:46
|
7.
|
"Break In"
|
4:45
|
8.
|
"Rock Show"
|
3:19
|
9.
|
"Daughters of Darkness"
|
3:55
|
10.
|
"You Call Me a Bitch Like It's a Bad Thing"
|
3:11
|
11.
|
"American Boys"
|
3:28
|
12.
|
"Here's to Us"
|
2:57
|
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