Category Archives: Halestorm

Halestorm – Halestorm (2009, Atlantic Records)

1. “It’s Not You” … 2:55
2. “I Get Off” … 3:04
3. “Bet U Wish U Had Me Back” … 3:43
4. “Innocence” … 3:16
5. “Familiar Taste of Poison” … 4:04
6. “I’m Not An Angel” … 3:15
7. “What Were You Expecting?” … 3:34
8. “Love/Hate Heartbreak” … 3:19
9. “Better Sorry Than Safe” … 3:12
10. “Dirty Work” … 3:17
11. “Nothing To Do With Love” … 3:32

Band:
Lzzy Hale – Vocals, Guitar
Joe Hottinger – Guitar
Josh Smith – Bass
Arejay Hale – Drums

Produced by: Howard Benson

I don’t listen to the radio, in fact, I try to avoid it all costs, but apparently Halestorm is an up and coming act and “I Get Off” has been a hit on rock radio. How I came across this band is thanks to Steve at Heavy Metal Addiction, who listed them as a recent purchase. Believe it or not, I’m always on the look out for NEW bands. The album cover looked interesting, so I hit up their MySpace page and I was truly impress by Lzzy’s (yes, there is no “i” in Lzzy) voice and “It’s Not You” and “I Get Off”.

I decided to hit up Best Buy to pick up a few other CDs and kept my eye open for this one. Unfortunately, it was sold out and was on sale for $7.99. I ended up picking it up at Walmart for $9 (and getting the other CDs cheaper there than at Best Buy anyway, so it all worked out financially).

The most impressive thing about this band is Lzzy’s voice. I’m usually not into rock bands with female lead singers, but her voice is just too powerful and awesome to ignore. If her performances on “It’s Not You”, “I Get Off” and “What Were You Expecting?” don’t give you chills, I don’t know what will. This is one of the best female rock voices I’ve ever heard.

As for the music, it’s a mix of some great ready radio hard rock, some generic “post-grunge” rock (complete with weak “hit” ballads) and a few songs that sound like something Kelly Clarkson would sing. Lyrically, there’s just enough sleaze and bravado (yes, all of it coming from a female) to keep things interesting. Nothing is too bad, half of the album is just average modern hard rock at best, but there’s enough great rockers to balance it out. This album is well worth the $9 or $10 most places are charging for it.

I’m not a fan of any of the slower songs, but if “Bet U Wish U Had Me Back” gets released as a single, I see that blowing up on the pop and rock stations.

Highlights: “It’s Not You”, “I Get Off”, “Innocence”, “What Were You Expecting?”, “Dirty Work”, “Nothing To Do With Love”

www.halestormrocks.com
www.myspace.com/halestorm