Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/28/2009
From the very sound of their name - a name shared by their 2009 debut -
Halestorm sounds like a generic active rock band of the 2000s, and to a certain extent that's true: the band
does specialize in strident power chord rock not too dissimilar from what their former tourmates
Shinedown,
Avenged Sevenfold, and
Trapt sound like. What sets
Halestorm apart from their pack is lead singer
Lzzy Hale, the rare female in this testosterone-obsessed sound. Unlike
Evanescence's
Amy Lee, there isn't a shred of brooding gothic romanticism to
Hale: she's a straight-out rock chick, the farthest thing from an angel, a tough girl who gets off on the fact that you're getting off on her. The mere fact that she flips mook-rock on its head is enough to give
Halestorm an identity in a genre ruled by anonymity, but they also stand apart from the pack because they've studied not only the scale of classic arena rock but also its hooks, another area that's typically neglected by the male-fronted aggro-rockers. Of course, having
Lzzy as their frontwoman does allow
Halestorm to sneak in some flair, such as the
Queeny pre-chorus of
"Love/Hate Heartbreak," and it also allows them to flirt with genuine crossover power ballads like
"Bet U Wish U Had Me Back," which sounds a bit like a louder, angry
Kelly Clarkson. This gives them more variety than almost every other band of their ilk, but it's the combination of the group's pop skills and
Lzzy Hale's charisma that makes
Halestorm a bit of a pleasure, albeit somewhat of a guilty persuasion for some.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
;)
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