Halestorm - The Strange Case of …

Halestorm - The Strange Case of … (Atlantic Records) 2012

A band like Halestorm is generally outside of my musical tastes. I really had to stretch myself and really listen intently to begin even remotely enjoying it. Though Halestorm seem to be getting the 'metal' label associated with them, I'd hardly call this metal. Some are labeling them modern pop metal. However, I don't really hear any similarities to pop metal. The major traits such as those massive power chords, the staccato guitar riffs and blistering guitar solos just aren't present here. Rather, the guitar playing tends to be those strummed, barred chords that everyone from Blink 182 to Greenday to Nickelback are using and there really aren't a whole lot of guitar solos to speak of. As a matter of fact, after a couple listens I started associating Haltestorm's songs with Avril Lavigne and even Lindsay Lohan's garage band from Freaky Friday. Any remember the song "Take Me Away" from that movie, in which Lohan is the ace lead guitarist who nearly misses the bands big gig at the House of Blues? Well that sort of modern pop rock is exactly what Halestorm is doing.

After a few listens I began to really appreciate and enjoy some of the songs, especially the first four tracks. "Love Bites", "Mz Hyde", "I Miss the Misery" and "Freak Like Me" are all biting hard rockers with infectious hooks and fantastic vocals. ("Mz. Hyde" in particular is a fairly heavy rocker that could have been a Lordi song.) Vocalist Lizzy Hale is definitely the star of the show. Her voice on these harder rocking songs is fantastic. On these heavier songs she sings with some aggression and grit, but also has this beautiful and sexy voice. "Daughters of Darkness" has a ton of rock and roll vibe. The opening vocals, "naaaah, nah, nah, nah, nah, naaaah, nah, nah, nah" are edgy and remind me of rock and roll's queen-bee Joan Jett.

"The Strange Case of …" is Halestorm’s second full-length album. The meaning of the title, a reference to Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is apparent in both the artwork, lyrics and the music. The reversible cover is either black or white. This is sort of how the music is as well. The music music ranges from gutsy hard rock tracks to tender piano ballads. It's not really all that odd that a hard rock band does ballads, but the album is split. Tracks 1 - 4 are hard rock songs which are followed by four ballads in a row. For me, this is where the album goes terribly wrong. Though it makes for an interesting gimmick and showcases the band's diversity it also makes for an uneven listen. It's also unfortunate that the ballads are something only a fan of American Idol or Avril Lavigne could enjoy. This is just generic ballads, some of which sound like they are trying to cross over to modern country radio. I could picture some of these songs being sung on Glee. With lyrics like "I feel beautiful with you", I could also imagine Kelly Clarkson singing the song on one of those horrid talent show competitions. Being a fan of hard rock and heavy metal, I not only don't like this stuff, but I detest it!

Whereas the concept of Lizzy Hale becoming Dr. Jekyll and Mz. Hyde in the album is a clever one lyrically, I find that the album as a whole is hard to listen to. I sort of wish the band would have stuck to the Mz. Hyde approach because the Dr. Jekyll side is dull and cheesy. One appeals to devoted fans of hard rock while the other appeals to a group of people who only like the flavor of the month pop singles and will move on when the next big pop single comes along.

Halestorm (Atlantic) 2009

1. It's Not You (2:54)
2. I Get Off (3:03)
3. Bet U Wish U Had Me Back (3:43)
4. Innocence (3:15)
5. Familiar Taste of Poison (4:04)
6. I'm Not an Angel (3:14)
7. What Were You Expecting (3:34)
8. Love/Hate Heartbreak (3:18)
9. Better Sorry Than Safe (3:12)
10. Dirty Work (3:16)
11. Nothing to Do With Love (3:30)

Halestorm formed nearly twelve years before this, their first full-length, major-label release. Halestorm are a mix of styles from the hard-driving modern rock of "It's Not You" and "Innocence" to the modern, muted, chord-based riffs of "I Get Off" to the pure pop of a song like "Bet U Wish U Had Me Back". In fact,"Bet U Wish U Had Me Back," sounds like a slightly louder Kelly Clarkson. If this song wasn't used for one of those Disney teen drama series, it should be. For the most part, however, Halestorm recalls bands like Shinedown and Nickelback. They also have some similarities to Evanescence, though Halestorm never descend into psuedo-goth rock. "I'm Not An Angel" particularly reminds me of the Nickelback-style radio rock while "Innocence" wouldn't be out of place on a Disturbed CD. The closest Halestom come to heavy metal is "Dirty Work", which in itself isn't really metal, but is a hard driving, riff-based song. The whole thing is tied together by the powerhouse vocals of Lzzy Hale. (No, it's not a typo, there is no i.) Hale has a fantastic voice that would do well on one of those (terrible) television singing competitions. However, unlike many of the cookie-cutter, country/pop-star wannabe's on American Idol, Lzzy sometimes adds some grit and edge to her voice when needed. However, on a song like "Love/Hate Heartbreak", she can sing as sweet as an angel. She is definitely the star of the show and the band's songs are build around her passionate vocals.

Glad to see this albums on here as I'm a big fan of the band, especially Lzzy. She's my favourite female vocalist to come along in a long time. She's kinda like a combination of Joan Jett and Annie Wilson, she's got that edge and range to her voice but she can do the ballads as well, and convincingly. If you haven't heard it already I suggest you check out their covers EP Reanimate: The Covers. You'll be treated to an especially smoking rendition of Skid Row's Slave To The Grind as well as a few other nice surprises.

Somebody (I believe Ken) discussed the covers Ep and posted clips from YouTube. I recall "I get off" being all over the radio in Sacramento before I moved. That was a catchy tune.....it just seemed wrong for someone like me to be driving around playing something like that. Kinda gave me that "Chester" feeling.

This band gets a lotta play on the local rock radio station. They're not bad but nothin' I would run right out and buy either.

I like them don't love them, but Lzzy Hale has a killer voice, and I like her even more when she interviewed Pat Benatar, apparently this young lady was a big fan of hers. Which I find amazing considering Lzzy was not even born during Benatar's heyday.

manny wrote:

I like them don't love them, but Lzzy Hale has a killer voice, and I like her even more when she interviewed Pat Benatar, apparently this young lady was a big fan of hers. Which I find amazing considering Lzzy was not even born during Benatar's heyday.

I would have to agree with you - I like them but don't love them. Very cool that she's influenced by Benatar

I love this band. Fantastic band live if you ever get the chance to see them. I saw them last Saturday here in my hometown. Unfortunatly their show was cut short after 5 songs do to a nasty storm.