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Review: Halestorm - The Strange Case of ... [Album]

Atlantic Records | "I know what their sound is, it's fucking awesome"

by AEaston, May 4th, 2012 and has been Read 6025 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire May 6th, 2012.

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In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the amount of female-fronted rock and metal bands. It doesn't take a genius to spot the success of bands such as Paramore, Lacuna Coil and Flyleaf, to name but a few. One of the most talented and underrated of these is the formidable Halestorm. After the success of their self-titled 2009 debut, the Pennsylvanian quartet, comprising of lead singer Lzzy Hale and her brother Arejay Hale, on lead vocals and guitar, and drums respectively, and Joe Hottinger on guitar and Josh Smith on bass, have been pretty much non-stop touring ever since. Nevertheless, after a tiny break in their whirlwind of touring, Halestorm ventured into the studio for a second time to record their second album, The Strange Case of ....

Check out the first single from Halestorm's new album "Love Bites (So Do I)":

We start off The Strange Case of ... with the first single, which you can take a lovely listen to in the video above. As you can tell, "Love Bites (So Do I)" is a sucker punch of a song, with that meaty riff and damn catchy chorus, the perfect mix. A blitz through the emphatic "Mz Hyde" and "Freak Like Me" before the break in The Strange Case of ... for a few ballads. "Beautiful With You" and "In Your Room" are your standard brilliant ballads, highlighting the varied and powerful musicianship of Halestorm. However, the real star of the show is "Break In", a powerfully emotional song, accentuating the vocal talents of Lzzy Hale. Take a listen and try not to cry. I double dare you. We can then muscle our way through the delights of "Daughters of Darkness" and the gigantic "You Call Me A Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing", before the splendid sounds of "Here's To Us". This feel good track is mighty fine, including Lzzy telling people to fuck themselves. That's we what we like to hear!

I like to be positive, so let's get the bad things out of the way first. Okay, so that's the bad things out of the way, NOW THE GOOD STUFF. The Strange Case of ... boasts wonderful tracks - after all, it's the songs that make up the album (stating the obvious ...). But you get what I mean, the success of Halestorm will be based off these 12 rather stunning tracks. I like the fact that each song is different, it has its own character. "Break In is just beautiful, whilst Mz Hyde is ballsy and gutsy. There will be some critics who will say that Halestorm don't know what their sound is; I know what their sound is, it's fucking awesome.

Basically, if The Strange Case of ... doesn't give Halestorm the recognition they deserve, then humanity is lost forever. This is one of the best rock albums of the year, and should cement Halestorm's place towards the top end of the pile. Highlighting bundles of talent, a never say die attitude and killer songs, The Strange Case of ... is truly excellent.

The Strange Case of ... is out now.



Tracklisting:
1. Love Bites (So Do I)
2. Mz Hyde
3. I Miss The Misery
4. Freak Like Me
5. Beautiful With You
6. In Your Room
7. Break In
8. Rock Show
9. Daughters of Darkness
10. You Call Me A Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing
11. American Boys
12. Here's To Us