“Raise your hands” screams Lzzy Hale. It’s like a gunshot into the night. Non-compliance is not an option. Halestorm are one of those bands. You will be with them, you have no choice.
“I Miss The Misery” almost seems you to dare to take them on. Heavier than you ever think they’re going to be – witness the metal guitars at the end – by the time “Love Bites (So Do I)” hits, Lzzy could get anyone in Wembley to do whatever she asked.
It’s well over a decade since I first saw them. They were opening for Shinedown on their “Sound Of Madness” shows. You couldn’t ignore them. Plus they did a cover of Skid Row’s “Youth Gone Wild” (something of an irony, now)
Fast forward to December 2023, and Lzzy appears to have become emblematic of hero worship to many, and when they do “I Get Off” it is delivered as an empowerment anthem, with a snippet of Heart’s “Crazy on You”.
“Wicked Ways” thunders, “Freak Like Me” has them as an invading army, with the 12000 infantry, “Amen” is turned into a real statement piece, and guitarist Joe Hottinger is sensational.
And you cannot overlook how genuinely good a rock band they are. “Terrible Things” slows the pace beautifully, and “Rock Show” underlines the devotion. “Familiar Taste Of Poison” merely underlines the idea that Lzzy can sing better than you.
“Takes My Life” goes all the way back, the Drum solo is one of the better examples, but when they all return, “Back From The Dead” with its “hell couldn’t hold me down” hook, captures the vibe, and the strut of “Bombshell” is totally sure of itself.
“I Am The Fire” lights up London, but the speech before “Break In – Shatter Me” gives an indication as to how deep this band goes, while the piano-led “Raise Your Horns” is soaring.
“Here’s To Us” feels like the victory parade, before everyone finds their church, their people, and do not doubt this communion, on “The Steeple.”
I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old” Hale tells the crowd at one point, confiding that their first-ever show was her and her brother Ajay at a county fair. They came third, she says.
That had been over a quarter of a century ago. And if it means I can trot out the line about it being a mighty long way down rock ‘n roll from a town in Pennsylvania to Wembley Arena, then the point is no less valid.
Halestorm live it, breathe it, and deserve to be rockstars. Not only are they one of the most important bands around, but they are as good as US hard rock gets in 2024.
Rating 8.5/10
