Halestorm – Everest Review

 

Lzzy Hale – Guitar/Vocals,

Arejay Hale – Drums,

Joe Hottinger – Guitar,

Josh Smith – Bass,

 

1. Fallen Star
2. Everest
3. Shiver
4. Like A Woman Can
5. Rain Your Blood On Me
6. Darkness Always Wins
7. Gather The Lambs
8. WATCH OUT!
9. Broken Doll
10. K-I-L-L-I-N-G
11. I Gave You Everything
12. How Will You Remember Me?

 

 

Halestorm have never been a band to stagnate or rest on their laurels. Since their formation in back in 1997, the quartet have built a reputation as one of rock’s most emotive and impressive live acts, playing hundreds of shows a year and refining their mix of gritty riffs, unmistakable vocals, and infectious energy. Their sixth album, Everest, released last week has a different feel to their previous work but is still unmistakably a Halestorm record.

 

The album opens with riff heavy “Fallen Star” that features strong snare work from Arejay and accents different instruments throughout the track. The album next moves to the title track “Everest” that I first heard live when the band supported Iron Maiden in London. The dual meaning expressing persistence and endurance is a fitting title to the song where the instruments develop whilst maintaining a steady pace throughout. Accented by Hottinger’s storytelling guitar leading to a change to more upbeat vocal’s from Lzzy before the track ends. There is a real feel of ascending as the track progresses.

 

“Shiver” is more emotional, exposing a real vulnerability. It’s instrumental simplicity just adding to the raw feel of song as a whole. There are very few that can match Lzzy’s ability vocally and this song is going to be an instant classic live and you can visualise the torch light lighting up a stadium.

The raw emotional feel is carried into next track “Like a Woman Can”. The track is underpinned by the rhythm section that gives a musical sway that is reminiscent of old school live lounge music. The addition of the piano to the track only amplifies the effect.  

 

 

“Rain you Blood on Me” feels like a rallying cry from Lzzy, who refers to the track as “our ode to women”, explaining that: “The crawl, the climb, the clenching of fists, the screaming of sirens, the breaking of glass – this is our war cry. As a woman, surrounded by my allies, Arejay, Joe, and Josh, we put everything we’ve fought for up until this moment into this opus. The music started with the stomping of feet at 3 in the morning, with a chant of Rain Your Blood On Me. We weren’t even sure what that title meant in the moment as we watched the sky crack through the eerie Spanish moss in Savannah, Georgia. But we knew it was right. By 11:30am the poem I had written had seemed to form itself like a story waiting to be told.

 

 

Next is the highlight of the album for me, “Darkness always Wins”. The dramatic tracks use of piano with cleverly placed guitar work builds with the raw emotion in Lzzy’s vocals. The build up throughout the track is highly effective particularly as it approaches the guitar solo before returning to the more simplistic chorus start. This is undoubtably become one of the bands live staples for years to come.

 

“Gather the Lamb” commences with a guitar sound similar to Pantera’s “Floods” before returning to a more traditional Halestorm sound. The eerie guitar accents are really effective in building contrast in the song when in juxtaposition to the catchy choruses.

 

“Watch out” brings the chaos to the album with vocal work giving an unhinged vibe which is only amplified by Lzzy’s screaming and the effects applied to her voice. The franticness been emphasised by Hottinger’s solo work, particularly through his technical skill and choice of mode.

 

“Broken Doll”’s guitar work feels ‘Dimebag-esque’ at the beginning and the overall impression continues the psychologically disjointed feel that started with the previous track and crescendos into the next song “K-I-L-L-I-N-G“ with elements that remind me of Serj Tankian in the verses.

 

As we reach the later part of the album the frenzy is starting to subside and the story telling leans more towards reflection albeit angry in sections. “I Gave You Everything” being more aggressive than final track “How Will You Remember Me”. Both tracks making effective use of piano. The final song is full of memory and effectively ends the album in a reflective manner. The Bon Jovi style guitar solo giving a real but Halestorm feeling style ballad. As with many other songs this will be amazing live.   

 

Overall the album explores new directions for the band whilst maintaining the essence of a Halestorm record. There are several tracks that will transfer really well to a live set and I can not wait for the bands tour later this year so that I can hear the tracks delivered in a way that only Halestorm know how to do.