Halestorm’s rise to stardom so far brings them to their first Arena headline tour with four dates around the UK. It is very much a tour to celebrate the power of women in rock as they welcome New Years Day and In This Moment on stage as support in one of the strongest line ups I have seen in some time.
The Motorpoint in Cardiff may not quite be a sell out, but it is pretty damn close as the lights dim and California’s New Years Day explode on to the stage with “Come For Me”. Ash Costello, a fiery ball of red and black hair with a captivating voice, backed by a band of crushing power have the crowd on their side from the off. Lit in a dark and brooding style they use the whole stage as every member of the band alternates around the various risers.
“Kill or Be Killed” is atmospheric and dark then explodes into life. Costello asks who has seen the band before and I am one of the few raised hands in the entire hall, but she is clearly winning an army of new fans as a sea of hands and horns are raised for “Fucking Hostile”. Back to newest album “Unbreakable” for “Shut Up” which has a different sound from many of the other tracks. Still with the same huge rhythm section but more of an electronic soundscape and softer vocals. “Epidemic”, “Skeletons” (deliciously accessible judging by the crowd reaction) and “Scream” rush the set on at great speed and we are left with the anthemic “Defame Me” where Costello gets the crowd singing and well and truly warmed up.
A huge curtain is raised as the stage is prepped for In This Moment and we are held to the side as it drops, revealing a candlelit gothic set and huge stepped riser. “Don’t Stop Believin’ rings out and we are off. From the darkness the extensively made up band appear and lay down a massive riff. Two masked maidens join them and finally Maria brink herself, completely covered in a white sheet that remains in place, backlit, for the entirety of “Fly Like an Eagle”.
Anyone who hasn’t seen the band before must wonder what the heck they have walked into but it is theatrical and powerful. The choreography is sublime as the various members of the band prowl and pose, whilst in the centre, smoke swirls and Brink and her acolytes sway as she screams out the vocal.After every song she disappears through a curtain and changes costume but the gaps are filled by onstage theatrics and very quickly she is back for the next song.
“River of Fire” with its pounding rhythm, “Adrenalize” and its battering guitar, then eerie vocals, “Natural Born Sinner” gothic and dark then highlighting the sheer power of Brink’s vocals, “Legacy” and “Big Bad Wolf” are all impossible to look away from as the combination of Brink’s charismatic delivery, the band’s visual and musical hypnotic power and the darkness of the lyrics combine in glorious excess. “Blood” leads us towards the climax but everything before pales next to set closer “Whore”. The song takes on immense significance when introduced as we are led through the story of its creation then battered senseless by its delivery. I know some people would have watched somewhat bemused, but my partner’s face when she ran up to me afterwards said it all. “Wow! Just ……Wow!” her reaction.
And then….
I have seen Halestorm numerous times now, from their first appearance at Download and on most of the subsequent tours, but tonight’s show was not so much a step up as a quantum leap even for them.
Opening with “Black Vultures” they bring a show, not a gig. The lighting rig is huge, something many bands seem to overlook. Arejay sits on a massive drum riser at the back, his feet level with the rest of the bands heads. Josh to his left, stood in front of a keyboard as well as wearing his bass, and Joe to his right. Then Lzzy appears in impossibly high heels and trousers that must have been sprayed on, and screams out the lyric. Her voice is insanely good. Clear and tuneful when making a lyrical point and unleashed into that full blooded scream when the control is simply too much for her to bear. Her smile is almost as bright as that lighting rig and her simple joy of being with her “Freaks” clear to all. “Love Bites (So Do I)” careers the set on at insane speed. “Skulls” is almost a respite before the vocal gymnastics of “I Get Off”. “Vicious” has the crowd roaring back the chorus and we have barely stopped for breath.
Now, Lzzy’s voice does strange things to me. The powerful scream that seems to go on for ever followed by a deepening vibrato when mortals would be running out of breath, but her standalone vocal for “Familiar Taste of Poison” makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. The clarity of the notes that rang out across the capital City must have stopped passers by in their tracks. The band segue into “Amen” and a series of solos by each member of the band. I remember reading an interview with Joe once where he said he was working on his solos or words to that effect. Tonight he showed that has paid off. His guitar work is breathtaking. Lzzy picks up the solo and her style modifies it. At one point she even sings along to her own solo which is something I don’t remember ever seeing before.
The rhythm section get their turn. Josh, the quiet one of the four delivering some intriguing and technical bass passages responded to by Arejay above him on the kit. We know Arejay is going to bring out the big sticks (the way he plays with them never seems possible) but I loved the comedy of him leaving the kit only to be replaced by an imposter, then to be joined by both support drummers in a three way drum solo, again, pure theatre.
Lzzy then called her freaks to her for “Freak Like Me”, before talking directly to the women in the crowd and telling them of their power to do as they wish with their lives and make people “Uncomfortable”. “Do Not Disturb” gets contrasting reviews. It isn’t mine to review here as it isn’t aimed at me. I am a 55 year old white male. Instead, my younger, female partner said it is for her. It is a song telling her that she can enjoy being empowered to enjoy sex the way men can, on her own terms. To not hide her sexuality or her physicality and to revel in who she is. All I know is I love the song and I love it’s delivery (and my co reviewer wants Lzzy to know that if she is ever bored in Cardiff after a gig she wouldn’t think twice!).
“Chemicals” and “I am the Fire” (another extraordinary vocal) bring the main set to what feels like a early close and there is an odd silence as people realise that the band have left the stage. A single spot picks out Lzzy stood at a keyboard and another stand out moment takes place. Few performers have the sheer guts to stand there alone and deliver lyric after lyric with such power and presence. “Rock Show”, “White Dress” and “Dear Daughter” are all teased and then delivered with increasing raw emotion, before she teases a beautiful rendition of Journey’s “Separate Ways”. The rest of the band return along with the entire support crew for “Here’s To Us” as they toast the Freaks who sing every word right back at them. Lzzy wants one more chance to bring a lump to the throat and does so with “She Won’t Mind” before the tonsil destroying “I Miss the Misery”, with another astonishing solo from Joe is the climax to an encore almost as long as the set!
Ninety minutes of utter perfection. Halestorm are now close to that Holy Grail of a Download mainstage headliner. Most bands getting that honour are on their way out and Halestorm are still rising, at increasing speed. I hope they get some sort of headline slot in the summer (I would KILL for that to be Steelhouse, but maybe Ramblin Man would reflect the likely ticket sales needed) but wherever the next step takes them I will be there, as will my co-reviewer, wondering which floor Halestorm are staying on!
Review – Rob/Danni Wilkins
Images – Rob Wilkins