HALESTORM | Vicious | Album Review

Halestorm is one of rock radio's biggest go to bands right now. Having burst onto the scene in 2009 with their self-titled and continuing to garner some traction from there, it's definitely no secret that Halestorm have successfully transitioned from newcomer to massive force over the course of nine years. Of course, these days, if you are a female fronted band there is seemingly a much higher probability of that happening due to the fact that many active rock fans also gawk at the ladies. That is why many female-fronted acts who make it big usually blend together in a similar way, being all about how attractive the frontwoman is. Halestorm has that but also has somewhat of an identity as well despite not having the strongest track record. The self-titled debut album was promising and had some good moments, but it was followed by two back-to-back records that did not do anything for me, with "Into The Wild Life" being the prime example of that with its poor production and musical ideas. However, the band are back at it again with "Vicious", which is their fourth studio effort. This album sees Halestorm attempting to go back to the heavy rock sound they were known for after the last album featured more of a lull and "The Strange Case Of" felt more like a typical hard rock clashing with balladry type album. It's not a complete departure from what Halestorm has done in the past, but this album is meant to have much more of a kick in the teeth than previously. 

Before the release of "Vicious", we were given three pre-released tracks which is a much better amount than four or five that many bands give us nowadays for leadoff material. Admittedly, the only one of these I listened to before going into "Vicious" was this album's leadoff single "Uncomfortable". Obviously having been turned away by Halestorm for much of their post-debut material, I was honestly surprised by this song. This song I initially thought was just fine, certainly better than much of the stuff I had heard from this group before, but over time I've really grown to appreciate what this song is trying to do. The lyrics do hit a few speed bumps but what this song's real draw is for me is the delivery from everyone in the band. Lzzy Hale sounds great on this track and it feels much more passionate and involved than anything before this. "Black Vultures" is pretty much the same experience and is the track that actually opens up the album. Right away, you get some heavy guitarwork that feels like a very well calculated version of a hard rock song from the 1980's and Hale's performance does give off that vibe especially in the chorus. Both of these tunes are exceptionally listenable as well as catchy and they have some strong hooks to them. Admittedly though, the final pre-released track "Do Not Disturb" doesn't do as much for me. I don't really care for the lyrics as much here and it sort of feels like something Letters From The Fire would come up with on their most recent album. 

One lucky attribute I can give to this album though is that unlike that aforementioned album, "Vicious" actually has a ton of staying power. Listening to a good majority of tracks written for this album, you definitely get the feeling that these are fun rock songs with a lot of nostalgic passion in them, especially in the first four tracks and various tracks within this album's 43 minute runtime. One of these examples is in "Skulls" which has a good flow to it and a great and well-executed hook in the chorus as well as in "Buzz" as Halestorm sort of go for a hard rock version of No Doubt. "Killing Ourselves To Live" has more of an 80's metal vibe with a chorus that would fit well along that description as well as some excellent guitar playing. "White Dress", one of the album's four cuts that feature a couple of co-writers, is probably the best song on this entire album. This definitely fits the entire mold of the album as Lzzy Hale is definitely adamant about having no regrets for who she is and not feeling a part of a bigger whole, and it's convincing. In fact, her vocals altogether are a lot stronger throughout this entire album. Her higher range vocals are used to fantastic effect, especially with the heavier tracks and more passionate acoustic leaning tracks like "Heart Of Novocaine" and album closer "The Silence". This is a performance that makes the lyrical content and overall makeup of the album believable, and it makes me at least somewhat on board with all of the accolades Hale gets for her singing vocals, because there is clearly effort here.

Don't get it in your head that I think this is a perfect album necessarily, as there are some tracks that don't do it for me. Of course I already mentioned "Do Not Disturb" as my least favorite but there's "Painkiller" that doesn't really do anything for me in terms of its melody. "Conflicted" has some of the solid ideas a good majority of this disc has but also features a melody I am a bit conflicted on, no pun intended. But given that these are really the only low points of the album, you can't really complain that much. If you were somewhat worried that nothing salvageable was coming from the big names in active rock and the whole rock scene in general, this is an album among many that would prove you wrong. While it isn't a masterpiece or anything, this isn't meant to be and that is exactly its strongest characteristic. This could be Halestorm's strongest album, and I could probably say that without much shame because I am very mixed on this band's other work sans the debut. If Halestorm continue delving in this sound on future albums while not going overboard in any way, Halestorm would definitely be a band I'll gladly warm up to in time. So, if you weren't a fan before, definitely give this album a listen. And if you're a die-hard fan, you will definitely not be disappointed and you will probably find this album to be one of their strongest to date. Overall, you probably won't find anything to viciously tear apart about this album other than maybe a couple small things. 

RATING: 7/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.