Halestorm finally release their follow up to the wildly successful The Strange Case Of…. Does Into The Wild Life deliver, or is it Apocalyptic?
https://vimeo.com/124131293
Text Review:
If anyone is still under the impression that women do not belong in the rock scene then they are clearly out of their mind. Even with newer and current groups like The Pretty Reckless, In This Moment, Within Temptation and Halestorm, rock has never been sex-specific.
After their second studio album won the young Pennsylvania band a Grammy for best hard rock performance in Love Bites, Halestorm has created a passionate following in the young female fanbase across the country while dominating radio play with various singles. After years of heavy touring and festivals, the band appear to have played every single card they had perfectly in a short timespan.
My personal experience with Halestorm lies with watching them perform at Welcome to Rockville and hearing Love Bites be the number 1 voted song of 2012 on Sirius XM Octane. Other than that, I can’t say I was crazy about any of their other singles. While nothing was terrible or off-putting, nothing really had the adrenaline punch that Love Bites possessed.
Into the Wild Life marks a venture into new territory for the band. In a radio interview, Lzzy Hale detailed that:
“We decided to throw away everything that the previous two records made us feel comfortable and safe. We threw caution to the wind and said, “We’re just gonna chase after whatever gets us excited.” and we made an actual album.”
The album started getting attention for the upcoming release earlier this year with the new song Apocalyptic.
This is the type of song that takes an entire listen and several replays to get behind. When I first heard it, I wasn’t completely moved by everything as much of it doesn’t apply to me, but at the same time not every song will apply to everyone.
After listening to the entire three and a half minutes I grew to love the bridge and energy in the second half. The guitar is vibrant and the rhythm is consistently strong. In many ways that is the description for most of the songs on this album.
That being said, I don’t think Apocalyptic is the highlight of this album. Into The Wild Life has a deep rhythm throughout the tracklist. The new album was produced and recorded in Nashville, and I really believe some of the southern rock elements must have seeped into the band as you can clearly hear the southern influences in many songs.
The southern influence is obvious in a song like this, but furthermore it demonstrates the point that Lzzy Hale said. They chased after what got them excited and you can hear the passion they put into that short song. The symbol bashing adds an exclamation point and Amen is easy to sing along with.
There are some bands that are known for taking everything a little too serious and having it crash and burn. With Halestorm, I get the feeling that these four are having the time of their lives and loving to play. Into The Wild Life reinforces that impression for me.
There are many people who pass over Halestorm because they see an attractive lead singer and don’t give the band any credit without listening. After hearing their work and seeing them live, you will be convinced that Halestorm belong in the rock scene.
Overall, Into The Wild Life will satisfy just about any basic and southern rock fans while keeping the Halestorm fanatics happy. If you give this album a bigger chance than just what is featured in its lead single, you may fall in love with what you hear.
