Halestorm: Into The Wild Life review
It\’s been three years since Halestorm released their immensely-successful sophomore album- The Strange Case Of… and it\’s hard to believe their only releasing their third record given the level of success and popularity they\’ve reached already.
While many may think they know what to expect with the band\’s third record- Into The Wild Life- they couldn\’t be more wrong- as fans with expectations can. With the band\’s third album they take everyone offguard a bit at first-listen. You might expect to hear something as vicious as “Love Bites” or “It\’s Not You,” but instead you get a tribal-esque drum beat from drummer Arejay Hale, leading into one of the most melodic songs the band has recorded in “Scream.”
One thing that stands out about this album compared to their first two is that every song flows beautifully and naturally into the next. If you weren\’t paying attention, you wouldn\’t even notice the songs changing, which makes for a unique experience.
“I Am The Fire” is a unique song in itself- both powerful yet beautiful and soulful at the same time while “Sick Individual” opens with an Arejay-laced drum solo which leads into a funky Lzzy Hale/Joe Hottinger guitar-cutting track and is a funky song that only Halestorm can do best.
“Amen” takes over next and brings the country out in Halestorm- no, don\’t worry- it\’s not a country song- it\’s just more southern-rooted- and one of the catchiest songs they\’ve written. “Amen” leads into “Dear Daughter,” which is one of the strongest and most beautiful songs Halestorm have penned.
With “Dear Daughter,” Lzzy tells the young girls of America what they\’ve needed all along- a bode of confidence and offers them a role model they can really look up to. Instead of being negative and getting down on themselves, Lzzy tells them to keep their heads up and stay positive because no matter what they may go through- Lzzy has been through it too and she made it and life gets better- she\’s living proof.
The song flows flawlessly into the next- “New Modern Love,” which has a more psychedelic rock feel to it and shows the band\’s musicianship in a way we haven\’t seen yet and is a song you can zone out to yet rock to at the same time.
Then there\’s “Mayhem” and “Apocalyptic,” which both have that hard-hitting Halestorm kick in the nuts we\’ve all come to know and love which, in the end, make more a completely rounded album that shows Halestorm know exactly how to switch it up and do the unexpected. They always keep us guessing and they don\’t like making the same album twice. This may very well be the band\’s strongest album, musically. Get ready, world- Halestorm is back and they\’re ready to rock your asses off….again.
Rating: 9/10
-Reggie Edwards