The Pennsylvania rockers of Halestorm take a risk and step out of their comfort zone with their third full length album, “Into the Wild Life.” Instead of the slickly produced radio friendly tracks that garnered them so much success, the new record has a real raw, classic rock feel thanks in part to producer Jay Joyce who recorded the band playing live in the studio.
Exploring more diverse musical stylings and deeper, more intimate lyrics, Halestorm takes on everything from the pop almost country feel of “New Modern Love” to the electronica opening and industrial vibe of “Scream.” The band sounds better than ever with a cool drum solo by Arejay Hale to open “Sick Individual” and some well placed guitar solos by Joe Hottinger. Make no mistake about it though, this is Lzzy’s show and her vocals are exceptional throughout. From the poignant piano ballad of “Dear Daughter” to the down and dirty rock gospel feel of “Amen, ” Lzzy is spot on and carries the show. Of course, this wouldn’t be a Halestorm record without some straight up rockers like the punchy first single, “Apocalyptic” and the metal thrash of “Mayhem” which Lzzy belts out in straight up rock goddess fashion.
Halestorm has always had the necessary ingredients for success with great songwriting, talented musicians, and a charismatic frontwoman like Lzzy. With “Into the Wild Life,” they have kicked it up a notch giving us a fresh and diverse rock and roll record. With more and more bands sounding exactly the same, I’ll give an “Amen” to that any day of the week.
