Halestorm seemed to come out of nowhere in 2009 with their song ultra sexy song and video for “I Get Off”. Led by lead singer Lzzy Hale, who was a deadly combination of leather and lace, the band was called an overnight sensation by many. What many did not know was that the band had been together for a long time and paying their dues. They released an EP in 2005 entitled “One and Done” and became road warriors, playing just about anywhere and everywhere.
Their self-titled full length album spawned numerous hits including “I Get Off”, “Familiar Taste of Poison” and more. Here we are three years and hundreds of shows later and the pressure is on as all eyes are on these childhood friends from PA. Will they rise to the challenge or suffer the dreaded “sophomore slump”? Well, for now, we are getting a 4 song EP entitled Hello, It’s Mz. Hyde to serve as a teaser for what’s to come.
The EP is a digital download only, but that’s familiar ground for the band. They released a covers EP last year entitled ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP as a digital download only. For anyone who is familiar with the band, they know that they have been infamous for doing killer cover songs for years now and that EP was no exception.
The first track and single, and maybe even song title of the year, is “Love Bites (So Do I)” and it shows off a bit of an aggressive edge for the band that brings to mind Skid Row’s “Slave To The Grind”. Lzzy vocals are diverse on here and effective to bringing true emotion to the lyrics. Joe Hottinger offers some tasty guitar work in this song. Lzzy’s brother Arejay also is a beast on the drums on this track
The band showed us on their last album that they definitely know how to create a catchy song that will get stuck in our heads. “Rock Show” is another example of one of those songs that you will immediately be singing the chorus after only one listen. This is one of those songs that all fans and music lovers can relate to. As Lzzy sings, ‘At the rock show, you’ll be right in the front row’, you just start rocking your head in agreement. Josh Smith also lays down a solid bassline that carries this song from beginning to end.
“Daughters of Darkness” is a great track with Halestorm doing what they do best. The chorus screams for audience participation and would fit in great at a live show. The last track, “Here’s To Us”, shifts gears and shows that Lzzy and the boys are no strangers to the old school power ballads from the eighties. The acoustic intro sets a great tone as the boys slowly join in on this track and establish a great melody. Lzzy’s reflective lyrics are sure to strike a chord with everyone who listens as I am sure we can all relate.
A mere four song teaser and I am so hungry for more. We have been served an appetizer and now we must wait until April for the main course. This EP is everything that we would expect from Halestorm, but they raised the bar. Anyone who has seen this band live knows that they are diverse and rich with talent. This EP taps into that a little more than their debut album did. Lzzy’s vocals are stronger than ever and even more convincing in her lyrical deliver. You actually feel what she is singing. Joe, Arejay and Josh sound tighter than ever and have really pushed themselves. Man, April needs to get here as soon as possible!
2 comments:
Very nice review of a great EP by a phenomenal band! I'm already counting the days until April 10th! If I may, though:
- The band aren't "childhood friends." Lzzy and Arejay grew up together, obviously, but Josh and Joe didn't join up until later -- the Hales' dad played bass for a while (and can be heard on a couple of self-published releases, in fact), and Joe Hottinger (who is from Wisconsin, by the way) didn't join up until 2003!
- ReAniMate was available as a CD through the band's website and at their shows (it was never shipped to stores) when it was released last year. The run was limited, and supposedly there were some legal issues with the Guns n' Roses cover that prevented any more physical units from being manufactured (thanks Axl!) after that run, so it's currently only available digitally. But CDs do exist.
- The lead guitar work on "Love Bites" (and, in fact, on all songs on the Mz. Hyde EP) was performed by Lzzy, not Joe. Joe does lead on most songs, especially during live performances, because Lzzy is busy singing, but sometimes she takes it, and that's the case on all four of these; Joe was pointing it out on Twitter a few days ago.
Hey Mike, I didn't know that actual physical copies of the covers EP were ever available. I need to find one of those to complete my Halestorm collection.
Also,I wish I would have caught that info on Joe's Twitter so I could have thrown out the correct props. I appreciate your thoughts on the article and the info. Thanks again for reading.
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