Halestorm Shine On In The Live Room EP

Halestorm aren’t shy about seizing a great opportunity and you can’t really blame them. Timing is a big part of the marketing aspect of a great band. The band released video clips on You Tube a little over a week ago of their performance entitled The Live Room Stream. I’m not sure if the very positive reaction to the clips convinced the band to release the songs for download or if it was all planned out in advance. Regardless, fans of the band are in for a big treat.

On the day of the opening of the Jagermeister tour headlined by Halestorm and including  In This Moment and Eve to Adam, the band released In The Live Room on iTunes. It’s a six song EP of their exclusive recording session live at Sear Sound Studios in New York City for The Live Room on The Warner Sound. It’s an exclusive series that showcases some of the most important artists around performing in legendary recording studios.

The EP includes “I Get Off”, the song that broke them nationally and “I Bet U Wish U Had Me Back”, the 80s flavored rocker; both from their self-titled debut album. There are three songs from their latest album The Strange Case Of….  including “Love Bites (So Do I)”, the tender ballad “In Your Room” and the explicit version of “Here’s To Us”, which packs more punch than the sanitized Glee version. One track that did not make it to You Tube is the cover of the Alicia Keys song “Empire State of Mind”. Fans of Halestorm know that the band loves taking a cover and making it their own and this one will not disappoint.

Overall, this is a nice surprise for the fans and it’s also a steal for five bucks from iTunes. The live songs offer a bit more emotion and power that sometimes gets sanitized while being mixed in the studio. Lzzy was named Revolver’s Hottest Chick in Hard Rock, but this live recording is just more proof that she’s more than just a pretty face. The grit and emotion in her vocals is powerful and her talent combined with her brother/drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith have solidified themselves as one of the strongest bands around; both on record and in concert.