HALESTORM: Vicious (HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

The fairy tale continues for Halestorm. Revealed by their first two albums and consecrated by an "Into The Wild Life" which was a hit on the other side of the Atlantic, the Hale siblings' band continues its rise to fame. On the threshold of their fourth album, they now have to confirm and prove to us that they are here to last. To do so, Halestorm has come up with "Vicious", with a cover that is both disturbing and attractive. He applies the recipe that has so far been very successful and one can really talk about a big gap to evoke the record. Like a modern-day Def Leppard, Lzzy Hale's band switches between styles without shocking or sounding wrong.

Carried by an incredibly gifted singer, the band takes us from singles worthy of the R'n'B U.S. pop scene, somewhere between Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani, to typical Hard Rock tracks. The single 'Uncomfortable' has a Volbeat-like feel to it, but is also catchy and seductive, just like 'Black Vultures', 'Killing Yourself To Live' and 'White Dress', which are effective. Lzzy knows how to make herself powerful and on guitars, she and Joe Hottinger enjoy themselves with strong riffs and well-played solos.

But Halestorm is also a hit machine for radios. 'Skulls', 'Buzz', 'Conflicted' and 'Vicious' are all pure hits with perfect melodies. The singer has made further progress, showing a huge feeling and is on a par with the greats, evoking Tori Amos for this strength tinged with sweetness. We'll also bring out two slightly different tracks, catchy but moving away from the purely pop side: 'Heart Of Novocaïne' which is a superb acoustic ballad full of emotions and 'The Silence' which ends the album with a catchy pop-folk tone between Toto and Tanita Tikaram.

With 'Vicious', Halestorm confirms his remarkable talent for a fresh music that always balances perfectly between rock and pop. The Hale family continues on a royal road and nothing seems to stop a band that has all the cards in hand to achieve worldwide success. - Official website

HALESTORM

VICIOUS

ATLANTIC RECORDS

HARD ROCK