Album & EP Reviews

Halestorm – Live at Wembley

Halestorm – Live at Wembley
Atlantic Records
Release Date: 17/05/2024
Running Time: 01:33:00
Review by Laura Barnes
9/10

“But Laura!” I hear you say. “This isn’t Avante-garde Folk-inspired Jazz-infused Blackened Death Metal from Iceland!”

I know, friends, I know. However, there comes a time in everyone’s life in which we need to go outside, touch grass, turn on the radio, and think fondly on our pasts. Back when I was about 13, before I became the basement dwelling weirdo I am today, Halestorm were everything. They were the soundtrack to taking car rides with my Dad, or waiting at the bus stop every morning. I loved them totally and completely, and consider the band an important stepping stone on my journey to discovering heavier and heavier music. My strongest memories of the band are, of course, their live shows. The first time I saw them was at Manchester Academy in either 2012 or 2013, and I remember it with alarming clarity. I went with my Dad and my sister, we were right at the front, Lzzy was wearing sunglasses, and they blew my fucking socks off.

It seems I wasn’t the only one to have my socks blown off by Halestorm. The band have gained a mighty reputation for putting on killer live shows over the years, and are now big enough to have become a household name (source: if my Mum knows who they are, they are a household name).  The Wembley show in question was Halestorm’s biggest ticketed headline show yet, so it is very fitting to release this live album in celebration. With extended versions of beloved classics, epic drum solos courtesy of Arejay, and plenty of opportunities for audience participation, Halestorm’s live shows are the definition of turning things up to eleven. 

In some ways, this album brings you exactly what you expect. Halestorm are not shy about how much they love playing the classics in their repertoire. Openers ‘I Miss The Misery’ and ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ are always guaranteed to be mainstays of Halestorm’s setlist, but what is surprising here is that these hits came at the beginning of the setlist, rather than at the end. It would be easy for Halestorm to rely on these belters for their encore, but the fact that they didn’t is demonstrative of Halestorm’s growth as a band. Instead, the band use these songs to get the audience’s blood pumping early on, leaving room for more play and experimentation later. 

And play and experiment they do! I have been saying for years now that Halestorm should do a blues album, especially after their brief dabblings into the genre on “Into The Wild Life”, and this live release just proves my point even more. Their extended rendition of ‘Amen’ is nothing short of phenomenal, flowing seamlessly from Blues to Metal and Blues again and showcasing Halestorm’s ability to work as one fluid unit. ‘I Get Off’ also has some great bluesy moments, which really make this release feel special.

There are a few other special moments on this release. First released on a 2006 live EP, the grungey ‘Take My Life’ gets the arena treatment here in what is sure to be a treat for Halestorm’s most hardcore fans. Oh, yeah, and I was personally THRILLED to hear a reimagined version of the Lindsey Stirling / Lzzy Hale collab ‘Shatter Me’ on this album. A greatly underappreciated song, this track deserved a lot more fanfare when it was released back in 2014, so hearing Lzzy proudly blast it out for all of Wembley to hear was, quite literally, music to my ears. 

True to form, Halestorm end their stint at Wembley with songs that celebrate the community that has formed around the band over the years, and the avid audience participation that takes place throughout ‘Here’s To Us’ says it all really, as does the way Joe Hottinger absolutely fucking shreds it on ‘The Steeple’. It’s not the fame or the lifestyle that have motivated Halestorm to stay together all these years – it’s their love for music and their love for eachother. If either of those ingredients was missing, they wouldn’t be the band they are today, and they certainly wouldn’t have been able to headline Wembley.

Did I get all sentimental? Dammit. Nostalgia is a dangerous well to drink from, but its contents certainly are sweet. Honestly, it had been a long time since I had properly sat down and listened to Halestorm and I wasn’t expecting it to take me back the way it did. Without them, would I have lost interest in music as a pre-teen? Would I still have spent a good chunk of my teen years at gigs? Would I still be working at a music venue? I can’t know for sure, but I do know one thing! Halestorm were right – the last few years HAVE gone too fast!

TRACKLISTING
01. I Miss The Misery
02. Love Bites (So Do I)
03. I Get Off
04. Wicked Ways
05. Freak Like Me
06. Amen
07. Terrible Things
08. Rock Show
09. Familiar Taste of Poison
10. Takes My Life
11. Drum Solo
12. Back From The Dead
13. Bombshell
14. I Am The Fire
15. Break In – Shatter Me
16. Raise Your Horns
17. Here’s To Us
18. The Steeple

LINE-UP
Lzzy Hale – Vocals
Josh Smith – Bass
Joe Hottinger – Guitar
Arejay Hale – Drums

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