Gig review: HALESTORM – Wembley Arena, London, 9 December 2023

December 16th, 2023 by andynathan

Halestorm have maintained a continuous but steady upward trend in popularity on the UK. Nearly 14 years after I first saw them open up for Theory of a Deadman and Heaven’s Basement at the Electric Ballroom, came a career highlight, headlining Wembley Arena and virtually selling out, helped by this being the sole UK date on a European tour, and a support band in Black Veil Brides who, judging by the t-shirts and hair and makeup, brought a substantial fan base of their own.

A second woman opened proceedings in the curiously named Mothica, blonde haired and in a red dress, accompanied only by a drummer, guitarist, and liberal use of sampled sounds. ‘Casualty’ and ‘Vices’ called to mind a cross between Avril Lavigne and Evanescence, interspersed with a Bring Me The Horizon cover in ‘Can You Feel My Heart’.

The Gen-Z generation is much more comfortable than my own at self expression and jaws dropped as she tearfully recounted in the first 20 minutes her young history of sexual assaults and suicide attempts, inspiring ‘Buzz Kill’ and ‘Forever 15’ respectively. The Smashmouth cover ’All Star’, with balloons being thrown into crowd, was easily the most enjoyable of her set, while she got the crowd to sing ‘f— forgiveness’ on a new song before ending with ‘Sensitive’, showing her poppier side, even with a Britney Spears vibe. She was a distinctive character we may hear more from in the future, hopefully once someone has told her there is no such language as ‘British’ (sic).

I was curious to see Black Veil Brides as a band I’ve heard much about over a decade- plus career yet never really managed to catch other than fragments of the odd set at Download. The strobe lighting was certainly impressive but had the effect that the band were shrouded in darkness, though from what little I could see they had toned down their earlier image a little. After opener ‘Crimson Skies’ had me wishing singer Andy Biersack would not growl so much, far more palatable were ‘Rebel Love Song’, with people punching the air, and substantial parts of the standing audience bouncing to ‘Wake Up’, taking up where Lostprophets left off.

With guitarists Jake Pitts and Jinxx going back to back for some swift but flashy twin guitar leads reminiscent of mid-eighties Priest, ‘Nobody’s Hero’, ‘Devil’ and ‘Scarlet Cross’ set an unrelenting pace which dropped a notch for ‘Torch’. There were a couple of older songs in ‘The Legacy’ with the standing crowd raising devil horns right to the back, and ‘Knives and Pens’. ‘Fallen Angels’ even had me singing along to a chorus I instantly picked up on and reminded me of likes of Hinder, and ‘In The End’ was another to get the mass ranks jumping. In a slick 50 minutes set which maybe should have been upgraded to co-headlining status, I enjoyed them far more than expected- I just wish I could have seen them properly out of the darkness!

With ‘Beyond the Realms of Death’ and ‘Power Slave’ suitably metallic warm-ups over the PA immediately prior, Halestorm came on with a elaborate light show and stage set up that screamed ‘arena ready’. They began with Lzzy Hale, unaccompanied, screaming ‘raise your horns’ at the top of her lungs then a surprise as usual set closer ‘I Miss The Misery’ opened the set with her and fellow guitarist Joe Hottinger swapping solos on an extended closing section. I did feel that she was screaming a touch too forcefully and indeed the notably heavier direction they have taken in recent years meant another of those classics from ‘The Strange Case of…..’ in ‘Love Bites (So Do I’) was so brutal as to be initially unrecognisable.

Inviting the women for whom she is so clearly a role model to get on people’s shoulders, ‘I Get Off’ from the debut album felt a little disjointed, and included a snatch of Heart’s ‘Crazy On You’ delivered by Lzzy crouching on the floor before segueing into new song ‘Wicked Ways’. After the massed ranks at the front were bouncing to ‘Freak Like Me’, ‘Amen’ turned into an extended, though frankly not terribly exciting, jam with solos from Joe then Lzzy.

In contrast the two showed their subtlety on ‘Terrible Things’, opening a brief acoustic sequence which followed with a snatch of ‘Rock Show’, leading into ‘Familiar Taste of Poison’. Their treatment of this song really worked well as it burst into full electric life halfway through and became an epic with a solo from Joe and low key bassist Josh Smith joining in to compete with him who could play the fastest, all the while as Lzzy crouched down and pounded the stage.

After the unexpected ‘Taste My Life’ – I thought I had misheard Lzzy introduce a song from 2005 but no, it dated back to the ‘One and Done’ EP that even preceded their first album, came the predictable but always entertaining drum solo from Arejay Hale, whose tousled hairstyle was like a slime green version of Boris Johnson’s, concluding with playing those baseball bat sized drumsticks.

Of a couple of heavier numbers from last album ‘Back From The Dead’, the title track possessed a catchy hook, the latter less so. ‘I Am The Fire’ was another highlight with an intro with both Lzzy and Joe on 12 string guitars and the whole crowd holding up their phone lights, but it took me by surprise to see the stage go dark after as the main set had flown by.

For something completely different, the encore saw Lzzy alone at piano and, after a typically gracious expression of pride and thanks, play a medley of ‘Break In’, ‘Shatter Me’ and a full length ‘Raise Your Horns’. She carried the tunes which is no mean feat to make this format work in an arena, showing an added string to her talented bow.

‘Here’s To Us’ was a suitable follower to an end of tour round of shots, and had people waving their arms, even those of us in the seats. The delivery was rather sloppy however, so it was a relief to conclude in rather tighter and crunchier fashion with a titanic ‘The Steeple’, again in a heavier mould but judging from the reaction a modern day Halestorm anthem, before the gig ended in a shower of confetti and one of the longest band goodbyes I can remember.

I’m not totally sold on the heavier approach they have progressively taken, but this show proved two things – Lzzy Hale is on top of her game and can tackle a variety of styles, and Halestorm have made the grade as an arena act.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
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