Album Review — Halestorm

Halestorm — Back From The Dead

Halestorm have released their fifth record, titled “Back From The Dead”, their first record since 2018’s Vicious.

The band started recording the record shortly before the COVID lockdown and singer/songwriter Lzzy Hale is quoted as saying “this album is the story of me carving myself out of that abyss. It is a journey of navigating mental health, debauchery, survival, redemption, rediscovery, and still maintaining faith in humanity.”

If there is one word I would use to describe this record it would be “angry” and the cover of the record would seem to agree with that assessment.

The title track kicks things off and Hale greets us with a scream. It’s a heavy, aggressive track that sets the tone for the record. It’s actually my favorite track on the record.

“Wicked Ways” has a similar feel to it with more aggression from Hale. It has a little more modern feel to it but another heavy rocker.

“Strange Girl” is the first of many tracks where Hale’s anger appears to be pointed toward someone. It’s another aggressive, heavy track.

Hale’s quote regarding maintaining faith in humanity is an interesting one given the outlook on life “only getting darker” on “Brightside”.

“The Steeple” is one of the singles and has a catchy fist-pumping chorus. I imagine this will be a concert staple moving forward.

“Terrible Things” is the most poignant song on the record. It’s an acoustic ballad that reflects on the evils of humanity and all that is wrong in the world. But the song doesn’t sound hopeless which I appreciate.

The second half of the record takes a downturn as I’m not a fan of the next four tracks. They aren’t bad, but just nothing I connect with.

The album ends with “Raise Your Horns”. It’s a piano ballad that offers more hope than “Terrible Things” despite the borderline cheesy title. Hale’s vocal performance is one of the highlights of the record.

There’s a lot that goes into a good record. The songs themselves and the performances are fairly obvious. But connecting to the songs is important and that’s lacking here for me. There’s a lot of anger here, which I appreciate, but the solutions I’m struggling to connect with.

“Back From The Dead” has some good moments and it’s far from a bad record. But it’s just not one that I’ve taken to. I imagine fans of the band will embrace this record and many will connect with what’s being offered.

But for me, it’s a good record but not something I’ll listen to moving forward.

80 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Back From The Dead *
2. Wicked Ways *
3. Strange Girl
4. Brightside
5. The Steeple
6. Terrible Things *
7. My Redemption
8. Bombshell
9. I Come First
10. Psycho Crazy
11. Raise Your Horns

*Best Songs