Halestorm - the North American hard rock band founded by the Hale brothers - looks forward to continue with its success presenting a radically different album from their previous ones: Into the Wild Life. Their second record, The Strange Case of... was a powerful injection of fresh blood to the genre, which was reflected in a Grammy Award on 2013. With such expectations, can the expedition of Halestorm into the wild life surpass the fierceness of their last album?
On 2012, I was very surprised with the freshness of a new band that combined the simplicity of pop, the anger of heavy metal and the sensuality of rock'n'roll. The energetic voice of Lzzy Hale and the turbulent rhythms of Arejay Hale were a great hook for me to await their next album. Now that I have Into the Wild Life on my hands I realize that this is a completely different band from the one who gave the world anthems like "I Miss the Misery" and "Here's to Us".
For the most part, Into the Wild Life says good bye to Halestorm's heavy sound. This record has more of a classic rock sound, with some electronic touches and some shades of country. On its defense, it has songs with a spicy touch of soul. You can feel that it was recorded in Tennesse. On that sense, the song where the mix is appreciated most clearly is "Amen", the natural single and one of the best tracks in the album.
As always, the main course is the voice of Lzzy Hale. She is an amazing singer and is the one that makes it difficult to stop paying attention to the songs that conform Into the Wild Life. There's something about her way of pronouncing the word "fuck" that sends shivers down my spine. At the same time, drummer Arejay Hale experiments with new rhythmic environments that create very interesting atmospheres.
From my point of view, Into the Wild Life has few memorable songs. Besides the singles, "Apocalyptic" and "Amen", there are few outstanding tracks. The only one that, in my opinion, will remain as a Halestorm classic will be "I Like it Heavy". It is a "bluesy" tune about the love for loud and rhythmic music. This song also keeps the sexiness of the lyrics of the previous albums.
Now that the virtues of Into the Wild Life have been pointed, let's talk about the flaws, which are many. I had huge expectations for this album and I received something very different to what I was expecting. It is a record that is too dense to be listened from beginning to ending, because of its numerous slow songs and ballads. Choruses are still catchy, but something happened with the wit that characterized the band's melodies.
One of my few concerns with Halestorm's last record was that it seemed to me that it was over produced. With Into the Wild Life is the exact opposite: it seems as if producer Jay Joyce was on vacations and didn't give a shit about the songs and the sound of this album. In most of the songs, the guitars sound totally detached from the rest of the instruments and the bass seems nonexistent.
Many of the tracks end with instrumental transitions with the purpose of being connected to the following ones. I found those transitions very annoying and tasteless, because they were forced to fit, but didn't resemble neither the song that was finishing nor with the one that was starting. They are simply awful.
In terms of production, the most disappointing aspect is the guitar sound. In the scarce moments where the heavy side of Halestorm shows up, the distortion has an unpleasant rugged dirty sound. On the other hand, there are plenty of clean guitar parts in which a very dull flanger is used that makes slow songs to drag even more.
As for the lyrics, most of them are about being yourself and doing whatever you want to do, even if others disagree. Personally, I missed the simple straight forward lyrics of previous albums. Also the hot sexy element is almost completely lost and, for me, that was one of the main turn ons of Halestorm.
Into the Wild Life has its merit and surely many people will like the direction Halestorm is taking with their music. However, I think it goes very far from the heavy sound that listeners were used to. I recognize it has some strong points, but it's not my cup of tea. In my opinion, Halestorm is a fantastic band and they can do better. Opposite to Halestorm's previews records, I wouldn't recommend Into the Wild Life.
Have you listened to Into the Wild Life? Did you like it? Please, comment and share.
Now that the virtues of Into the Wild Life have been pointed, let's talk about the flaws, which are many. I had huge expectations for this album and I received something very different to what I was expecting. It is a record that is too dense to be listened from beginning to ending, because of its numerous slow songs and ballads. Choruses are still catchy, but something happened with the wit that characterized the band's melodies.
One of my few concerns with Halestorm's last record was that it seemed to me that it was over produced. With Into the Wild Life is the exact opposite: it seems as if producer Jay Joyce was on vacations and didn't give a shit about the songs and the sound of this album. In most of the songs, the guitars sound totally detached from the rest of the instruments and the bass seems nonexistent.
Many of the tracks end with instrumental transitions with the purpose of being connected to the following ones. I found those transitions very annoying and tasteless, because they were forced to fit, but didn't resemble neither the song that was finishing nor with the one that was starting. They are simply awful.
In terms of production, the most disappointing aspect is the guitar sound. In the scarce moments where the heavy side of Halestorm shows up, the distortion has an unpleasant rugged dirty sound. On the other hand, there are plenty of clean guitar parts in which a very dull flanger is used that makes slow songs to drag even more.
Sadly, the "Making of" looks way better than the actual album
As for the lyrics, most of them are about being yourself and doing whatever you want to do, even if others disagree. Personally, I missed the simple straight forward lyrics of previous albums. Also the hot sexy element is almost completely lost and, for me, that was one of the main turn ons of Halestorm.
Into the Wild Life has its merit and surely many people will like the direction Halestorm is taking with their music. However, I think it goes very far from the heavy sound that listeners were used to. I recognize it has some strong points, but it's not my cup of tea. In my opinion, Halestorm is a fantastic band and they can do better. Opposite to Halestorm's previews records, I wouldn't recommend Into the Wild Life.
Have you listened to Into the Wild Life? Did you like it? Please, comment and share.
