Halestorm - One & Done [Review]

Click here or read below for my E.P review of One & Done by Halestorm. It was published on Pure Grain Audio's website.

Rating: 9.0 / 10

Halestorm hail from Pennsylvania in the US and just last year signed with major label Atlantic Records. It’s taken a while however as these guys are not some new band success story. They’ve actually been writing and performing original music since the mid 90’s, formally setting up in 1997. The band started to become nationally noticed when they toured with Seether, Shinedown and Flyleaf from January to March 2006.

Halestorm have never produced anything more than an 8-track CD which is very disappointing as they really could achieve success with a proper album. Halestorm may not sound amazingly original, but they do have an element of originality with their amazingly powerful vocalist, Lzzy Hale. Lzzy is clearly the driving force behind the band and creates the recognizable sound of Halestorm. Without her this band would be nothing.

This 5 track EP is taken from a live show at Grape Street in Philadelphia on the 13th of August 2005. The sound quality of this EP however, is almost studio quality and the utmost care has been taken to get a great sound from what is a truly great band.

The Live EP starts off by boasting the sheer power and beauty of Lzzy Hale’s voice as she sings alone introducing the EP’s first song called “It’s Not You.” As Lzzy Hale sings “And It’s Not You” the guitars drive in and the show gets underway. The verse creeps in and then the catchy chorus gets you singing along with a couple of listens. A bridge comes along with a snazzy solo following and really adds great power to the final chorus.

“The Hand” doesn’t bring the success to a halt and very much continues it. A nice bass driven verse drives into a very catchy chorus all due to Lzzy’s vast, fruitful voice, capable of reaching notes, high and low. A nice palm muted guitar builds up the last chorus which again adds real power to the end of the song.

“Show Me” quietly converges from the mist and the bass line thrusts in with Lzzy’s voice harmonizing which builds up the song to a classy start. Again the song has a catchy chorus just like the previous two songs. The last chorus is very powerful and quite simply beautiful with Lizzy’s voice.

“Blue Eyes” is a nice song which stops the EP from all sounding the same. It has a slower tempo which creates a good interval between all the songs. However after the second chorus the songs livens up and a solo follows the rocky bridge and Halestorm once again finish the song in a powerful way.

“Takes My Life” is the last song and is no different to the other songs again with a nice bass and vocals only first verse. However the song livens up and a nice little solo follows the first chorus. Once again this song has a great ending, which is very powerful and liberating. However it lacks that melodic hook that Lzzy has managed to conjure from the previous songs and makes this song a little disappointing. Although good, it lacks the catchy chorus that makes you want more.

I’ve talked a lot about Lzzy Hale’s vocals without much mention to the other band members. Jale Hottinger is the lead guitarist and has some very catchy riffs and boasts many brilliant solos which never sound out of place. He is an accomplished guitar player and without him the band would be much misfortuned. Josh Smith is the bassist and is one very good bassist. He holds the songs together and helps create the quiet-loud-quiet-loud structure to the songs. Hottinger fires in with the quick guitar intros and Smith keeps the song flowing afterwards keeping Lizzy’s vocals in time. Arejay Hale is the drummer and although he doesn’t stand out as much as the other band members, he does play the vital job of keeping the song together and also helps structure the quiet-loud-quiet-loud structure.

Overall, this band is original, catchy and hard rockin’ and I think with a bit of promotion from their major label Atlantic Records, they could find themselves with a lot of success. I don’t see why they can’t achieve mainstream status and I for one will definitely buy their debut album if they ever make one. This band can be loved by a wide range of people, as it is light and heavy rock and never really goes “too light” or “too heavy” as many people often complain. These guys are generally very good which is why this EP gets a 9/10.

Track Listing:

01. It's Not You (Live)
02. Hand (Live)
03. Show Me (Live)
04. Blue Eyes (Live)
05. Takes My Life (Live)

Run Time: 19:58

The Bouncing Souls - The Gold Record [Review]

Click here or read below for my first ever album review, The Gold Record by The Bouncing Souls. It was published on Pure Grain Audio's website.

The Bouncing Souls - The Gold Record

The Gold Record is the 7th studio album from New Jersey’s Bouncing Souls. These guys are veterans of punk rock and they’ve lasted no less than 19 years with more to be promised. The gold theme continues right into track one. “The Gold Song” is a typical catchy, fast punk rock song with its rhyming lyrics funnily enough, all about gold. These guys have received small-scale radio play with this new album and it’s easy to see why, with its fast, free songs with a touch of commercial smoothness.

“So Jersey” is next song and it slips in with a quiet basic intro and then launches into the typical Bouncing Souls’ sound that their fans love. The lyrics are more improved in this song yet equally as catchy as “The Gold Song.” It does however lack that radio friendly rhyming that drives their pop punk success.

These guys do have some catchy intros and “Sounds Of The City” is no different. It is another fast, upbeat song that will get everybody off their feet at the next party that you hear this. These guys hit it on the head every time for their simple, yet effective vocals and their catchy riffs. You can’t deny the yet again simple, but effect solos of these guys too, which just help bridge the parts of songs together. It’s not like Bouncing Souls haven’t had years of experience to perfect this.

“The Pizza Song” is different, much different, but a good different. A nice mellow acoustic guitar slides in with Greg Attonito’s easy to recognise voice guiding you into this different sound. Along with a melodic accordion and trumpet this song really stands out and I have to say is one of the best songs on this album. It’s typical Bouncing Souls lyrics, but a different, refreshing sound beneath the vocals. Not only does the song stop the flow of similar sounding pop punk songs but it makes this album more interesting and more stood out from the rest. This talent is clearly why the Bouncing Souls have survived so long in the business.

“Sarah Saturday” gets Bouncing Souls back on track to what has to be close to, if not the best song on this album. Bouncing Souls are criticised for their cheesy, not too inventive lyrics, but it’s the pop hook of these vocals that makes this contender for song of the album. A typical song sound and structure but the hard rock ending really builds this song up with it everlasting pop hook.

Unfortunately the rest of this album is pretty much the same as above. A strong start to this album with a variation of sounds gave it promise; however its exclusivity does fade towards the end. None of the songs are unlistenable, but I can guarantee there will be a point on listening to this album where one thinks “I’m bored of this sound.”

However, these guys have had success with this album. High amount of radio play and a fairly high rate of record sales prove the Bouncing Souls are as popular as they’ve ever been. If you like Bouncing Soul’s earlier songs you will too like this slightly evolved sound. There is not one bad song on this record and if you have a love of punk pop or just generally punk, you will love this album. It’s repetitive, but that’s what brings you back time and time again to listen to it more. It is harder and harder to put down with every listen. Maybe one day these guys will break through into the mainstream industry, they deserve it after album after album of great, catchy music. These guys are very popular but only in sub genres, but they do have the potential to hit it big.

The Gold Record hit stores on 06/06/06 and had some coincidence to it as some Bouncing Souls hardcore fans believe this is actually the 6th studio record as one was just a release of already released songs. Although officially it is their 7th studio album, this record is highly listenable and does have a lot of talent within which is why it receives a 8 out of 10.

Track Listing:

01. The Gold Song
02. So Jersey
03. Sounds of the City
04. The Pizza Song
05. Sarah Saturday
06. Better Things
07. The Messenger
08. Lean on Sheena
09. Letter From Iraq
10. The New Thing
11. Midnight Mile
12. For All The Unheard

Run Time: 44:24