Halestorm

"The Strange Case Of…"

Label: Atlantic

It's always good to hear a woman singing hard rock music, and although Halestorm isn't bringing anything ground-breaking to the game, lead singer Lzzy Hale has enough attitude and sleaziness in her song writing and performing to fit in with Josh Todd from Buckcherry and other top front men of this male-dominated genre. Halestorm's latest effort, The Strange Case Of…, starts off strong with the lead single "Love Bites (So Do I)", a fast-paced metal song that's reminiscent of Skid Row's Slave To The Grind era, but the other heavy songs on the album fail to match the intensity of the first song.

The more tender, radio-ready tracks like "Here's To Us", "Break In", and "Beautiful With You" are the better songs on The Strange Case Of…, and really showcase Hale's vocal abilities in a way that the harder songs don't allow. Anthems like "You Call Me A Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing" and "American Boys" are sure to have rocker girls all over the world pumping their fists, but if you're planning on buying this record, get the deluxe edition with the bonus tracks. A duet with Sixx A.M.'s James Michael called "Private Parts" and a passionate ballad called "Hate It When You See Me Cry" are better than everything else on the album. If you're expecting The Strange Case Of… to blow you away, you're probably going to be disappointed, but if you just want some simple, fun, and female-fronted rock n' roll, Halestorm has delivered.