{"id":67909,"date":"2018-07-31T13:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=67909"},"modified":"2018-07-30T22:27:18","modified_gmt":"2018-07-30T21:27:18","slug":"review-halestorm-vicious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-halestorm-vicious\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Halestorm &#8211; Vicious"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-67910 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Halestorm VICIOUS\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-465x465.jpg 465w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/halestorm-VICIOUS_cover_FIN.jpg 1425w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Halestorm<\/strong> have worked hard with almost constant touring to reach the levels of success they&#8217;ve already achieved, and the fourth outing from the Pennsylvania quartet looks set to cement their already enviable position. However, <i>&#8216;Vicious&#8217;<\/i> is no radical departure and they are most definitely playing it safe as they further hone their craft in the realm of pop-metal, rather than exploring their heavier side. Nevertheless, as hook-filled hard rock goes, they are so well-drilled they can&#8217;t help but deliver.<\/p>\n<p><i>&#8216;Black Vultures&#8217;<\/i> kicks it all off in killer style with a big riff and an even bigger chorus; it&#8217;s slick, it&#8217;s melodic and rocks in every department. This is about as good as radio-friendly hard rock gets and is a strong indicator of just how polished <strong>Halestorm<\/strong> are.<\/p>\n<p>There is plenty more on the pulsating rock front with the hectic\u00a0<i>&#8216;Uncomfortable&#8217;<\/i>, the disposable hard rock of <i>&#8216;Buzz&#8217;<\/i> and the dirty talk of <i>&#8216;Do Not Disturb&#8217;<\/i>, which is totally overblown but boasts a wicked groove.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Halestorm - Black Vultures [Official Visualizer]\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RXtgc9tyavw?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>However, having tasted high-level chart success, it&#8217;s clear that they are intent on going even further, given the heavy pop leanings underpinning a number of tracks.\u00a0<i>&#8216;Skulls&#8217;<\/i>\u00a0has a real dark pop edginess; Lzzy&#8217;s rapid-fire delivery showing versatility. While songs such as\u00a0<i>&#8216;Painkiller&#8217;<\/i> and <i>&#8216;White Dress&#8217;<\/i> showcase their chart-topping pop nous without skimping on the guitars.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a pretty liberal splattering of ballads, with the laid-back acoustics of <i>&#8216;Heart of Novacaine&#8217;<\/i> and album closer <i>&#8216;The Silence&#8217;<\/i>, besides the slow boiling <i>&#8216;Killing Ourselves to Live&#8217;<\/i>, which bursts into life with a smoking solo and running riff after a quirky midsection.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s stunning just how good Lzzy Hale&#8217;s vocals are on this record as she fully explores both ends of her extensive range, and despite not exactly breaking new ground, <i>&#8216;Vicious&#8217;<\/i> is extremely easy on the ear and is the sound of commercial hard rock at its best.<\/p>\n<p>4\/5<\/p>\n<p><i>&#8216;Vicious&#8217;<\/i> by <strong>Halestorm<\/strong> is out now on <b>Atlantic Records<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Halestorm<\/strong> links: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.halestormrocks.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a> |\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/halestormrocks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/halestorm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/halestormrocks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Words by Edward Layland (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/edwardlayland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@EdwardLayland<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As hook-filled hard rock goes, Halestorm show they are well-drilled on &#8216;Vicious&#8217;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":67910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[5879,15028,2401,15541],"class_list":["post-67909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-reviews","tag-edward-layland","tag-halestorm","tag-vicious"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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