Halestorm Headlining Tour 2012
Having formed 14 years ago, it is surprising that Halestorm had not headlined the UK prior to this tour. Now with ever-growing popularity they are playing sold out show after sold out show in support of their sophomore album The Strange Case Of...
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Drummer Arejay Hale was the first band member on stage sporting a bandana and dyed red hair, as he yelled "London are you ready?" the room exploded, proving that they were ready. With the rest of the band onstage front woman Lzzy Hale belted out pitch-perfect track after pitch-perfect track. She has a voice that is able to sound delicate enough to sing tender ballads such as Break In, rockier tracks such as Freak Like Me and everything in between.
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Credit should go to the boys in the band for not being overshadowed by Lzzy's voice, they are great musicians - Arejay, bassist Josh Smith and guitarist Joe Hottinger played note and beat perfect with what looked like incredibly ease. Their set gave Lzzy's younger brother Arejay a chance to show off the sheer level of his talent in an impressive drum solo. Impressive as it was, it danced on the borderline of being too long and towards the end you could feel the mood in the room dropping.
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Their set came to a close with Dissident Aggressor; a cover of the Judas Priest classic and I Get Off. Of course, as cheers filled the room it wasn't long before Halestorm were back on stage to play their encore which consisted of I Miss The Misery and Here's To Us.
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This was the second time I have seen Halestorm and after hearing their albums, they are definitely one of those golden bands that sound better in a live setting than on record, making them an absolute pleasure to watch. In what seemed to be a genuinely tender moment at some point throughout the night Lzzy told her adoring fans "headlining in London is a little girls' dream come true."
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A full to the brim Islington Academy, a loud and lively crowd and a straight up rock 'n' roll band are the perfect ingredients for excellent Friday night gig. I doubt Halestorm will be playing headlining shows in a venue of this size for the foreseeable future, they are well on their way to bigger and better things.
To view all photos taken during this set click here. There are 10 available.