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Review: Halestorm, O2 Academy
The notorious 30 minute-plus queue to get into the sold-out Academy gives us plenty of time to observe that Halestorm have successfully crossed over to a more mainstream audience without troubling those media folks who would prefer to sell us the latest freshly polished indie turd. Sure, there are plenty of metallers in Maiden T-shirts here, many presumably having purchased their tickets before having to face the agonising choice between this show and Sons of Apollo over at SWX. But there’s also no shortage of families with young children and teenage mini-Lzzys for whom Ms. Hale has become something of a role model. Christ knows what these people are going to make of Avatar…
Alas, this means B24/7 misses much of the opening set by Rews – the only Brits and the only duo on this bill. That said, Shauna Tohill (guitar/vocals) and Collette Williams (drums/vocals) sure make a big noise between the two of them. Inevitably dubbed “the female Royal Blood”, they could slot easily into a variety of bills with their catchy blend of heavy fuzz guitar and harmony vocals.
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They’re somewhat dwarfed by Avatar’s giant illuminated sign, but if they’ve amped up the rockin’ and headbanging for this audience they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves and are very warmly received. They’re back at the Louisiana in November and are well worth checking out.
And now for something completely different. Avatar have roots deep in the Gothenburg melodic death metal scene that also gave us the likes of In Flames and At the Gates (who play Motion next February). After a grand headliner-style intro, preceded by a bizarre tape of circus oompah music, they launch in to the uncompromising fury of Hail the Apocalypse.
It’s a risky gambit because, as ringmaster Johannes Eckerström will later acknowledge disarmingly, they were added to the bill long after this tour sold out and most of the audience don’t have the faintest idea who they are. Nonetheless, “We are here to hurt you!” he promises.
Something of a Frankenstein’s metal monster comprising Alice Cooper’s cane, Gene Simmons’ tongue and Marilyn Manson’s hair and make-up, the perma-gurning Eckerström performs impressively in both full-throttle death metal bellow and dog-bothering falsetto departments.
In case we fear there’s a theatrical metal reference missing from the mix, guitarist Jonas ‘Kungen’ Jarlsby – aka The King – seems to have borrowed Rob Zombie’s dreadlocks.
Curiously, Avatar don’t appear to have a bassist tonight, for reasons that are never explained. But having initially pummelled the capacity crowd into submission, they relent a little with a selection of some of the more melodic material from their back catalogue before reaching a couple of songs from their latest (and most accomplished) album Avatar Country, which can best be described as being a collection of death metal show tunes.
The mutant rock’n’roll of The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country, with its fabulous Tim Öhrström guitar solo, even prompts a huge crowd singalong. By the time they conclude with Smells Like a Freakshow, the audience is eating out of their unsavoury hands.
And you’ve got to admire a band whose attention to detail even extends to dressing their roadies in matching waistcoats.
Maybe because Avatar have brought their big dressing-up box on tour, Halestorm are showcasing a new look on their fourth visit to Bristol. Or at least siblings Lzzy and Arejay are. The latter appears first, sporting his most preposterous outfit yet – a retina-punishing pink jacket/tie/shorts combo – as he hammers out the intro to Uncomfortable, the pleasingly profanity-laden first single from new album Vicious. Lzzy, meanwhile, has gone full Joan Jett, while retaining those trademark vertiginous stilettos.
This is the last British date on an epic world tour, so it’s no surprise to find that Halestorm are ferociously tight and well drilled. If Lzzy’s huge powerhouse vocals are a tad ragged around the edges on occasion, that’s hardly surprising given the force with which she belts out her frequently innuendo-laden girl power lyrics every night and actually adds a bit of additional grit to the performance.
Vicious dominates the set – as well it might given that this is such a return to form after its depressingly mediocre predecessor, the inaptly titled, over-produced Into the Wild Life. Indeed, they play only two songs from the latter, one of which, Amen, has been overhauled with an epic guitar solo from Joe Hottinger, who has previously favoured competent anonymity but now seems to enjoy taking the spotlight.
Gone are the pointless covers which marred Halestorm’s previous Academy show back in 2014. The old crowd pleasers are pared back too. Lzzy teases us with an a cappella partial rendition of I Get Off and it’s noticable that the double whammy of popular oldies Freak like Me and It’s Not You are followed by new anthem-in-waiting Killing Ourselves to Live, which more than holds its own.
Arejay (“My little brother,” as Lzzy continues to refer to him, having played in a band with him since she was 13 and he was 10) remains quite the showman, with no stick knowingly untwirled. But he’s finally dialled down the needy attention seeking, allowing us to concentrate on just how great a drummer he’s become. No nepotism here, though the jury’s still out on whether Halestorm really need a drum solo – even one leavened by the deployment of giant comedy drumsticks.
Encore time brings abusive relationship stomper I Miss the Misery, which has everyone howling along with the “I don’t miss you, I miss the misery” refrain. They finish with the big power ballad singalong Here’s To Us, which, despite the slight odour of fromage, performs the same audience-uniting function as We Wish You Well does at Whitesnake gigs, leaving the bedraggled throng drained and sated.
All photos by Mike Evans
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