BA-DUN, BA-DUN, BA-DUN! If you weren’t paying attention to the schedule, you’d think Gojira were making a surprise appearance on Sonic Temple’s main stage. Halestorm go hell for leather on Falling Star, a big, thundering number that matches the colossal force of Lzzy Hale’s voice.
It’s almost redundant by this point to highlight the fact that Lzzy is one of rock’s best modern vocalists, but it feels especially true today. She’s putting it on full blast, letting loose an elongated howl that’d shred the larynxes of us lesser mortals. It leads into a hammering I Miss The Misery, and while Halestorm have never been a band for half measures, it feels like they’re going especially hard.
In almost two decades of massive performances, Halestorm have never felt more incendiary – or more importantly alive – as they do at Sonic Temple. Not merely trying to replicate their recorded sound, the show is a hefty showcase of their star quality, no member failing to shine.
Vocal lines are stretched, twisted and belted with gusto, drum fills clatter and careen, and guitars scream like they’re in agony. It brings to mind the amped-up energy of a No Sleep 'til Hammersmith or Live And Dangerous, transforming an already powerful base into something definitive.
Closing on an almighty – and oh so appropriate – I Gave You Everything – the band end their set with a final flex, every member clattering and soloing in pure performance ecstasy that feels genuinely thrilling and massive. If this is Halestorm entering their stadium era, we’re very ready for it.
