Back From the Dead

Product Information

While I’ve yet to pick up a release on vinyl, the Hi-Res Lossless Apple Music stream, an Apple Digital Master, is simply exquisite. That's apparent on "Terrible Things", a haunting ballad with Lzzy begging, "And there's a hole in my life / There's a blackness inside that's eating me alive / Leaving me to decide / Do I live with this pain? It’s as if the album was recorded for stereo and then mixed to the surround format as an afterthought. From the introductory salvo of crashing guitar chords and screamed-from-the-guts vocals, it’s clear that this is a new Halestorm. The original album and deluxe edition both move from track to track well, with a good mix of hard-charging rock songs sprinkled with choice ballads.

Hale has also shared that the song "Strange Girl" was intended to be an anthem for a teenage girl who had come out to her parents immediately before COVID. On the throat-busting Wicked Ways and Psycho Crazy, her envelope-pushing performance is like that of a woman running from – or maybe towards – an avalanche. All tracks are written by Lzzy Hale and Scott Stevens, except track 6 by Lzzy Hale, Zac Malloy, and Scott Stevens; and track 8 by Lzzy Hale, Joe Hottinger, Josh Smith, and Arejay Hale No. Fronted by the incomparable Lzzy Hale with drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bass player Josh Smith, Halestorm has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world.Naturally, it isn’t only Hale’s prowess on the microphone that makes such an impact for the band is on fire throughout this hard rock masterpiece. Due to inventory and accounting purposes, we do not exchange items received for different items than originally purchased. Back From The Dead is a killer blues-based hard rock opener that sets the tone for the entire album. Nevertheless, it’s wonderful to hear modern hard rock music recorded, mixed, and mastered so well, for it is the exception rather than the norm.

It’s hard to imagine this opener – the purging, anthemic title track – being birthed in any other era.I’m all for Atmos mixes when done with intent, but I certainly don’t believe it should be done for the sake of ticking a box. Well, one of those great post-Covid albums has landed, and it might just be its creators’ finest hour. While HALESTORM stick to their formula of easy-to-digest, relatively short rock songs — most under four minutes — on "Back From The Dead: Deluxe Edition", the songwriting and performance quality is top notch, proving why they're one of modern rock's most popular bands. While Back From The Dead demonstrates Halestorm's musical growth and experimentation, it’s an album that provides further validation to their unwavering dedication to the hard rock industry, their fans, and to the music itself, for Back From The Dead is full of electrifying performances.