Gallery, ReviewDitch This MagazineDecember 16, 2019gallery, live, melbourne, Odin Imaging, Nathan Goldsworthy, Halestorm, Villainy, forum melbourne, The Forum

Halestorm @ Forum Melbourne 10-12-19

Gallery, ReviewDitch This MagazineDecember 16, 2019gallery, live, melbourne, Odin Imaging, Nathan Goldsworthy, Halestorm, Villainy, forum melbourne, The Forum

words: Shona Thom
photos: Nathan Goldsworthy @odin.imaging

Review

“I went in expecting a stereotypical rock show, what I got was something that was atmospheric, political and a demonstration of extraordinary talent”

When the lights fade to pitch black at The Forum, the large crowd falls silent in anticipation. A voice in a cappella breaks through the silence, its husky tone and enormous power reverberate off the walls and you know, its unmistakably Lzzy Hale. Its kind of a running joke that Pennsylvanian born rock band Halestorm are on a perma-tour, that is to say, they are serial tourers. To date, they’ve played around 2,500 dates around the world so you could say that Halestorm are veterans when it come to putting on a live show and tonight Melbourne experienced that mastery first hand.

Since Halestorm’s inception in 1997 and their self titled debut album in 2009, Halestorm have been breaking ground in the rock genre, including winning a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 2013. Making the band the first ever female fronted band to be nominated, and win, the traditionally male dominated music category.

The mentality that won Halestom the award is evident in their music, with some of their biggest hits such as “I Get Off” and “I Miss The Misery” having messages of female empowerment and the underdog who beats all odds. In fact, Halestorm has become synonymous with being LBGTQ+ positive. With Lzzy Hale further solidifying their allyship by taking time out of the set to repeatedly remind the crowd that this show “is a safe space” and that it “doesn't matter who you love, we are all the same”. The sentiment was met with overwhelming cheers from the Melbourne crowd.

After 22 years in the industry, you could say that Halestorm has a few crowd pleasers in their arsenal and tonight, were hit with round after round of headbangers. What wasn’t expected, however a pleasant surprise, was the band taking it in turn to showcase their specific talents. Time was taken to allow lead guitarist Joe Hottinger to shred his guitar front and center, as well as time allotted to allow both Arejay Hale on drums and Josh Smith on bass to showcase their killer talent. We were even gifted a solo piano rendition of “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Huston from Lzzy, reaching those notoriously high notes like a walk in the park.

And of course, there was an appearance of giant drum sticks…. if you know, you know.

Overall the show could be described as surprising. I went in expecting a stereotypical rock show, what I got was something that was atmospheric, political and a demonstration of extraordinary talent from all involved.