Strange Case Of...

Personnel: Lzzy Hale (vocals, guitar, piano); Joe Hottinger (vocals, guitar); Josh Smith (vocals, bass guitar); Arejay Hale (vocals, drums); Howard Benson, Lenny Skolnik (keyboards, programming).
Audio Mixer: Chris Lord-Alge.
Recording information: Bay 7 Studios, Valley Village, CA; Sparky Dark Studio, Calabasas, CA; Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA.
Photographers: Alex Kirzhner; Chris Phelps.
On the surface, a band blending driving hard rock with powerful ballads would seem like a fairly boilerplate proposition in a world already populated by Shinedown, Three Days Grace, and any number of other faceless post-grunge acts. Fortunately, Halestorm have their not-so-secret weapon, singer Lzzy Hale, whose powerful vocals easily set the band apart from its peers on its sophomore album, The Strange Case Of.... Delivering another versatile performance, Hale helps to give every song that special something, adding the right amount of snarl and grit to more aggressive songs like "Love Bites (So Do I)," while also bringing genuine passion to the more emotional "In Your Room." Her ability to convey emotion without being dramatic is an asset that Halestorm take full advantage of, and to some extent, probably rely on. This isn't to insinuate that the compositions backing up Hale are bad, but the music, while solidly written and cleanly executed, isn't anything that fans of the genre haven't already heard before. It's a bit of a boon, then, that the strength that Halestorm play to is an exceptional one, and anyone that has grown tired of the current crop of meatheaded hard rock bands trying to seem sensitive would do well to give The Strange Case Of... a spin. ~ Gregory Heaney