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The Reckoning - 4.5/5
I Am The Fire - 5/5
Mayhem - 3.5/5
What Sober Couldn't Say - 2.5/5
Unapologetic - 2.5/5
Amen - 2.5/5
Jump The Gun - 2.5/5
I Like It Heavy - 3/5
Gonna Get Mine - 4.5/5
Bad Girls World - 3/5
New Modern Love - 3.5/5
Dear Daughter - 3.5/5
Sick Individual -3.5/5
Scream - 4/5
Apocalyptic - 2.5/5

Stand Outs: The Reckoning, Scream, I Am The Fire, Gonna Get Mine, New Modern Love, Sick Individual

I was never really into them, they stepped in too many hard rock pitfalls for me. But this sounds pretty raw, instrumentally and song writing wise, and I really like is thus far. But I do agree the mixing/sound production is not really that great (guitars lack a bit of punch as do the drums). But for the first time I'm actually hearing songs from them I really like, so +1 for that.

I am The Fire, I haven't enjoyed a Halestorm song this much since I Miss The Misery.

Just finished it.. only a few songs stood out to me. Pretty much typical Halestorm.. songs about sex, booze, partying etc. with occasional bright spots musically and lyrically. I agree 'I Am The Fire' is the best song on the album, I just wish they would have put more time into the sounds & production. It almost sounds like someone took their demos & spiced them up with some effects here & there. lol I guess that's on whoever mixed it & produced it but they were the ones who approved it in the end.

I know the band has mentioned they wanted this album to sound more like a live recording than a studio recording, which I think it does. Doesn't mean I'm a huge fan of the production (drums are the worst part), but I think the album sounds more organic than their first two. It's a better representation of how they sound live.

I've given the album 3 listens so far. I Am the Fire, Dear Daughter, and The Reckoning are still my favorites. I agree with Timo in that this sounds more like an album than just a collection of songs. I think they've improved as a band with this album, although they still have the potential to do better in the future.

I haven't seen where they said they wanted it to sound like a live recording but I did read they wanted to stay away from "slick production". Not sure why any band wouldn't want to put their best foot forward.

Because that would've given a completely different feeling to the album. I agree they didn't fully succeed in doing this, but I understand why they chose to go for a raw sound in stead of a "perfect" and overproduced sound.

You can make an album sound 'live' without it sounding like a garage demo lol there's no excuse to have it sound the way it does.. especially where they recorded it. I keep going back to the drums but it's like they just stuck one or two mics on them and said.. "okay let's record!". Certain songs on the album call for that sort of old school/trashy sound of course but the overall production hurts more than it helps imo.

Sound/Mix/Production aside.. the album just doesn't do anything for me. Nothing much to relate to lyrically & most of the material lacks catchy-ness & remember-able melody.

I thought the songwriting was a bit more unique compared to their last album. The last one was a bunch of polished, straightforward stuff written for hard rock radio. I thought songs like Bad Girls Word, New Modern Love, and The Reckoning especially sounded like they were trying to experiment with their sound a bit. The album sounds like a band jamming together in a garage, and while I don't want to hear that sound on every album, I appreciated the effort of trying to be different.

Some songs are pretty flowy, Mayhem is awesome the rest is lame ass pop rock. I'm missing the full throttle songs.

Blah/10 would not music

Dear Daughter is sooo good.

Timotheus wrote:Dear Daughter is sooo good.

It would have been better, IMO, if it was less specific on gender and familial orientation, though.

The Reckoning is sooo good.

It makes it more personal I think.

And yea, The Reckoning is great as well.

Timotheus wrote:It makes it more personal I think.

And yea, The Reckoning is great as well.

True, but I think that makes it harder to connect to the song if you're not either of the things I mentioned, personally.

Is the riff/nana's of Gonna Get Mine a copy of another tune? It sounded awfully familiar when I first heard it. But I can't place it.
Bad Girls World has a weird solo.

I can connect to Dear Daughter the way it is. I don't need a song to be gender neutral or say "he/boy" instead of "she/girl" to relate to it. It's a song about promising to be there for someone you love. And like Timo said, it makes the song more personal. I like the acoustic bit and solo at the end with the transition to the next song too.

Yea, you have to see it as a metaphor, a story.

I mean, even Lzzy herself doesn't have a daughter right now. She's just telling a story or even writing to a future child.

Or it's something her mother told her when she was little.

Just tuck your genitals in for a couple minutes Shea and stuff a tampon down your shorts. You'll relate in no time at all!

zazthespaz wrote:Just tuck your genitals in for a couple minutes Shea and stuff a tampon down your shorts. You'll relate in no time at all!