Rock band Halestorm serves notice in San Jose
SAN JOSE >> Halestorm is the greatest hard rock band in the world right now.
I’d put the pride of Red Lion, Pennsylvania, up against anyone in the business — from the Foo Fighters to Five Finger Death Punch — and expect vocalist-guitarist Lzzy Hale and company to come out on top.
Every. Single. Time. Halestorm certainly underscored its position at the top of what Jack Black would call “Mount Rock” with its winning performance at the SAP Center in San Jose on Tuesday night. It was a co-headlining show with Evanescence — and the alt-rockers from Little Rock, Arkansas, put on an enjoyable enough show.
Yet what Halestorm delivered was nothing short of a declaration of greatness.
The band — which also consists of drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith — took the stage around 8 p.m. and opened its hourlong set with a powerful version of the recent chart topper “Back From the Dead.”
“San Jose, the only thing I ask from you tonight, because it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, please do not be gentle,” Lzzy Hale asked the crowd.
Yet Lzzy Hale wouldn’t ask anything of her fans that she wouldn’t do herself. So she proceeded to model the desired behavior as she led her band through one remarkably hard-hitting rocker after another, delivering her patented mix of confidence and defiance — sprinkled with equal parts menace and metal edge — as she belted out “Love Bites (So Do I)” and “I Am the Fire.”
The latter proved to be an exemplary showcase for her otherworldly vocal prowess, as she somehow managed to bring her deep singing voice up to a full-throttle scream without ever losing sight of the tune itself. It’s hard not to search for comparisons to rock’s all-time great singers — maybe Robert Plant meets Joan Jett with a dash of Grace Slick? — as you hear her roar through such lyrics as “I am the fire. I am burning brighter, roaring like a storm. And I am the one I’ve been waiting for.”
And she’s the one that rock fans have been waiting for as well. But she didn’t arrive alone. The rest of the band is also amazing. Arejay Hale (Lzzy Hale’s brother) is pure thunder, at one point even bringing out baseball bat-sized sticks to bang the drums, and Josh Smith delivers such solid basslines.
Then there’s Joe Hottinger, who might be the greatest unsung guitar hero in rock. Sure, the band’s fans know the deal and sing his praise, but Hottinger plays at such a high level — balancing technique, fretboard fireworks and a commitment to melody — that he deserves to be mentioned with the best in the business.
And when he combines forces with Lzzy Hale — an amazing guitarist in her own right — well, watch out. It’s comparable to watching Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett lock horns.
Yet it was actually another famous guitar duo that came to mind when Hale and Hottinger began jamming through the set’s closing number, “I Miss the Misery.” They flew so high, propelled by such a barrage of intertwining notes and ever-escalating runs, that the only thing I could really compare the moment to was listening to Allen Collins and Gary Rossington mix it up in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s legendary “Free Bird.”
Yes, I know that is an incredibly lofty comparison. But those are the type of comparisons that the world’s best hard rock band deserves. And, right now, that title goes to Halestorm.
Halestorm set the bar so high in San Jose that Evanescence really didn’t have much of a chance of clearing it. Yet Amy Lee and company still managed to follow up with a solid set that included such favorites as “Call Me When You’re Sober” and “Bring Me to Life.”
Lzzy Hale would join Evanescence on stage to sing a powerful duet with Lee on Linkin Park’s “Heavy.” The two vocalists also combined forces earlier during Halestorm’s set, singing together on “Break In.”