Back From The Dead
| Halestorm
Back From The Dead
Back from the Dead is the fifth studio album by American rock band Halestorm. It was released on May 6, 2022, through Atlantic Records. The album was preceded by its title track, "Back from the Dead", which was released as a single in August 2021, followed by "The Steeple" in February 2022. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Metal Injection
Like their 2009 self-titled debut, Back From the Dead has 11 songs, a streamlined effort of less than 40 minutes with no song exceeding four minutes in length. And while they all won't be number one singles like the title track, the overall song quality is strong from beginning to end. Halestorm's reign as one of hard rock's most successful bands shows no sign of waning.
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Kerrang!
Only time and legacy will reveal if this is Halestorm’s best album. It’s up against 2012’s breakthrough sophomore release The Strange Case Of… for that accolade, but if context is taken into consideration, it’s a contender. Either way, Back From The Dead is the best 38 minutes of pure rock you’ve heard this year.
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Louder
If you want beer-drinking music, Back From The Dead is not it. But if it’s a hard-hitting yet catchy dose of catharsis you seek – an intense, ultimately restorative tonic after such a strange couple of years – turn it up and dive straight in.
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Riff Magazine
Back From the Dead is an unrelenting ride and a natural evolution of Halestorm’s sound. There may not be as many singalongs this time around, but the album carries emotional weight and solidifies Lzzy Hale as one of the absolute best.
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New Noise Magazine
By the time the album ends with “Raise Your Horns,” a piano-heavy torch song that sees Hale making full use of her five-octave range, the band has managed to charm the listener. Here, the effort isn’t remarkable, but it leans into the right aspects of the group’s chemistry, and manages to make us fall in love all over again with perhaps the best voice in rock.
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Rock 'N' Load
From start to finish this album feels like Halestorm with extra oomph. Everything feels like it’s been dialled up to 11 and sounds incredible. There is no half-arsed on this album and will turn some heads whilst also pushing the ban to the headline slots at major festivals. There has been some concern around the upcoming wave of headliners for the big festivals, well Back From The Dead throws Halestorm right to the front of the queue and shows that the future is not just safe but also exciting.
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Metal Planet Music
This often-introspective album is rich in emotion and gets better with every play, a perfect treasure of rock anthems and melodic masterpieces sung by one of the greatest female rock vocalists around, who has honed her skill and unleashes it at you from every perspective. A plethora of sensations are evoked, from all out rebellion and insurgence to reflection and regret. Long live the queen that is Lzzy Hale.
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Wall of Sound
In Back From The Dead, Halestorm have delivered one of the ballsiest albums of the year, with their trademark ‘take no crap’ attitude and well-crafted song hooks. I hope we get to see them grace Australian shores again soon.
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Cryptic Rock
All in all the struggle Halestorm went through to get Back From the Dead made was worth it. They dug deep and found a way to unify the best aspects of their previous works into one tight ball all while giving us something new. A potent album of heaviness and what could be one of Lzzy Hale’s finest moments as a vocalist.
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Ghost Cult Magazine
Confident and assured, Back From The Dead is the sound of a band who know their strengths and their worth and are playing to them without playing too safe. Whether it is producing uptempo anthems like ‘The Steeple’ or ‘Wicked Ways’, more chunky statements like ‘Bombshell’ and ‘Psycho Crazy’, or the surprisingly vulnerable – considering the title and lyrical topic – piano and (impassioned) vocal closer ‘Raise Your Horns’, Halestorm continue to add new anthems to their arsenal and have found a way to match their live sparkle with their ability to consistently write strong rocking tunes.
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Tuonela Magazine
All-in-all, “Back from the Dead” sees the band returning to the rock scene with fiery passion and brazen sincerity, showcasing once more the many reasons HALESTORM still reign supreme as one of the genre’s top representatives, as well as a force to be reckoned with. The band members are in top shape, playing to their strengths, bringing their A-game to every song, and pulling all the stops on their fifth studio effort. I think it is fair to say that “Back from the Dead” is more than just a rock album and a reason to tour, it is a rediscovery of their purpose in life, a reshaping of their values, and a way of saying that they are here to stay, come hell or high water.
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Distorted Sound Magazine
Back From The Dead is HALESTORM at the height of their powers, each track blowing the previous one out of the park and reiterating how impactful and important track listing is. The term ‘all killer no filler’ was made for a record like this, and after 13 years HALESTORM have found their perfect balance of ripping vocals, distorted riffs, and gut-punching bass and drums, channelling personal frustration and collective vexation into an 11-track record of their heaviest material yet.
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Live Metal
Who knows where Halestorm would’ve gone had the world not stopped in 2020. The forced downtime seems to have inspired the band to re-examine itself and get back to what it does best. “Back from the Dead” is the Halestorm revival we’ve been waiting for.
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The Moshville Times
Whilst Back From the Dead doesn’t change who Halestorm are, they instead ratchet everything up another notch once again, taking the lessons from the past to create this, their master piece in the true sense of the term. This, more than any previous Halestorm album, has a live intent to it where each of the eleven songs could be played between their established standards. The catharsis found in this album is writ large and so many listeners will see themselves not only in one song or another but the whole album, offering a hand of solidarity for those who struggled in the height of the pandemic.
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Metal Wani
If the choice is either curse the darkness or light a candle, with ‘Back From The Dead”, Halestorm fuels up and brings a flamethrower to the party. Blazing a new path forward without rewriting their DNA. Continuing their ascent to the top on their own terms. Saying what they mean and meaning what they say. Saying it like only Halestorm can.
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Stereoboard
‘Back From The Dead’ could have benefited from a little sober refinement, but overall it’s a combustible and very listenable vehicle to expel the band’s pandemic woes. Twisting tales of light and dark into soul-cleansing bangers, it’s a record that reminds us, if we can find strength in numbers while treasuring every side of our complex personalities, there’s no internal or external enemies that can’t be stared down and conquered.
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Fem Metal
Something that is lacking in the music industry these days is the attention span for full albums. Despite this hurdle, Halestorm continues to put out albums that leave you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire 11-song masterpiece of an album. Lzzy herself said it best, “scream every anthem and follow your reckless desires”.
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When The Horn Blows
Back From The Dead is an 11-track power move from Lzzy Hale and the group, as it tells a full story of coming back from the lowest of lows and fighting every opponent to get to the top once again. Everyone falls in some way, at some point in their life, so this is a biographical tale for all who listen who felt the pressure to fight and take things to the extreme while crawling back up to the light where they fell from. Respect and obedience - it’s time to stop asking for it and start demanding it.
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The Razors Edge
Like a fine wine, Halestorm just get better with age and once again on ‘Back From The Dead’ they deliver.
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HeadBangers Lifestyle
Halestorm delivered the solid quality they have been known for years and they certainly do not disappoint on their 5th studio album. ‘Back From The Dead’ is mandatory for fans. Yes, this album may be a bit more riff and groove orientated than their previous ones but that’s what makes this band unique. Not repeating the same trick over and over, but looking for challenges that fit within the boundaries of the band.
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Buzz
BACK FROM THE DEAD and louder than ever.
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Markus' Heavy Music Blog
Halestorm’s newest effort showcases the band in great shape. There is a lot of variation that is captured on ‘Back From the Dead’ and we can already excitedly look forward to the tour with Alter Bridge. Halestorm for sure will bring this energy to stage and hereby might be a challenge for the main act. However, ‘Back From the Dead’ is a bold statement of Halestorm being back and didn’t lose anything of their strength.
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Hear2zen
Lzzy Hale at the front of her band Halestorm is a special experience and on this album you have outdone yourselves. I feel like you had a lot to say and gave it to us with such passion and raw emotion. Halestorm are fucking sensational.
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Richer Sounds
There’s nothing strictly wrong with the album, the band or the release itself, it’s just nothing worth writing home about or considering rushing out to buy tickets for if you’re dying to get back to gigs as they become more available.
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mxdwn Music
Halestorm has a homerun with Back From The Dead. The vocals, instrumentation and lyrics can speak for those who are going through the challenges of life.
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The Sunflower
This album is meant to empower everyone who has gone through some hard times or is currently going through a rough patch, and I think that this album has done a wonderful job of that. While the rock music industry is a male-dominated industry, many women are rising up to challenge that. If you haven’t heard anything from a band with a female lead, give it a shot, you may find that you like female leads too.
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Maximum Volume Music
“Back from The Dead” is Halestorm’s best record, and clearly so. But its more. It might actually breathe new life into American arena rock. The benchmark has been laid down.
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Devil's Gate Music
As you might expect from an album born out of dark times, ‘Back From The Dead’ is a dark album, and issues such as faith, redemption, good vs evil, or even good and evil, feature constantly. Lzzy Hale doesn’t say “Gee, I hope you like this”, she grabs the listener by the scruff of their neck and says “C’mere…”. Artists suffer for their art, and it is easy to imagine that Lzzy Hale put herself through the proverbial wringer writing the album, but ultimately her suffering has produced some stunning moments on an album that – like most albums that stand the test of time – is a real slow-burner worthy of several visits.
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I'm Music Magazine
This album has the signature twist that Halestorm brings. There’s the dark and the light, it’s controversial and yes, Lzzy was right. It’s definitely relatable and for me, their best album yet.
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KNAC
Lzzy and HALESTORM have been strengthening a Rock scene, especially for females both young and old and is one of Rock’s leading female personalities. With that, I can see this album as many people’s choice as one of the best for 2022.
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Given to Rock
For my taste, this is probably the best Halestorm album, with a perfect length, 11 songs for 38 minutes, some pure rock tracks with a great sound and with a top player behind the microphone, with a tight band behind her.
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PeakD
This work is awesome, and I think that the ardent fans of this band were more than satisfied with the result of the work of these guys.
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Tuned Up
There are 11 songs on this LP. Wicked Ways is a angry track, with pounding instrumentals, and lyrical bite. Hale sings, biting down on the world. Her voice is commanding, and she doesn’t want to be called an angel. Brightside opens loudly, and Hale naturally rises to the summit, singing and screaming, playing her instrument diligently. My Redemption creates tension, and Hale sings yet again about being lost. She craves to be released. That guitar riff breaks ground. Halestorm pepper the world with their style of rock. Back From The Dead commands to be listened to.
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Sound In Review
Back From The Dead is hard-hitting from start to finish. Each song has its own vibe and aggression, giving the album an enjoyable and varied flow. Lzzy’s singing is amazing, she is on another level here, and the band has bottled their live energy and released it into this recording with the help of producer Raskulinecz. This is the real deal!
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Upset Magazine
The album has an eye-watering intensity that only lifts for the few acoustic tracks sprinkled throughout, which are still badass in their own way, backed by an empowering emotional rawness. Colossal closing track ‘Raise Your Horns’ (which aptly shares its name with Lzzy’s podcast and mental health campaign on social media) is a call to arms, truly feeling like a love letter to fans.
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