Best Halestorm Songs: 10 Thunderous Tracks That Saved Rock Music

9: I Am The Fire (from ‘Into The Wild Life’, 2015)

2015 marked a time when rock music was becoming ever more experimental. So what were a straight-up, unapologetic rock band like Halestorm to do? While Into The Wild Life saw the Pennsylvanians experimenting with their own sound, the album’s standout tracks were the ones that doubled down on what resonated with fans in the first place. The defiantly indomitable I Am The Fire is a prime example of the unflinching power and empowering stance the band had become loved for. With its themes of finding the strength within yourself, drawn from Lzzy’s own challenges, the song further solidified Halestorm’s reputation as a tour de force in rock.

8: Uncomfortable (from ‘Vicious’, 2018)

Halestorm came screaming out of the gates with the lead single from their fourth album, Vicious. With its rapid-fire riffing, Uncomfortable likely makes some feel just that, as it addresses the issues of trying to please other people. As Lzzy explained, “In this day and age especially, you can’t make everybody happy – you just can’t – and I know that has been a personal struggle for me throughout my life. And so this song is just basically saying that’s OK if you can’t make everybody happy. Make yourself happy, be you, and be proud that just by being yourself, you’re gonna make a lot of people uncomfortable.” Immediately taking its place among the best Halestorm songs, the track earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance in 2019.

7: Mz. Hyde (from ‘The Strange Case Of…’, 2012)

Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde, Lzzy Hale digs into the side of her psyche that she would prefer remained hidden. Exploring the duality of human nature, Mz. Hyde examines the seductive lure of the dark side and the dichotomy between the sweet and vulnerable and wicked and risqué personae that can reside in people’s heads. A sinister Alice Cooper-inspired vibe permeates through Halestorm’s signature anthemic rock style.

6: Back From The Dead (from ‘Back From The Dead’, 2022)

It had been four long years since Halestorm unleashed Vicious on the world. An imposed period of inactivity forced Lzzy Hale into some deep retrospection, and it wasn’t a happy place. She told Loudwire, “I was on the edge of this world getting completely lost in oblivion, but even though it was the harder of two choices, I didn’t just let the darkness and depression in my mind dig me an early grave. I didn’t just sit and let it take me.” And so Back From The Dead’s title track was born, along with a hope that it gave listeners the same strength Lzzy found within herself.

5: Bad Romance (from ‘ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP’, 2011)

In 2011, Halestorm released the first in a series of covers EPs, to keep fans satiated between albums. In a surprising move to many, they included a hard and heavy take on Lady Gaga’s 2009 hit Bad Romance. It certainly proved to be a standout among tracks borrowed from the more classic rock-leaning likes of Guns N’ Roses, Heart, Skid Row and Temple Of The Dog… but for all the right reasons. Though Gaga has always been on the edgier side of pop, Halestorm push the envelope even further, making the song sound as though it was written for the rock arena, and claiming it as one of the best Halestorm songs in the process.

4: Freak Like Me (from ‘The Strange Case Of…’, 2012)

Halestormn’s second album, 2012’s The Strange Case Of…, saw the group take a much harder edge to their music than the decidedly pop-rock style of their debut. A bold move, but it was hardly a surprise, since they were merely aligning their sound with what had been working for them live. And it was a decision that paid off when the album’s second single, Freak Like Me, reached the top of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in the US. Another fist-pumping anthem that gave a voice – and hope – to the disaffected.

3: I Get Off (from ‘Halestorm’, 2009)

Early proof that Halestorm always had a knack for catchy hooks and anthemic choruses, I Get Off was a solid introduction to the group, being the lead single off their self-titled debut album. A solid rocker among the best Halestorm songs, the lyrics address exhibitionism, with the protagonist getting pleasure from being watched. I Get Off gave Halestorm their first Top 10 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, reaching No.6. The song was eventually certified gold, with streams and sales in excess of half a million.

2: Break In (from ‘The Strange Case Of…’, 2012)

A rare tender moment from Lzzy Hale and co, in which the frontwoman exhibits some of her vulnerability. A piano ballad to the core, Break In is about the people dearest to Lzzy who allow her to be herself, let her make mistakes and yet love her regardless. The song was re-recorded in 2019, for Halestorm’s Reimagined EP, this time featuring guest vocals from fellow “Lady Of Rock” Amy Lee, from Evanescence. Lzzy explained, “We did it performance-style, literally next to each other in the same room – from beginning of song to end of song, singing with each other. I’ve never done anything like that, but especially with a female singer of [Amy’s] prowess.”

1: Love Bites (So Do I) (from ‘The Strange Case Of…’, 2012)

Halestorm came in all guns blazing on their second album. Indeed, the band admitted The Strange Case Of…’s lead single was inspired by their own cover of Skid Row’s Slave To The Grind, which they’d released on ReAniMate the previous

year. Energised by their performance, the group pushed themselves to play harder and faster than ever before, boldly setting out their stall for a new direction with no apologies. And why should there be? Topping this list of the best Halestorm songs, Love Bites (So Do I) would win them the Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 2013, and receive universal acclaim from fans and critics alike, inspiring Japanese metal band Lovebites in the process.

Find out how ‘The Strange Case Of…’ saved rock music.