 | Written by Alex Stojanovic Photographed by Anna Sklavos (C) 2019 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com HALESTORM w/ PALAYE ROYALE and BEASTO BLANCO @ Danforth Music Hall Toronto, ON, Canada May 13, 2019 Presented by MRG Concerts Click here for our interview with Lzzy Hale |
A quick question to our fellow Torontonians before we get into the review. Didn't you find it absolutely insane that in the middle of May, cold fronts were still making their way through the city and surrounding areas? What were you thinking, Mother Nature?! I just had to get that off my chest, but the weather is not what this review is about. On May 13th, which was a rather cold and rainy Monday, Halestorm came through town at the Danforth Music Hall as part of their spring North American tour with special guests Palaye Royale and Beasto Blanco. This was another show that I initially had no plans on going to, as it was going to be covered by our very own Amina Abdelwahab. However, because she's over in Egypt visiting family, she was unable to attend, so since I had time in my schedule, I stepped in.
Admittedly, I was never exactly a Halestorm fan, but they're a band that I have a tremendous amount of respect for, and that's mainly for two reasons: For starters, they take pride in keeping things real with no backing tracks, pre-recorded vocals and trickery in a live setting, and like I've said many times, that gets many points in my book. Secondly, Lzzy Hale's voice. She is up there with Myles Kennedy as one of the best voices in modern rock. I've seen Halestorm live only once before when I saw them open for Bullet For My Valentine in 2013, and since then, I always knew that they put on a great live show, so I was looking forward to checking out what they had to offer in a headline set. Let's get down to the festivities.
Admittedly, I was never exactly a Halestorm fan, but they're a band that I have a tremendous amount of respect for, and that's mainly for two reasons: For starters, they take pride in keeping things real with no backing tracks, pre-recorded vocals and trickery in a live setting, and like I've said many times, that gets many points in my book. Secondly, Lzzy Hale's voice. She is up there with Myles Kennedy as one of the best voices in modern rock. I've seen Halestorm live only once before when I saw them open for Bullet For My Valentine in 2013, and since then, I always knew that they put on a great live show, so I was looking forward to checking out what they had to offer in a headline set. Let's get down to the festivities.
| Starting off the festivities were theatrical rockers Beasto Blanco, who made their Toronto debut at this show. As the band started their set, some of the members came out in partial costumes, and frontman Chuck Garric (who is also the bassist in Alice Cooper's band) wore one of those Mexican wrestler masks, then took it off halfway through the first song. In my honest opinion, they were the best of the two opening bands. The way Chuck and fellow vocalist Calico Cooper worked together in the vocal department with trade-offs and harmonies was impressive, and their music contained great catchy riffs. The other interesting tidbit about the band that I found out was that Calico is Alice Cooper's daughter. This was also the first time I saw a band that had a mannequin on stage. PALAYE ROYALE Photo credit: Anna Sklavos / (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com Finally, it was time for Halestorm to take the stage. Their set started off in an out-of-the-ordinary way because Arejay Hale kicked things off with a drum solo, which included him bringing out his signature giant drumsticks. As he concluded his solo, the rest of the band entered the stage, and they started off with "Freak Like Me". The band's stage set was full of lighting. On top of that, Lzzy's vocal performance mesmerized all of us. Her range is unbelievable. You just can't help but appreciate a vocalist that is able to pull off a vocal performance that good without the assistance of backing tracks. Halestorm made sure to deliver a set that would please everyone, and they did exactly that by touching on songs from all four of their studio albums, including singles and non-singles like "Apocalyptic", "I Am The Fire", "I Get Off", "Love Bites (So Do I)", "Here's To Us" and "I Miss The Misery". Overall, it was a great show! One other great thing was that while a fair portion of Halestorm's fan base leans young, there was a great number of old-schoolers in attendance as well. That's always a great sight to see. | BEASTO BLANCO Photo credit: Anna Sklavos / (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com Up next were Vegas fashion rockers Palaye Royale. With the outfits they sported on stage, it seems like each member represented different eras of rock 'n roll fashion. The two guitarists were in blue and white pinstripe suits, and had the hairstyles of Mick Jagger in the 70s and Paul McCartney in the 60s, while vocalist Remington Leith had somewhat of the 2000s metalcore look. They displayed great energy, and Leith even hopped on to the P.A. system on either side of the stage twice to hype up the crowd, but musically, there wasn't anything special about their sound, as it did very little to entice me. No offense to the band, but the music seemed a little bland. I'm sure other people probably feel the opposite way, but their pop-infused rock sound didn't resonate with me. HALESTORM Photo credit: Anna Sklavos / (C) 2019 www.metalmasterkingdom.com |
| BEASTO BLANCO Chuck Garric - Vocals & guitars Calico Cooper - Vocals Brother Latham - Guitars Jan LeGrow - Bass Sean Sellers - Drums Label: Rat Pak Records Website: www.beastoblanco.com | PALAYE ROYALE Remington Leith - Vocals Sebastian Danzig - Guitars Emerson Barrett - Drums Label: Sumerian Records Website: www.palayeroyale.com www.facebook.com/PalayeRoyale | HALESTORM Lzzy Hale - Lead vocals & guitars Arejay Hale - Drums & backing vocals Joe Hottinger - Guitars & backing vocals Josh Smith - Bass & backing vocals Label: Atlantic Records Website: www.halestormrocks.com www.facebook.com/halestormrocks |
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