Halestorm & Volbeat At Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT

Danish metal icons Volbeat have taken the road across North America with hard rock powerhouse Halestorm for their Servant of the Road tour. Hitting 18 cities, these bands bring the heat with their high-octane rock n’ roll sets. Their point of attack for August 3rd? Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

The night kicked off at 7PM with Lzzy Hale walking onto the stage singing the chorus of Raise Your Horns acapella. The power of L. Hale’s voice alone energized the crowd for the evening. Being no stranger to touring, Halestorm surely knows how to get an audience going; beginning their set with two of their chart-topping hard rock anthems; I Miss the Misery and Love Bites (So Do I).

“This song is for the ladies out there today, where are my bitches at!?” says Lzzy Hale. “We need to lift them up, ladies find some shoulders, this one’s for you,” she says and the band blasts into I Get Off, the lead single from the groups’ debut album. L. Hale pays homage to the ladies of classic rock band Heart with an acapella performance of Crazy On You as she kneels at the front of the stage. As one of the most powerful voices in rock history, Lzzy shows extreme diversity and range through the band’s set; she needs no instruments to hide behind as her voice stands strong alone.

Halestorm is one of very few rock bands that have kept the original lineup for decades now and their connection shows in their live performance. Drummer Arejay Hale puts on a show of his own behind the kit, bassist Josh Smith holds down the groove with purpose and grace and Joe Hottinger brings his beastly guitar riffs and solos to the group. Continuing the set with two more empowering tunes Wicked Ways and Freak Like Me, the group moves to a slow song; Familiar Taste of Poison.

“We’re gonna go back to the beginning, this is called Takes My Life,” says L. Hale. The band leaves the stage and Arejay Hale begins speedy yet clean drum fills. He pauses, tosses up a stick, misses the catch. He bursts into another fill, pauses, tosses up a stick, misses the catch. Once more he bursts into a fill, pauses, tosses up a stick, finally makes the catch. The audience erupts into cheer for the victory they witnessed. After A. Hale does his signature solo with the ‘big sticks’, the rest of Halestorm rejoins him onstage for Back From The Dead and I Like It Heavy.

The band closes out their set with two more badass, empowering tunes; I Am The Fire and The Steeple. As a young woman who has always looked up to Lzzy Hale, I can say that Halestorm is a band that stands the test of time. Their live show has never been stronger, their songwriting has never been stronger, they are simply a force to be reckoned with in every way.

Halestorm

I Miss the Misery (with “Raise Your Horns” a cappella intro)
Love Bites (So Do I)
I Get Off (w snippet of Crazy on You)
Wicked Ways
Freak Like Me
Familiar Taste of Poison
Takes My Life
Drum Solo
Back From the Dead
I Like It Heavy
I Am the Fire
The Steeple (With “I Miss The Misery” reprise)

Born to Raise Hell by Motorhead begins playing over the loudspeaker and as the song ends, the lights go down and Volbeat takes the stage. They opened their set with The Devil’s Bleeding Crown, the first single from their 2016 studio album. Jon Larsen pounds on the drums for Temple of Ekur, bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen joins in and eventually Michael Poulsen and touring guitarist Flemming C. Lund join with the song’s main riff. After the group played the title track from their 2016 release, they moved into one of their most popular tunes, Lola Montez.

As the 4 members power through Die To Live and Sad Man’s Tongue, a mosh pit forms on the floor of the arena. If there’s one thing I can say about Volbeat, it’s that every song they play features beefy riffage that makes it impossible to stay still. From the chugging in Shotgun Blues to Black Rose and more. “Let’s get ready to rumble!” sings frontman Michael Poulsen and we’re off into A Warrior’s Call.

The crowd surfing begins and the moshpit rages on. Volbeat closed their set with Becoming, dedicated to their fallen friend, Entombed vocalist L.G. Petrov. The band leaves the stage and the crowd cheers, eager for more. Finally the group returns for a few more tunes to close out the night; Fallen, Wait A Minute My Girl, For Evigt and the ultimate rock anthem Still Counting.

Volbeat