Live Review: Halestorm – Back From The Dead Tour 2023 – OVO Wembley Arena, London

If you’ve been in the alternative music scene at all, the name Halestorm shouldn’t sound unfimilar to you and there’s a reason for that. A touring powerhouse that has brought their sound to all corners of the world, were back on the road around Europe with the tour culminating at the legendary Wembley Arena for the band’s largest UK headline show to date. Here’s what went down at the sold-out show!

The illusive Mothica would open proceedings for the London crowd and to say she seized the opportunity of playing at a sold-out Wembley Arena would be an understatement. Her unique charm and charisma went down well and within no time she had the room dancing along to her emotionally charged songs. A cover of Bring Me The Horizons ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ early on really helped to settle people into her sound, from that point onwards they were in love. Mothica felt right at home on the arena stage and her presence far exceeded all expectations.

Black Veil Brides were up next and with a sudden burst of pyro, they were off. The American goth metallers were here to make a statement and didn’t hold anything back. Back-to-back guitar solos, tonnes of movement and smooth talking between songs resonated incredibly well with the fans and Andy Black seemed to know exactly what to say to make Wembley move for them. The crowd would constantly cheer for the travelling band and many songs revived impressive sing-a-longs which made the set feel extremely special for them.

Lizzy Hale would take to the stage singing an acapella version of ‘Raise Your Horns’ before the rest of the band would enter while a tsunami of confetti rained down onto Wembley. A sustained note quickly turned into the familiar sound of Halestorm’s hit single ‘I Miss The Misery’ where the crowd erupted! Starting feisty and wanting to keep the alluring feeling in the air, Halestorm would blast into ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ and ‘I Get Off’ to the pleasure of the sold-out crowd in front of them!

Wanting to deliver a discography-spanning show, Halestorm dropped an incredibly diverse set. From ‘Wicked Ways’ to ‘Amen’, the band sounded pitch-perfect and that only fueled the crowd’s excitement more. A short excerpt of ‘Rock Show’ smoothly transitioned into ‘Familiar Taste Of Poison’, followed by the powerful ‘Takes My Life’ seemed to bring out all kinds of emotions from the sold out crowd. Smiles, tears and togetherness were all you could see wherever you looked and the devoted Halestorm fans could feel that they were a part of something special.

After a whimsical Drum Solo from Arejay Hale would go back to back with ‘Back From The Dead’ and ‘Bombshell’ off their latest album before leaving the stage after an impassioned performance of ‘I Am The Fire’. At a rock show you can always expect an encore and this was no different! Lizzy Hale would take to a grand piano and deliver stunning performances of ‘Break Me/Shatter Me’ and a complete rendition of ‘Raise Your Horns’ before they closed out their largest UK Headline Performance with ‘Here’s To Us’ and ‘The Steeple’.

Halestorm have always been a force to reckon with within the alternative music scene however this show truly felt like they had finally broken into that next level. Everything from their sound to their production felt incredible and not a single soul within Wembley Arena left unsatisfied. Whether you were down on the front row or reaching for the high notes, the Rock Show was where you had to be!