Live review: Halestorm, London The O2

“This is a rite of passage,” Lzzy Hale declares. “This has been so special for us.”

Halestorm have had a hell of a a golden year: they've released their sixth (and possibly best) album Everest, opened for Iron Maiden and tipped their caps to Ozzy and Black Sabbath at Back To The Beginning, where Lzzy was the only woman onstage the entire day. It's an overdue joy to get to see her tear up a room this vast, and to be as audacious as she and Halestorm choose. They get thousands of people singing lines about getting off back at them. They play I Am The Fire surrounded by plumes of actual fire. Lzzy shreds on a majestic-looking 12-string guitar, all while wearing a regal-looking cape, because why would you not?

Openers Kelsy Karter & The Heroines are natural counterparts for Halestorm, and not just because they also have a song called I Get Off. They swagger through Laser To The Heart and Lightning In A Bottle like they’ve stepped out of a time machine hurtling through an era of old-time rock’n’roll. The husky-voiced vocalist is every inch the rock star, whose Kiwi twang belies a British grit – “When I was 12, my daddy gave me a knife… and he taught me how to use it,” she says devilishly to introduce a formidable cover of Aerosmith’s Cryin’. An heroic showing.

Bloodywood are more of a wildcard choice, but that matters little when they light up an arena like this. From the barnstorming Gaddaar to Nu Delhi’s vibrant celebration of their home city, they are a beacon of unity, joy and ferocity. Jayant Bhadula’s booming voice touches every crevice in the room, speaking on the importance of defeating fear and fighting back against sexual assault on the incensed Dana-Dan: “They will hear our words or they will face our boots.” They need to be back here soon, as this is where they truly thrive.

Halestorm are just as at home on stages like this. Beyond blasts of pyro and some large overhead constellations of lights, their production is slick but not ostentatious, but it hardly diminishes the power of these songs. After the stately opener Fallen Star, they’re coming in boiling hot with a searing early one-two of I Miss The Misery and Love Bites (So Do I), before leaning heavily on their new songs, which slot in well even though they strike a darker tone. Like A Woman Can is a divine mid-set highlight, while How Will You Remember Me is a moment of solemnity as they reflect on the friends, family and colleagues they’ve lost along the way.

A rattling, slightly overlong drum solo from Arejay Hale doesn’t quite ignite the pitting he hopes for, but momentum spikes again when they fire off some bigger hits. Freak Like Me is pure high-octane, hip-swaying fun, K-I-L-L-I-N-G is gritty and even claustrophobic, and they reprise their muscular cover of Perry Mason from Back To The Beginning as a further nod to Ozzy. Here’s To Us, meanwhile, is the dream arena closer, an uplifting conclusion to the sort of gig they’ve always dreamed of playing. Inevitably, the fans will be sauntering to the tube station with a little more confidence in their veins. This has been one big hell yeah of a show.

Read this next:

• Halestorm: “I have this innate belief that I shouldn’t be here after everything that I’ve survived – but for some reason I am”
• Bloodywood: “We’ve always written songs with a purpose. We like to be very direct and impactful with our message”
• From Dio to Sleep Token: The icons who inspired Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale