Halestorm / Black Veil Brides / Mothica
Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Zagreb / Tvornica kulture / Croatia
Barely a year had passed since Halestorm, the American hard rock sensation from Pennsylvania, toured the old continent as special guests on the Alter Bridge tour and paid a visit to Zagreb — and here they are again, back at the scene of the crime. This time headlining their own tour, on which they are presenting their latest, fifth studio album “Back From The Dead” for the second year running — released in early May of last year.
We caught the sharp-edged quartet at last year’s show at the Dom sportova, where they absolutely blew the roof off a packed house with a fantastic performance, and this time around they returned as headliners to a club venue that had sold out well before they even arrived. Tvornica kulture became a gathering point for the younger generation drawn to rock and metal, with the spotlight firmly on newer-era acts. And even though Halestorm’s roots stretch back to the second half of the nineties — meaning the quartet is hardly overnight sensations — they only broke through to the top of the commercial charts in 2012, off the back of a string of hits from their second studio album “The Strange Face Of…”.
Halestorm picked two interesting acts as support, both of whom only added to the buzz around the new European tour. First up, American singer-songwriter McKenzie Ellis, performing under the stage name Mothica, stepped out roughly 15 minutes past seven and used her half-hour set to showcase material from her latest album “Nocturnal” (2022) and EP “Forever Fiffteen” (2021), both of which took up the lion’s share of the setlist. A tight backing band, Mothica’s sweetly seductive vocals with that bitter aftertaste, and alternative rock — more specifically indie — that flirts with the infectious hooks of a catchy pop sheen and a woven-in gothic charm. Early in the set she didn’t skip her cover of Bring Me The Horizon’s Can You Feel My Heart, and perhaps the most telling moment was realizing the singer already commands a pretty loyal following. Tvornica kulture was filling up and already seriously packed during her set. The crowd knew every word, and Mothica (the name is derived from the English word for moth) and her band weren’t hiding their good mood. Just half an hour, but enough to see that this is an artist with the potential to reach much further up the ladder in terms of recognition and commercial success.
The next three-quarters of an hour belonged to the American fashion-forward shock/glam metallers Black Veil Brides, who took the stage at ten past eight. The quintet, who had played a solo show (without Halestorm) the night before at Ljubljana’s Cvetličarna, got an incredible reception. By this point, Tvornica was packed into every last corner. A good chunk of the crowd were genuine die-hard devotees who had jammed themselves into the front rows — you could say the whole floor was theirs. Andy Biersack, the only original member and, frankly, the irreplaceable voice of the band, barely had to break a sweat, as the crowd thunderously belted out every word and carried the band on their shoulders. The response was extraordinary. From the very first bar to the very last second. Unified and compact. This is a quintet of excellent musicians who have masterfully carved their songs into a new peak of ignition. Groove, simple but hard-hitting riffs, and a dark musicality wrapped in the charm of gothic sleaze. The metalcore roots are absolutely there, and it’s precisely in that element that Black Veil Brides signal their contemporary relevance.
The band is massively popular. The girls are crazy for Andy Biersack’s magnetism, and the chemistry between band and crowd was absolutely off the charts. Tvornica was shaking at the seams, and at moments you could have sworn you were watching the headline act. Plain and simple. It was conjured by a genuinely fanatical crowd who, alongside the band’s stellar performance, guaranteed the whole thing crackled with an exceptional energy. The band showcased “The Phantom Tomorrow” (2021) and also played three evergreens from the hugely popular second album “Set The World On Fire” (2012), scattered across the set (Rebel Love Song up front, The Legacy mid-set, and Fallen Angels near the end), closing out with the single In The End from the third album “Wretched And Divine: The Story Of Wild Ones” (2013). Phenomenal energy. In everything.
Then came an hour and a half of pure hard rock bliss with Halestorm, with wild and untamed vocalist Lzzy Hale front and center, once again stunning with her incredible vocal performance — the eruption of vocal chameleonic range and a venomous stage edge. The quartet, who have released all five albums with the same lineup, radiated an air of invincibility. Extraordinary confidence and self-assurance. And at the same time, a remarkable connection with the crowd. All three on the front line — Lzzy Hale (guitar, vocals), Josh Smith (bass guitar), and Joe Hottinger (guitar) — were constantly stoking the crowd with flirtation, encouragement, and provocation. And the crowd was incredible. The entire energy of the show rode on it. Tvornica was shaking off its hinges. The venue was bursting at the seams.
Full force from the first note. No brakes. As if tomorrow would never come. Greedy, gripping phrases driving through a sharpened groove and a rhythmic stampede underpinned by savage bass guitar work. Unbelievable precision and tightness. You can feel that there are no secrets between these people, that there are countless miles of road behind them, and that on stage they are operating on something close to a trance. Joe’s brilliant guitar solos are very much part of that. You’re left speechless by the energy. Nothing you haven’t heard before, but the way this energy is delivered simply takes your breath away. Halestorm are an incredible live unit — they shake you to the core, inside out and back again.
The minutes flew by like seconds. Alongside their three newest singles (Wicked Ways, Back From The Dead, and The Steeple — which closed the show), the band dug into the greatest hits of their career, with roughly half of “The Strange Face Of…” making the cut. There’s no need to list all five singles from that album one by one (Here’s To Us was predictably saved for the encore). Particularly special was the first part of the encore, where Lzzy takes the stage alone with a keyboard and performs a medley of Halestorm songs that changes every night of the tour.
And when you watch all those young people — genuinely, in almost a hundred percent of the crowd, a fresh generation of new rock’n’roll believers — it becomes clear that rock and roll is here to stay. Definitively. The kind of euphoria, devotion, and loyalty that Halestorm received (and Black Veil Brides before them) is not something you come across easily. With their explosive energy and performance power, Halestorm hit Tvornica kulture like a devastating tornado — shook it right off its hinges — and the post-gig feeling that wouldn’t let go for a long time afterward immediately made one thing clear: this experience, with this outstanding band, needs to be repeated as soon as possible. A brilliant slice of hellish rock’n’roll thunder for a new era, one that will deliver plenty more rock’n’roll pleasures in the years to come!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Mothica setlist:
1. Casualty
2. Can You Feel My Heart (orig. Bring Me the Horizon)
3. Toxins
4. Buzzkill
5. Forever Fifteen
6. All Star (orig. Smash Mouth)
7. Upside Play
8. Sensitive
Black Veil Brides setlist:
1. Intro
2. Crimson Skies
3. Rebel Love Song
4. Wake Up
5. Nobody’s Hero
6. Scarlet Cross
7. Torch
8. The Legacy
9. Knives and Pens
10. Fallen Angels
11. In the End
Halestorm setlist:
1. I Miss the Misery (“Raise Your Horns” ‘a cappella’ intro)
2. Love Bites (So Do I)
3. Do Not Disturb
4. I Am the Fire
5. Amen
6. Familiar Taste of Poison
7. Takes My Life
8. Drum Solo
9. Back From the Dead
10. Rock Show
11. I Get Off (with part of Crazy on You by Heart)
12. Wicked Ways
13. Freak Like Me
—encore—
14. God Bless the Beast / Shatter Me / Raise Your Horns / Break In (Lzzy alone on keys)
15. Here’s to Us
16. The Steeple
