Singles Roundup: Halestorm, RHCP, Arch Enemy, & Black Swan

We just received the confirmation of my most anticipated album of the year, which means of course I want to talk about the single that accompanied that announcement. Fortunately, it was a week with several big names releasing new songs, so let's see what goodies we can now listen to.

Halestorm - The Steeple

With Lzzy being one of my favorite voices ever, they wouldn't even need to be coming off an Album Of The Year winner to be my most anticipated album of the year. They are, so getting a firm release date now gives me something to look forward to. "Back From The Dead" wound up on my best songs list last year, so we have a lot to live up to here. This song keeps expectations high, but also introduces a bit of worry. Let me explain that. Between the two songs we have now hears, it sounds like Halestorm has made a heavy and aggressive album that tries to capture more of the sound of their live show. While I like the gloss of their early stuff too, that decision is fine. This song does rock, and this approach fits the way Lzzy has been using her voice. It's also a catchy and easily memorable song. So why the worry? That's because it's catchy in a way, like the lyrics, that almost has a bit of nursery rhyme to it. I'm worried that particular repetition is going to get old the more I play the song. I'm not sure it will have the same kind of enduring legs songs like "Innocence" or "Vicious" have. I'm excited to hear what else they have in store for us, but I'm going to be careful not to expect too much.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Black Summer

Lots of people will be making a big deal about John Fruscianti returning to the band yet again, but it doesn't really mean much to me. My experiences with the band don't go any further than their singles, even if I do like a fair number of them. Listening to this song, I get why people are excited, but I also hear why I'm not one of them. Frusciante is a unique player, and his playing dances around the song in a way most guitarists wouldn't think of. He's essentially another vocalist with the way he plays. Combined with the main hook of the song, there's something very appealing to latch onto. However, my frustration will come from the lyrics, which on first listen struck me as so nonsensical I wasn't sure if it was worth getting invested in such a song. Poetry is subjective, but when I hear "platypus are a few, the secret life of Roo", I'm tuning out, because it doesn't sound like any effort at all was put in. Too bad, since it's a solid song.

Arch Enemy - Handshake With Hell

We all knew this had to be coming; Arch Enemy has clean vocals now. It is the logical endpoint for a melodic death metal band, and with a vocalist who can actually sing, I would have been surprised if this didn't happen. What I find more interesting than the decision is my reaction.... which is that I don't think it really makes much of a difference. Whether it's the way they wrote the melody, or the extra power when the growls kick in, I'm not feeling anything more about the song for having the clean vocals than if it didn't. It's a good song, but for what should be a chapter in the band's history more aimed at me, I feel the same way about the band I always have. That's interesting.

Black Swan - Generation Mind

Here's this week's oddball, since they are not a big name like the other three. That said, I wanted to mention this song because for as played out and stale as the melodic rock scene has felt to me, this one stands out a bit. Their first album was solid, but for at least one track they have tapped into something. While I refuse to call them a 'supergroup', their experience does come through here. It's a hooky and catchy song that clearly outshines anything their main bands (MSG, Whitesnake, etc) have done in a long time. I'm not sure where this one came from, but it's a damn good single. I don't know if it will carry over to a full album, but hey, getting this is more than I might have expected.