With the release of their third collection of cover material, ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP, Pennsylvania hard rock act Halestorm, led by singer/guitarist Lzzy Hale, plays it safe on this outing by covering Metallica ("Ride The Lightning"), Whitesnake ("Still Of The Night"), and Soundgarden ("Fell On Black Days").
While the decision to cover Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You" isn't as inspired a choice as Sophie Hawkins' "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover", the band's heavy-handed approach comes stunningly close to Jett's original version, but doesn't work as well on the latter, where Lzzy's soulful vocals are fighting against the musical bombast going on behind her.
The most inspired moment on the entire EP arrives in the form of the band's rendition of Twenty One Pilots' hit from last year's "Suicide Squad" soundtrack, "Heathens", where both lzzy and the band are able to stay true to the original while making it their own.
While this EP hits just the right balance of fun and ferocity, Nick Raskulinecz's production is key to hitting the right balance between heaviness and a live-in-the-studio feel that is sadly missing from most metal records these days.
One can only hope the band sticks with Raskulinecz for their next full-length studio effort.