Full Review by The Riff Report Blog – July 5, 2025
Stage: Back To The Beginning Main Stage
Band: HALESTORM (USA)
Mood: Fire. Grit. Glitter. Total carnage. 💄🔥
🎸 “I GET OFF ON YOU!” – LZZY HALE ROARS INTO BIRMINGHAM LIKE A ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HURRICANE 🌩️
If you were anywhere near the main stage at Villa Park on Saturday, you may still be deaf, dazed, and a bit in love. Halestorm didn’t just perform – they detonated. Fronted by the inhumanly powerful Lzzy Hale, the band strutted into Brum like glam-rock warriors with metal hearts, ready to rip up the rulebook and slap a lipstick kiss on your forehead.
This wasn’t a gig. It was a reckoning. 💋⚡
🎤 SETLIST = A FLAMETHROWER IN SONG FORM
- I Miss the Misery
- Love Bites (So Do I) 🧛♀️
- Back From the Dead (Lzzy’s comeback anthem – had the crowd in tears and triumph)
- Apocalyptic
- I Get Off
- Mz. Hyde
- Familiar Taste of Poison
- Freak Like Me
- The Steeple
- Here’s to Us 🥂
- Mayhem
- Uncomfortable
- Wicked Ways
- Encore nuclear meltdown: The Silence (acoustic magic) into Love Bites (reprise) into a final riff-off from hell 👹
🎤 LZZY HALE: THE GODDESS OF DECIBELS 🔥
Lzzy owned the Villa Park stage like she’d been born on it. Hair flying, voice slicing through the humid Midlands air like a battle cry – she was pure electricity.
Her banshee scream during “Love Bites”? Straight up melted several pint glasses. We saw it happen. And her guitar solo? Somewhere between Joan Jett and Tony Iommi but with glitter and menace.
“Birmingham, you sexy beasts – are you ready to raise some HELL?!” she shouted, and 30,000 voices screamed back, “HELL YES!”
🥁 AREJAY HALE: DRUMMING LIKE HE’S POSSESSED BY KEITH MOON & A JACKHAMMER
He brought the thunder, the theatrics, and the giant novelty drumsticks. Yes, really. He did a solo using what looked like table legs, and the crowd loved it.
There was a mini-drum-off with the crowd clapping along like it was a sweaty gospel revival at Download Festival. Diolch, Arejay. You mad, beautiful maniac. 🥁💥
🖤 FROM GOTHIC GLAM TO POWER-BALLAD PURITY
Halestorm have that rare ability to stomp your guts in with a riff like “Mayhem,” then turn around and break your heart in two with “The Silence.” And Villa Park felt every single beat.
During “Here’s to Us,” strangers hugged. A couple got engaged. A group of teens lit sparklers. Even the security guards swayed. It was like a rock prom in the rain.
👀 FASHION REPORT: CORSETS, FISHNETS & BLACK LIPSTICK FOR DAYS
The Halestorm crowd turned up dressed to slay. There were glittering horns, studded leather bras, kilts, eyeliner for miles, and at least one full-blown vampire priest.
You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled into a Halloween party at a biker bar. And we loved every second of it. 🖤🦇
🧨 CROWD ENERGY: PURE CARNAGE AND COSMIC VIBES
“Freak Like Me” triggered a wild mosh pit full of misfits who were clearly waiting all day for their anthem. And when “Back From the Dead” hit? Whew. It was like the zombie apocalypse, but everyone was sexy and had better hair.
The crowd sang every word. We’re not joking. Even the bloke working the burger van was howling along like he was in the band.
🎯 FINAL VERDICT: HALESTORM STORMED IT – LITERALLY
They brought the thunder, they brought the soul, and they brought the attitude. Halestorm proved once again why they’re one of the most exciting live bands of the 21st century.
Score: 11/10 Lipstick-Stained Microphones 💄🎤
Mood: Empowered. Exhausted. Elated. Covered in glitter and possibly someone else’s beer.
Proper job, Lzzy. You tore Birmingham a new one.
📸 GOT PICS OF THE CHAOS? OR JUST WANT TO SCREAM “LZZY MARRY ME”?
Tag @theriffreportblog with your Halestorm photos, war wounds, and declarations of eternal fandom. Bonus points if you crowd-surfed in heels.
Michael is the founder, editor, and chief riff wrangler behind The Riff Report, an independent Welsh rock and metal publication built by fans, for fans. With a lifelong passion for loud guitars, unforgettable live shows, and the incredible community that surrounds rock and metal, he created The Riff Report to celebrate everything that makes the scene special—from legendary headline acts and grassroots venues to rising bands that deserve to be heard.
A familiar face at festivals across the UK, Michael spends much of the year covering events including Download Festival, Bloodstock Open Air, Steelhouse Festival, Firevolt, Plumpton Revival, and many more. Whether he’s battling the Welsh weather on a mountainside, surviving a weekend in a muddy campsite, or squeezed against the front barrier with thousands of fellow fans, he’s always searching for the next great story to share.
As editor of The Riff Report, Michael writes festival guides, breaking news, album reviews, gig reviews, interviews, opinion pieces, nostalgia features, and behind-the-scenes stories from across the rock and metal world. His writing combines honest opinions, humour, and a genuine love for live music, bringing readers closer to the bands, festivals, venues, and people that keep the scene alive.
Michael is particularly passionate about supporting independent artists, local venues, charities, and the wider UK rock and metal community. He believes every band deserves a chance to be discovered and every festival has a story worth telling. Through The Riff Report, he aims to shine a spotlight on both the biggest names in rock and the future stars waiting to break through.
When he’s not writing or interviewing artists, you’ll probably find him exploring festival campsites, photographing live shows, chatting with fellow fans over a pint, or planning the next road trip in search of more riffs, bigger crowds, and unforgettable moments.
Above all, Michael believes rock and metal are about more than music—they’re about community, friendship, and creating memories that last a lifetime. That’s exactly what The Riff Report exists to celebrate.
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Always chasing the next great riff. 🤘
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