Halestorm, “Back From the Dead.”

Halestorm makes clear within the opening notes of the band’s fifth album that it isn’t here to mess around. The Pennsylvania band has become one of hard rock’s most reliable acts. Since debuting in 2009, Lzzy Hale and co. have gained an identity. Back From The Dead is their most unapologetically heavy record, both musically and lyrically.

Halestorm has made heavy songs before, but things are different this time around. The band trades in its upbeat, head-banging anthems for a more defined aggressiveness. Rather than playing at top speed, tracks flow through the rhythm section with a sustained attack.

The title track, which opens the album, sets the tone, with Hale delivering a defiant roar, announcing she is, in fact, “back from the dead.”

Lyrically, the record is more closely aligned with Hale’s personal experiences than on past records. The songs are filled with messages of defiance, self-confidence and occasional anger at the state of affairs in the world today.

“Don’t call me an angel/ I’ll always be sinful,” Hale announces at the outset of the pulse-pounding “Wicked Ways.” The dynamic track nimbly jumps from double-time verses to half-time breakdowns and pinpoint guitar riffs to match drummer Arejay Hale’s heartbeat rhythms. The track also manages to preserve the band’s memorable melodic and anthemic qualities.

Hale takes on her own detractors on “Strange Girl,” a self-assured track that dares those who might wish to take her on. The musical intensity matches the lyrics with guitarist Joe Hottinger delivering precision riffs. “You can damn me straight to hell/ You can crucify my name/ You can throw me to the wolves/ You can burn me in the flame,” Hale sings. It’s one of a handful of religious references throughout the album.

“Brightside” sees Hale fighting for optimism in a world where it’s increasingly difficult to find. While many of the tracks are about heavy subjects, the overall tone is actually positive and forward-looking. The positivity continues on “The Steeple,” an anthemic, fist-pumping rallying cry for the band’s fanbase, and more broadly the family of rock and roll. It crescendos in a blistering solo by Hottinger before the band falls away for an a cappella vocal by Lzzy Hale.

The pace somewhat slows on the back half of the album, starting with nuanced acoustic ballad “Terrible Things.” The song is beautiful in its simplicity, mostly limited to Hale and an acoustic guitar, with some string arrangements toward the end. Halestorm doesn’t have many old-school acoustic ballads like this one in its catalog.

“My Redemption” chronicles Hale’s struggles with depression. She sings at a breakneck pace on the wordy verses before launching into the powerful chorus. Vocally, she’s is in top form, this song no exception. “Bombshell” is a bass-heavy rocker about being confidently outspoken, as opposed to just “looking the part.” “She’s not fragile like a flower/ She’s fragile like a bomb,” she sings.

It wouldn’t be a Halestorm album with some healthy double entendres, and that’s on full display on “I Come First.” While full of wink-wink playfulness, it’s also a defiantly confident about building self-worth. The barrage of riffs continues on heavy rocker “Psycho Crazy” before the album concludes with “Raise Your Horns,” a solitary tale told through the lens of rock and roll. Hale and her bandmates are true believers in the spirit of rock and again succeed in writing songs that honors it, while also offering a greater message of hope.

Back From the Dead is an unrelenting ride and a natural evolution of Halestorm’s sound. There may not be as many singalongs this time around, but the album carries emotional weight and solidifies Lzzy Hale as one of the absolute best.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.