January 24, 2012 Halestorm Announce New Album, ‘The Strange Case Of…’ and Premiere Music
Hard rockers Halestorm are announcing the release of their new album, The Strange Case Of…, which will come out April 10. To introduce the disc, the group is releasing the single “Love Bites (So Do I)” to radio today. The track, as well as three other highlights from The Strange Case Of…, is featured on Halestorm’s new EP, Hello, It’s Mz. Hyde, which is available to purchase online today.
Produced by Howard Benson (who previously collaborated with the Pennsylvania- band on their self-titled 2009 debut), The Strange Case Of… was named one of Revolver’s “Most Anticipated Albums of the Year.” Halestorm will hit the road hard to support The Strange Case Of…, beginning with a major U.S. trek alongside Godsmack and Staind beginning April 13 at Augusta, Georgia’s John Paul Jones Arena and then continue through mid-May (see the tour dates below).
Get your first taste of the EP in the video below, and, below that, check out the track listing for The Strange Case Of… and the group’s tour dates.
January 9, 2012
July 22, 2011
In the Studio With Halestorm -- Exclusive Interview
Comprised of siblings Lzzy and Arejay Hale, Joe Hottinger and Josh Smith, Halestorm have performed upwards 250 shows a year since their formation in 2006. The group's 2009 self-titled debut album found success on the back of its fine blend of melodic hooks and killer guitar riffs. Halestorm is back in the studio and Noisecreep got an exclusive chance to visit with the band, in the studio, to get all the details on the new record.
How long have you been in the studio?
Josh Smith: Worked for the month of June, and have kind of been on a pseudo-vacation for the past week or two.
Lzzy Hale: It's really strange because originally we were gonna have the record out in September and then we got ten songs done and then everyone said 'Hey we actually have more time.' So we're probably going to be putting it out early next year. So we had a week or two to just kind of like chill. It was very strange because we for the last three and a half years haven't gotten that long of a stretch without anything going on so like 'what do we do?'
What stage is the record at right now?
Josh: We're about halfway complete with our stuff. We're still getting in rough mixes working with them. It's kind of awesome; they sound really good. We'll probably do another 10 songs maybe.
Arejay Hale: We already have 10. We recorded two before we went out on our last tour and came out here for like three days and recorded two songs and then we did eight more when we came back out here and now we have 10 more to go. So we're almost there. It never stops really.
How do you think the finished product will compare to the first album?
Lzzy: Its kind of just the next natural progression. Last record we weren't really sure who was going to gravitate towards us and because of the last record we've gotten to know so many people and so many of our fans and its kind of become this 'they've brought us into their lives and we've brought them into ours' so a lot of what this record is being inspired by is them and it just musically, the aggressive stuff is more aggressive and the melodic stuff is more melodic. But we're experimenting.
The challenge is not to go left of center - you want to keep moving forward and with us its just that there's so many things that we're into we decided halfway through this process that you know what, why are we limiting ourselves to just this sound or just that sound? Okay, let's add some great guitar tones and bass and drums and all this stuff.' So we have a little bit of piano coming in on this record but there's a lot of other stuff that we just literally spent 2 days in the studio just doing crazy stuff that we're just gonna kind of pick through and put in between stuff.
How much writing do you do in studio vs. bringing material in from the outside?
Lzzy: It's a little of both. On the road, it's a little tough. It's more about collecting. You have a part here, you have a chorus here, sometimes a full song, maybe it's done on acoustic, maybe it's not done up with the band. And then we get in here and we toss a lot of stuff out. But the writing process never really stops. As soon as you kind of get into the groove of this, it's like creative purging or binging, whichever you want to use there. All of a sudden everything just starts flowing out of you and I don't know, you just hopefully capture it.
Do you have any outside songwriting help on this record?
Lzzy: definitely, I've been fortunate to meet a lot of great people over the last couple of years and this time around for some unknown reason they know who the hell I am so it's kind of interesting coming back into it and definitely the caliber of person has upped. I wrote a song with Rivers Cuomo from Weezer.
Joe [to Lzzy]: You wrote a song with James Michael [of Sixx:A.M.] that we recorded. He's awesome, but we've been writing with a bunch of people. It's fun, because we're writing with ourselves all the time, and it's great to get a new perspective.
July 22, 2011
Exclusive: Halestorm Check In From the Studio, Talk New Album, and Disco-Ball Jamming
Hard rockers Halestorm are currently in the studio working on the follow-up to their self-titled 2009 debut and the covers EP they put out earlier this year. Vocalist-guitarist Lzzy Hale (pictured left)—Revolver‘s advice columnist and onetime Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock cover girl—was kind enough to give us these in-studio pics as well as an update on their progress in the studio. Look for the new record in either late 2011 or early 2012.
REVOLVER What is the title of your new release? LZZY HALE Wouldn’t you like to know! [Laughs] We haven’t yet decided what we are going to call the record. I’m guessing this is what it feels like naming a kid. Do you call it what it looks like now, or what you think it’s going to grow up to look like?
How are the songs sounding for your new album? The new songs sound amazing! We recorded drums to two-inch tape, and I never realized what a huge difference it makes! I can literally hear Arejay [Hale, drummer]’s zany personality coming through on recording!
Are you trying anything different with your songs this time? We are experimenting a lot with our guitar tones. We are pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones so there will be many little weird nuances and surprises for you!
What’s been the most adventurous thing you’ve done in the studio so far? We turned the lights down and put up a disco ball in the live room and jammed on nearly every instrument they had there…all day…while recording all of it! There’s some incredible stuff on that track!
What did you learn from doing the covers EP, which included songs by the Beatles, Lady Gaga, GN’R, and Heart, among others, that you’re putting to good use this time? It’s amazing how much you grow as a musician and a songwriter by learning some of the greatest songs ever written! What I’m applying to our new record is the resistance to settling and the confidence in knowing that there really is no limit to how much you can actually pull off!
August 7, 2009
Live Review: Halestorm - The Roxy, Los Angeles Halestorm give L.A. a dose of real rock n roll during an epic set at The Roxy last night...
There's nothing more invigorating or inspiring than watching a band on the rise that has it.
It is the inexplicable quality that all legends possess. It's swagger, sex appeal, soul and, of course, songs. It's that ability to make a crowd go absolutely crazy. It's a raised middle finger to convention and an unapologetic, uncompromising passion for art. Halestorm has it, and on stage at The Roxy last night they made believers out of a packed L.A. crowd.
Supporting their self-titled Atlantic Records debut, the Pennsylvania quartet blazed through one infectiously incendiary anthem after another. Frontwoman Lzzy Hale slowly took the stage alone.
Immediately, she started singing the words, "I'm in love with somebody." She slid seductively across the stage, belting out the words with a powerful vocal prowess. She ended the song standing at a mic center stage and slowly saying, "I'm in love with somebody, and it's not you!" Her band mates flanked her, and they flawlessly fired off, "It's Not You." Lzzy commanded the attention of everyone in the room as she ripped riffs and carried impenetrable hooks. "What Were You Expecting?" kept the intensity going, as Lzzy's brother, drummer Arejay Hale, channeled Tommy Lee and Shannon Larkin with each sweeping and bombastic hit. He complemented his sister's undeniable cool with a controlled chaos that'd make Keith Moon proud.
Guitarist Joe Hottinger pulled off each one of his leads with panache. He and Lzzy volleyed licks back and forth without missing a beat. Halestorm can also slow it down. "Bet U Wish Me Had Me Back" saw Lzzy's serpentine movements give way to an chorus that screams "Crossover hit."
She prefaced "Familiar Taste of Poison" with a smile saying, "You guys are some dirty sexy people in L.A. I'd liked call each and every one of you absolutely disgusting! I hope you know I mean that in the most loving way possible."
Laughs abounded, and the band began the hypnotic song. Josh Smith's bass rumble sounded ominous, as Lzzy drew the crowd closer with her croon.
The band capped everything off with their single, "I Get Off." As audience members chanted along, it was clear that everyone had witnessed something very special on stage.
Halestorm will be taking it into arenas everywhere shortly.
—Rick Florino 08.07.09
May 23, 2011
Lzzy Hale of Halestorm Talks "ReAnimate: The Covers" Inspiring New Music, Lady Gaga, and More
Lzzy Hale of Halestorm is just the kind of female badass that rock 'n' roll has been yearning for. She and her band mates already considerably heated up hard rock with their self-titled debut in 2009. Now, while the world anticipates their next full-length, the band has dropped an incendiary EP of covers entitled, ReAnimate: The Covers. They reinterpret classics from Skid Row, Guns N' Roses, Heart, Temple of the Dog, The Beatles, and even Lady Gaga, infusing a whole hell of a lot of attitude in the process.
However, the most intriguing aspect of the covers EP is that it's actually inspired Halestorm in their own writing. Lzzy exclaims, "There's nothing like performing these songs because we automatically think, 'How do we get an original song to make us feel like that?' It pushed us because I didn't have any idea that I could pull off a song like 'Slave to the Grind.' Or take a song like "Out Ta Get Me," it made me think we really need a song that plays a million miles a minute so I can go to my highest note that I didn't even know I could hit! It's definitely been inspiring us."
Axl Rose and Sebastien Bach would be proud of Lzzy as she's definitely picked up the torch from them, while adding a certain sexiness. In terms of new material, She reveals that it'll undoubtedly preserve everything that fans have come to love about the band with a few new surprises. Also, given how much time, they spent on the road, it will be stage-ready.
She goes on, "We were talking to producer Howard Benson about how to bridge the gap between what is radio-ready and what is road-ready. We're trying to reach somewhere in the middle. He had a great idea of how to capture Arejay's personality on tape because his drums are a big part of our sound and you can always hear it live. We've been doing all of our basic tracks on two-inch tape, and it's a combination of analog and digital."
That recording style mirrors the band's very ethos of blending old school attitude with a fresh delivery. As far as the sound of Halestorm's future goes, Lzzy adds, "The aggressive stuff is more aggressive, and the melodic stuff is more melodic. You can really hear the band. We're also writing from a different perspective. We've been on the road and get to hear all kinds of stories."
Imagine the story that would result if Lzzy and Lady Gaga actually collaborated? She laughs, "Between me and all of my innuendoes and her whacked out sense of humor, I think it'd be awesome!"
You hear that Gaga? It's time for you and Lzzy to cut a record.