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In a new interview with Terrie Carr of the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about how she gets inspiration for her lyrics through her interactions with the band’s loyal fanbase. She said (as transcribed by Phoosi.com): “There was a lot of things personally that saved me [during the pandemic], and one of them was our community that we have with our fans. I know everybody says this, but we absolutely have the best fans in the world. I stalk them even when I’m not responding, and, obviously, they tag me in everything. And any given moment, I will go online or any of my socials, and somebody will say, ‘Hey, I’m kind of struggling today’ or ‘I’m having a dark time,’ and everybody will literally pounce on them, just like, ‘Hey, DM me.’ ‘Hey, you’re not alone. I’m going through this too. Let’s talk about it.’ I can’t tell you off the top of my head how many lives have probably been saved by this community. They’ve done that all themselves; I’m just the host of the party.
“There is one specific song [on HALESTORM‘s upcoming album ‘Back From The Dead’], and I won’t necessarily say the title yet because I kind of want her to figure it out for herself,” she continued. “But there was a very trying situation that I was in. It wasn’t my situation — it was this young girl; she’s in eighth grade and she’s a fan of ours. And she just came out as gay and her parents were having a very hard time with it. So she was brave enough to kind of open up to a couple of different people on my socials, including myself. And as hard as it is for me to say it, I have to say it. I guess the parents’ response to her coming out as gay was, ‘Well, death would be better.’
“I know how I felt in eighth grade as a weirdo that loved Alice Cooper when everybody loved the BACKSTREET BOYS; I know what it’s like to already have that. But then to not have the support of your parents for something that you truly are was ridiculous,” Lzzy added. “So I ended up taking this conversation into one of our writing sessions and we wrote this song that is not a ballad — it is a banger, because I wanted to write her this anthem that not only says, ‘Please take everything that nobody understands about you and make it into your superpower.’ But also, I am just like you — I am just like you, and I went through it, and I have come out on the other side. I still have dark times and dark days and everything, but if I can do it, so can you. You are in eighth grade; I’m 38. [Laughs] It’s, like, there is another side to that tunnel.
“But it’s important for me, because the inspiration comes full circle,” Hale said. “It’s, like, yeah, sure, I’m the one that gets up there and writes songs and sings and plays and has a good time and is, like I said, the host of the party, but these kids and the letters that they write to me, I would have never thought I’d be in that position when I was 13 all those years ago when I just wanted to rock. So it’s just such a beautiful thing to be a part of.”
“Back From The Dead” will be released on May 6 via Atlantic. The follow-up to 2018’s “Vicious” was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, MASTODON, ALICE IN CHAINS) with co-production by Scott Stevens (SHINEDOWN, DAUGHTRY, NEW YEARS DAY).
Earlier in the month, HALESTORM revealed “The Steeple”, the second single from “Back From The Dead”. “The Steeple” followed the album’s title track, “Back From The Dead”, released last summer. That track marked HALESTORM‘s sixth No. 1 at rock radio, and met rave reviews: Rolling Stone called it “a biting, cathartic howler about overcoming obstacles — even death,” and Consequence praised Hale‘s “powerhouse pipes” and lead guitarist Joe Hottinger‘s “blistering solo.” Revolver declared it a “raucous, hard-rock rager about staying strong in the face of crushing adversity.”
Lzzy and her brother Arejay formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by bassist Josh Smith in 2004.
In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a “Best Rock Performance” Grammy Award for its song “Uncomfortable”. Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of “Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance” for “Love Bites (So Do I)”.
