Halestorm, ‘Everest’ | The Album Story

Halestorm‘s Lzzy and Arejay Hale guide us through the creation of the band’s sixth album, ‘Everest’, out on August 08 via Atlantic Records.

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When Lzzy and Arejay Hale first started their band back in 1997, music was their life raft.

The frontwoman being 13 years old at the time and her younger brother just 10, writing songs became their method of staying afloat in a world rife with chaos and confusion. An opportunity to make sense of the mismatched puzzle pieces in their head, or to simply expel the dark thoughts festering within them, a lot may have changed over the last few decades – but that foundation has remained.

On their sixth album, Halestorm are more aware of that fact than ever before. Encouraged by producer Dave Cobb to set aside every preconceived idea they had about their band, when they stepped into his studio in Savannah, Georgia, a new era began. Writing every song from scratch, guided solely by their trust in one another and their abilities, the result is ‘Everest’, a towering beast of a record that feels like a total reset for the Nashville band.

“We threw away everything we had and started from scratch,” Lzzy nods.

“Every day, we got up and asked, ‘Who are we today?’ Then, that was what we wrote about. As a result, what you’re hearing on this record is us discovering and rediscovering ourselves through music.”

“It felt a lot like we were teenagers again, before the labels, management, and success came in. You can’t help but get affected by those things over the course of the years, and you have this mental fight inside of you. I can’t be the ‘I Miss The Misery’ girl forever. I wrote that song when I was in my twenties, and I’m a completely different person now. I’m a different person every single day.” 

That notion is precisely what lies at the core of ‘Everest’, an album that simultaneously sees Halestorm return to their roots and write a bold new chapter. Following whatever path the music took them down, refusing to overthink it and basking in the same joy of creation they’d felt as teenagers, its creation set aside expectation in favour of instinct. Culminating in some of the purest rock ‘n’ roll anthems you’ll hear this year, Rock Sound sat down with Lzzy and Arejay to find out more about how its twelve tracks came to life.

THE SOUND

Recorded in real time, and with most of what made it onto the final cut of the album consisting of first and second takes, ‘Everest’ is the definition of living in the moment. Disregarding whatever felt important yesterday, and not dwelling on what may be important tomorrow, each of its twelve songs capture a unique moment in time.

“We were locked in a house together, away from our hometowns and our families, so there were no distractions,” Lzzy smiles.

“We spend so much time together, and we know each other better than anyone, but we reached a whole new level whilst we were making this record. It was wonderful to see everybody in a heightened sense of excitement and growth, and we had no choice but to bleed whatever we were feeling at the time.”

Leaving and coming back to ideas whenever inspiration struck, the songs on ‘Everest’ were created at all hours of the day, encapsulating all manner of emotions. No idea too wild and no avenue too dark, that freeing mentality allowed the four-piece to step outside of their usual realm. From the raw fury of ‘K-I-L-L-I-N-G’ and the menacing build of the album’s title track to the Nina Simone inspired blues-tinged power of ‘Like A Woman’ and the colossal howls of ‘WATCH OUT!’, it’s the kind of magic that only comes when you chase the excitement of a singular moment.

Approaching every song with the drive to create something spectacular, it deals out twelve hits and absolutely no misses. With every track its own entity, each member of the band takes full advantage of the opportunity to flex, no constraints placed upon their creativity. From bassist Josh Smith showing off his skills as a classically trained pianist and master of synths to guitarist Joe Hottinger dealing out some of the finest solos of his career, by loosening the reins Halestorm have ascended to a whole new level.

“I think we have a tendency to overthink ourselves into the ground, and then nothing gets done,” Arejay explains.

“After a while, you can start to approach records with the idea of giving the fans what they want. With this record though, we just focused on what makes us excited.”

“That’s a misconception that a lot of artists fall into,” Lzzy adds.

“Something that we discovered through making this record is that if you’re not completely stoked on what you’re doing, no one else is going to like it either. You can paint a picture and make it as pretty as you want, but if it’s not a reflection of who you truly are, the fans won’t see themselves reflected in it either.”

“There really are no rules with songwriting, because if there were rules then everyone would have a hit on the radio,” she continues.

“Nobody knows whether something will be a hit or not, so why worry about it? Why don’t we just do what makes us happy? That eternal pursuit of happiness is the very reason that we got into this in the first place. Now, it’s up to the universe.”

THE LYRICS

Many of the words you hear on ‘Everest’ starting out life as poems written by Lzzy, it’s home to some of the most vulnerable songwriting of her career. Focusing on whatever feelings rose up within her on each particular day, allowing the thoughts to spiral and her mind to wander wherever it pleased, the result is a collection of songs unafraid to bask in uncertainty. 

“I embraced the reality that not everything can have an answer or a happy ending,” she says.

“A lot of these songs offer more questions than answers, and that’s just life. We don’t know how things are going to work out, but we do not fail as long as we keep trying. We keep getting up and we keep trying to do better next time. That was a cathartic change for me, and I learned a lot about myself through writing this album.”

Perhaps the perfect example is the album’s closer, ‘How Will You Remember Me?’. Starting out life as a poem titled ‘Legacy’, it plays out almost like the soundtrack to Lzzy’s future funeral. Reflecting on what she will leave behind and what will remain when she’s gone, it’s undoubtedly bleak, but ultimately, it’s a song rooted in gratitude for the life she’s forged.

“All we have is what we do in this life, and we don’t know when we’re going to go,” she muses.

“Our only responsibility as human beings is to pass on the torch and do the best that we can. We’re never going to make all of the right decisions, but we can try to do the right thing with every choice that’s laid out in front of us. Basically, we don’t know whether everything’s going to be okay, but the important thing is that we don’t give up.”

THE COLLABORATORS

This deep into their career, Halestorm know the potential a producer has to make or break a record. Admiring country connoisseur Dave Cobb’s work from the sidelines for years, something clicked from the first conversations they had together. Making no secret of his love of the band, his input encouraged the quartet to think about their music from a new perspective. Pushing them to reach higher, to hit bigger notes, and to think outside the box, he played an integral role in shaping ‘Everest’ into what it became. 

“He had a lot of trust in us, and there weren’t a whole lot of times where he’d tell us what to do. He’d let us figure it out, and then say, ‘That’s exactly what I was waiting to hear’,” Lzzy recalls.

“We would go on field trips together whenever we got a little stuck, too. For instance, there’s a song called ‘Gather The Lambs’, and that comes from a time when we all went out to a cemetery in Savannah, Georgia for inspiration. We were reading headstones, and those words were on one of them, so we wrote it down and put a story to it.”

“More than anything, he taught us that we can’t get too comfortable, and you’ve got to learn how to trust your gut. If something’s getting you excited musically, there’s a reason for that,” Arejay adds.

“We could have gone in and made ‘Back From The Dead Part 2’ or even another take on ‘The Strange Case Of…’, but Dave didn’t ask us to write songs that would cater to the fans. If you’re doing that, it’s completely backwards. It should start from the artist, and what gets the artist excited is what will get the fans excited.”

THE TITLE

When you look at the trajectory of Halestorm’s career, the word ‘Everest’ feels undeniably apt. The Hale siblings growing up on a 20-acre farm in Pennsylvania enamoured by music, their climb to the top of the rock world has been gradual, but always on the incline. Not rushing the process and ensuring to stop off at each base camp to take it all in and prepare for the next leg, in 2025 they’re feeling incredibly proud of their journey.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 10, and now I’m almost 40,” Arejay shrugs.

“I’ve spent three quarters of my life doing it, and that’s a weird feeling, but it’s awesome. When we started, our goal was just to get this band off the ground and get out of where we were living… All of this should have never been possible.” 

“If you think about the statistics and how many great bands never even make it past their first album, it’s crazy that we’ve got this far,” Lzzy adds.

“We didn’t have a rich uncle in the business or anything like that. We didn’t even know how to do it when we started out… We just knew that we had to do it. We’re unbelievably lucky that it’s worked out.” 

THE FUTURE

That pure, undiluted drive to make it no matter the odds is what has long sat at the heart of Halestorm, and with ‘Everest’ it feels more powerful than ever. Having endured every peak and valley side-by-side, every one of their milestones shared, Lzzy and Arejay are endlessly proud of what they’ve accomplished over the last 28 years. From two kids with a dream to playing some of the world’s biggest stages and sharing dressing rooms with their heroes, the energy and excitement radiating from the duo has never felt so infectious.

Songs from the album already making their way into their live set and having converted their house into a studio since its recording, there’s no denying that ‘Everest’ has sparked a fresh wave of momentum for Halestorm. Now, as they look to the future, they’re taking on whatever it holds with a renewed sense of faith in themselves.

“Regardless of whether you’re a musician, an office worker, or a maid, often the hardest thing to do is to embrace who you are and to be unapologetically yourself,” Lzzy finishes.

“It’s difficult to trust that your feelings and ideas are valid, and from being kids we’re always looking for approval and reassurance that we’re doing things right. Art is a feeling though, and there are no real guidelines. There are no rules saying that you can or cannot do something, as long as you truly believe that you can do it. That’s what this record signifies to me, and almost every single time I listen to it I hear a different side of myself.”

“When we were recording this album, it was about being present in the moment, but once it’s out… It belongs to our fans. Whatever it means to us, it’s about giving every one of them the opportunity to tell their own story. That’s what music is all about.”