HALESTORM Drummer On Band's Longevity: 'A Big Part Of It Is Having That Family Dynamic'

In a brand new interview with Metal Talk, HALESTORM drummer Arejay Hale was asked how the band has managed to keep its current lineup intact for 15 years. "I think a big part of it is having that family dynamic," he said. "My sister [frontwoman Lzzy Hale] and I have, of course, been together our whole lives, playing music since we were kids. We kind of had tunnel vision, and luckily, we had lots of parental support; our parents actually toured with us in our earlier tours. That whole family theme rubs off not just on Joe [Hottinger, guitar] and Josh [Smith, bass] but our crew and everybody involved."

He continued: "Another cool thing is that we've had the same crew for a long, long time as well. We just acquired a new crew member this [latest European] tour, our good friend Joe Miller, who was previously with BLACK STONE CHERRY. That's a band we've known for a long time and they're like family to us too, so it was an easy transition bringing him into the crew. We were talking about it the other day, and us and BLACK STONE CHERRY are two of the only bands to keep the same lineup since the beginning. We wear that family badge with honor — everyone on our team does."

Asked by Metal Talk if it ever feels weird for him, as Lzzy's brother, to be up on stage playing away while his sister is singing deeply personal lyrics to HALESTORM's audience, Arejay said: "No. There are some songs which are very personal to her and some songs which are very personal to me. It's like we have 12 children now that we're raising and we're performing live it's like we're seeing the songs grow and seeing the fans react to them.

"Going from that point where, when you're writing the songs, you're writing them from a very personal standpoint, and as soon as it connects with an audience, all of a sudden it's not yours anymore. You have to set them free, to let them go into the world, and all of a sudden, they belong to the fans.

"I actually don't think there are any songs which are closer to any one of us — we're all kind of on the same page; all four of us feel equally as passionate about these songs musically, lyrically, thematically and about all of the elements involved," he said.

HALESTORM's latest album, "Vicious", was released on July 27 via Atlantic. The disc was recorded last year at Nashville, Tennesse's Rock Falcon recording studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz.