HALESTORM's LZZY HALE On Upcoming Tour With BABYMETAL: 'I'm So Excited About The Idea Because It's A Little Off Center'

During an appearance on the May 10 episode of "Whiplash", the 95.5 KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about her band's upcoming North American tour as the support act for BABYMETAL. The trek will kick off on September 2 at Denver, Colorado's Ball Arena and conclude on October 1 at Phoenix, Arizona's Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre. Lzzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Honestly, I'm so excited about the idea because it's a little off center. And we've been fans of BABYMETAL for — good Lord —a little over 10 years now. Man, I forget what record we were making, but they were kind of inching their way out into the scene, and a bunch of my friends ended up sitting me down, like, 'You have to listen to this BABYMETAL stuff. This is incredible.' So, the fact that this worked out and this opportunity kind of came in is really exciting for us because one of our favorite things to do is... I'm guessing that there's gonna be at least a decent percentage of the BABYMETAL crowd that has not actually seen a HALESTORM show before. So I'm looking forward to the handshake of, like, 'Hey, how you doing? This is what we're about.' [Laughs] It's gonna be amazing. And just the combination of our two crowds, I think that's gonna... I think they're gonna get along really well. And for me, it's, like, the weirder, the better. Let's go. It's always the best decisions, because there's this element of, like, 'I don't really know what's gonna happen,' and that's exciting to me."

As for what's on the horizon for HALESTORM beyond the BABYMETAL tour and whether there will be more live activity or studio work, Lzzy said: "It's a little bit of everything. We had a hell of a year last year. We were out pretty much consistently from, like, May through Christmas. So, we're spending a little bit of time this year, trying to make sure everybody remembers what their houses look like and their wives and [laughs] ... and kids. But other than that, yeah, there's some one-offs. We're going back over to Europe, playing Download [festival in the U.K.], and then, actually, Joe [Hottinger, HALESTORM guitarist] and I are doing some acoustic dates over there for the first time, very much like what you had seen at the Grammy Museum [in Los Angeles in early March], but gonna give Europe a taste of that. And, yeah, continuing to write and to be creative. And we have a studio in our basement, so we're gonna take advantage of that too."

HALESTORM's sixth full-length studio album, "Everest", came out last August via Atlantic Records. HALESTORM worked with producer Dave Cobb, after making three records with Nick Raskulinecz.

Fronted by Lzzy with drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith, HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".

"Love Bites (So Do I)", from HALESTORM's second album in 2012, won the Grammy Award that year for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance".

In 2019, HALESTORM was nominated for "Best Rock Performance" Grammy for the song "Uncomfortable".

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine