HALESTORM's LZZY HALE Recalls Supporting HEAVEN & HELL At RONNIE JAMES DIO's Final Concert

In a recent interview with Dave Lawrence of Hawaii Public Radio, HALESTORM vocalist/guitarist Lzzy Hale discussed supporting HEAVEN & HELL in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2009 at what ended up being Ronnie James Dio's final concert performance. "That was so crazy," Lzzy recalls (hear audio below). "It's funny, because with [BLACK] SABBATH, I had gotten introduced to SABBATH with Dio first as a kid. It was my introduction into SABBATH, and then I worked my way backwards into the Ozzy [Osbourne] world. It was one of those fluke accidents that happened. We were in between tours, and kind of going home for a couple days off. COHEED & CAMBRIA were opening that tour, and they had dropped off the last date, so basically, it just kind of worked out perfectly. Management called us, like, 'Do you want to do this? 'Absolutely. I will crawl if I have to.' One show only, so we weren't even on the tour with them, but it was just so cool because this is part of the reason that it kind of seeped into your brain as a kid — this foundation, the reason that you're actually doing what you're doing, pretty much. They were just so wonderful — just, like, such amazing rocker dudes. It's so funny when I think about it now, because they were so nice to us and hung out with us all night until we left, and took the time to welcome us with open arms even though they had no idea who we are. The fact that they were so incredibly inclusive, I'll take that with me forever."

Hale has also guested with other prominent acts, including DREAM THEATER, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, but she says it continues to surprise her whenever she receives such invitations. "We're just doing this because we love to do it, and you don't expect anything to happen," she says. "You're just, kind of, moving forward, because that's all you want to do. Our goal has never really changed — it's just always to continue every single day. Just being able to meet and perform with Alice Cooper — my dad gave me 'Love It To Death' when I was 11. I got to perform with Lita Ford; I've gotten to speak with Nancy Wilson and Pat Benatar; Tom Keifer from CINDERELLA was a huge one. Just being able to kind of be a part of this... I don't know. I still feel like this kind of little sister in this genre, but just to be able to even be accepted on stage with these people, it just really blows my mind."

HALESTORM has just announced a six-week European headlining tour, kicking off in Moscow on September 14 and wrapping up in Madrid on October 25. The trek includes eight U.K. and Irish dates, including London's O2 Academy Brixton for the first time.

HALESTORM has been holed up in Nashville recently, working with producer Nick Raskulinecz on the band's fourth studio album, due out this summer on Atlantic Records. Talking to Billboard about the new LP, Lzzy described it as "very rock. It's definitely a step forward for us. I think you're really going to see something that comes from all four corners of HALESTORM, what each of us brings to the table and just how important all four pillars are in this band. We're really pumped about having something new, and I just hope everyone likes it — and, regardless, we're stoked on it."