Over the course of three albums and countless live shows all over the world, Halestorm are becoming a firm favourite among fans of all things that rock. On the heels of releasing album number four, Vicious, we asked the frontwoman extraordinaire Lzzy Hale about five of her favourite hard rock and metal albums of all time. Read on for the list!
1. Alice Cooper - Love It To Death
I believe I was 11 years old when I first heard it, and I became obsessed with it to the point that the record introduced me to my own weirdness. We moved into a new house that year, and the neighborhood girls invited me to a sleepover. They told me to bring a favorite CD, 'cause we were all gonna hang out and listen to each other’s CDs! So, I bought Alice Cooper's 'Love it To Death'. Keep in mind this was around the time that TLC, Backstreet Boys, and acts of the like were popular. At one point in time, someone said to put my CD in. I don’t think we made it past the first chorus of Caught In A Dream! (laughs)
That was the moment I knew I wasn’t cool. I went home the next day and told my mum and dad what happened. They were actually proud and expressed to me how important it is to be unapologetically myself, and not to follow trends just to fit in. It was a great life lesson. 'I'm Eighteen' is my favourite track, and I still wear my Alice influence on my sleeve.
2. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
I was introduced to the Dio Years Of Black Sabbath before the Ozzy years. And the album always resonated with me because it showed me how to incorporate heaviness into my music. On the 'metal spectrum', I fall under Black Sabbath; Heaven and Hell is still an album I can listen to and learn something new every time.
The title track is my favourite on there and the opening riff was one of the first riffs I ever learned on guitar.
3. Heart - The Road Home
I think I was 15 at the time, and my mum got me this live record along with a few others of our fore-mothers of rock. This was the album that introduced me to women's rock voices. I was so blown away by Ann’s voice live and Nancy’s prowess on guitar. It gave me a light at the end of the tunnel, showed me that girls can rock and that there was hope for me!
On their live version of 'Crazy On You', Ann intros the song almost a cappella with the first verse and chorus. It’s still the gold standard performance in my mind. If you can move someone like that with just your voice, you got it kid! I still look to this record for influence in our live moments!
4. Cinderella - Night Songs
I was around 15 years old when a friend of my mother's gave me this album along with a VHS compilation of their music videos from that album. Tom Keifer is the reason I play guitar, the reason I’m guttural when I sing, and the reason I carry myself the way I do onstage.
My favourite track is 'Somebody Save Me'. You can hear the Keifer influence on me even down to the way I use my vibrato on guitar...
5. Jeff Buckley - Grace
I was 19 when I first heard this album. I was a late bloomer into the 90s. I fell in love to this record, with a person who I still consider the love of my life.
'Lover, You Should’ve Come Over' is my favourite track here, and there will never be another record with the kind of passion that’s present on Grace. The musicianship, and vocal prowess is unmatched. We’ll be chasing that dragon for years to come.
Vicious is out now! You can get it right here.
Listen to Halestorm now.
