#2022 interviews

The powerhouse vocalist on championing women-led rock bands and creating a 'sanctuary' in the hit song 'The Steeple'

WHEN LZZY HALE and her band, Halestorm, were first nominated for a Grammy in 2013 — earning a Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance nod for their song “Love Bites” — the power singer found herself the only woman in a category full of dudes. (They won.) Not much seemed to have changed by 2019, when Halestorm scored their second Grammy nomination, for Best Rock Performance.

Now, however, Hale is leading a charge for women in heavy music. The group’s latest headlining tour of the U.S. featured a lineup of female-fronted bands, all of them handpicked by Hale, and her signature Gibson Explorerbird guitar has found its way into the hands of aspiring rockers of all ages. “The people at Gibson keep telling me the demographic that buys the most electric guitars right now are female,” says Hale, 39. “The wave is coming, whether anybody likes it or not.”

On the strength of the group’s fifth album, Back From the Dead, and its string of hits like “The Steeple,” “Wicked Ways,” and the title track, Halestorm are well-positioned to score their latest nomination and prove once and for all that hard rock is genderless.

The album Back From the Dead sounds like it was made for the stage, which is ironic considering it was recorded during a time when live concerts were nearly extinct. We had no idea what the future held: “Is the record going to come out? Are the fans going to like it? Is the label going to like this song and think it’s a hit?” The silver lining of the future being unknown was we could be selfish and say that none of that matters right now. I feel like some of the heaviness of the record and the full-speed-ahead mentality came from that.

What we learned in that process is that’s the only way to do it, the right way and the most fulfilling way. This is a career now, and there’s a lot of people with their fingers in the pie and people talking in your ear and a lot of pressure outside of where you started. And I started in my parents’ living room, where you could do whatever you wanted.

“The Steeple” was a Number One rock song for Halestorm, and it just feels like a Grammy nominee. Why do you think it resonates with your fans? A lot of people talk about the safe space and the unity of a rock show and that feeling you get. We were trying to re-create that sanctuary. That magic resonates with people, and they may not even know how to describe it. But you saying the words that they feel is a call to arms, a display of community.

“It stopped raining in my head today” is the opening line because of a time when we were in Nashville and I had the post-tour blues. We had three weeks off, and I was bummed for no reason. [Halestorm guitarist Joe Hottinger] suggested, “Hey, let’s go see a show.” We did, and I could feel the cloud lifting. It’s hard to explain, but that’s what we were trying to celebrate with “The Steeple.”

When Halestorm were first nominated for a Grammy, in 2013, you were the only woman in the category. That’s true. And we were the new kids then, too. Not only was I the only female, but we were also the only new rock band. All these bands that were nominated with or against us were people we were influenced by. And that inspired us. We really had nothing prepared, because we were like, “Dude, we’re not going to win this.” It was a complete surprise when we did.

Then, there was this joke going around, because I know a bunch of the Megadeth guys and a couple of the other nominees, and they were all joking about how “Lzzy stole our Grammy.” I was in an interview with Eddie Trunk one time, on That Metal Show, and he had a couple of the losers of the Grammys as guests and he had me pop in [via video] just to make that comment. But if it wasn’t for those [bands], we probably wouldn’t have even written “Love Bites.”

WITHIN TEMPTATION's Sharon Den Adel spoke to Rock Sound about the lyrical inspiration for the band's recent single "Don't Pray For Me". She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I wrote an essay a year back about, for International Women's Day, for one of the metal magazines here in the U.K. And they asked me, like, 'Okay, you can talk about anything.' So I just took a subject, and I chose abortion, actually. And I really dive into it, and it was more, like, 'Okay, how does it really go about in different countries?' And I saw laws changing in Poland, especially religious parties trying to change laws, so people can't have sex education in schools anymore, but also they can't have an abortion, even in the most worst cases. And it's changing all over the world, also in America. I felt a little bit I had just been watching 'The Handmaid's Tale'. [Laughs] So just thinking how there are a lot of similarities about a lot of things, and also a lot of differences, of course. But it just made me wanna write about religion in the first place, because of the fact that people are always telling other people how to live. And abortion is just one of those things. But it's a lot of things in a lot of countries that I go to, touring."

She continued: "I feel like a lot of kids have a really hard time growing up, trying to be who they wanna be. And I think it starts really before they're born, like what kind of circumstances do you get, the chances like anyone else you get, a loving family. Were you welcomed when you were born? Those kinds of things; it's very important. People telling you what to be and who to be and what to believe, it just puts a real stamp on your life, I think, and it can really take the air out of life also. The song is about, don't tell me what to believe, don't tell me what to do, let everybody be free. That would be nice for people in the end, especially kids when they're growing up and you give them the space to think for themselves."

When "Don't Pray For Me" was first released in July, Sharon stated about the track: "'Don't Pray For Me' strives against forcing beliefs and fears onto others and bears witness to being acceptive of everyone's own journey. It is an anthem about coming to terms with the fact that beliefs can be fluid, multiple or, frankly, different. The song is about allowing people to pursue their own destiny."

Two iconic rock stars, one epic interview – Evanescence’s Amy Lee and Korn’s Jonathan Davis talk fame, nu metal and living on the edge

On the surface, Jonathan Davis and Amy Lee don’t appear to have much in common. While Korn’s vocalist is best known for purging his psyche and utilising pure rage to fuel his art, Evanescence bandleader Amy is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist. To an outsider, the primal roar of Korn and the vast, intricately crafted swell of Evanescence could seem worlds apart.

In reality, the two share many similarities. Both have endured childhood trauma, which colours the music they make, giving Korn and Evanescence an honesty that connects with their fans on a massive scale. Both the bands they front have survived well beyond the nu metal tag of their early years, and are now thought of as unique artists in their own right – latest albums Requiem and The Bitter Truth charted in the Top 10 in the UK and the Top 20 in the US. Both have experimented beyond the boundaries of those bands, entering into film scoring and classical work. And, as we find out when we join a Zoom call with the pair in the aftermath of their recent co-headlining tour across the US – where they teamed up to perform Freak On A Leash together each night – both have an immense amount of respect and affection for each other.

We’ve been granted a rare opportunity to converse with two giants of the metal world. But, as Jonathan sits with his brand-new puppy on his lap – a subject that dominates the first few minutes of our conversation, and leads to Amy telling us that she’s in the process of getting a kitten – today feels far more like an informal catch-up than a rock star state of address.

Can you remember the first time you heard each other’s music?

Amy: “Gosh! I’m not sure what the first song was, but it was in high school for me!”

Jonathan: “You’re already making me feel old!”

Amy: “It was like nothing that I had ever heard. We all have certain artists in our life that we hear and they have a spark, they have an impact. Korn was absolutely one of those artists for me. The music was coming from a real place. So, I became a fan right away. My favourite album was [2002’s] Untouchables.”

Jonathan: “That’s so surreal for me. I still trip out on it. You have to remember that I was this green kid from Bakersfield, but we relocated to Huntington Beach. I gave up my whole life to live my dream, and I can’t believe that this thing we did could be so impactful. We were just doing our own thing, these punk kids telling everyone to fuck off – and we’ve gone through our entire career like that! Even the name! Who names their band Korn, man?! And to hear Amy say she first heard us in high school and… now look at what she is doing!”

Amy: “That’s what metal is, that’s what rock is supposed to be, that nonconformist attitude. ‘This is what this is supposed to look like? Well, I’m not gonna do that!’ The whole idea is that you are meant to break the mould.”

Jonathan: “I remember driving around in my car and their song [Bring Me To Life] came on, and I flipped, I thought it was cool. Listen… I hate everything, man, but I loved her voice. I liked that there was a girl doing some rock music and it was badass.”

You both had to shake off the tag of nu metal around that time as well…

Amy: “I have a feeling Jonathan may feel the same, but I don’t like boxes. As artists we are unique. The real value in something is being who you are and not trying to fit into a certain genre. I want the freedom to make whatever music comes out of my soul. When [2003 debut album] Fallen came out, I was fresh out of school and I was like a cartoon of myself; it felt like nobody got me, it was just a 2-D representation of me based on people only knowing a couple of songs. I really struggled with that.”

Jonathan: “For me, we were making Untouchables, and that was when so many bands were coming out and jumping on the bandwagon. Now I don’t mind the tag ‘nu metal’ – they named an entire subgenre after my band? Holy shit! That’s cool! – but punk-ass, crazy Korn back then, we were like, ‘What the fuck? Fuck everyone! We’re going to make this insane record.’ Keep people guessing. It had become a parody of itself – I don’t want to be defined like that! Nowadays, I don’t care, but back then, I hated it. I make the music I make… you don’t call Metallica some thrash band! They’re fucking Metallica! You don’t call the Chili Peppers a funk rock band! They’re the fucking Chili Peppers! And Korn are Korn!”

Amy: “Exactly! You did it, there is only one Korn!”

Both of you seem to really dig deep into your personal lives and experiences to make music.

Amy: “That’s what sticks, that’s what stays, that’s what really touches people. Not the bullshit. It’s when you’re really taking a chance and speaking from the heart. I want to feel something real when I listen to music – it’s food for the soul, to feel not alone in the universe. When it comes to the bands that really stick, they’re the ones that really put everything out there.”

Jonathan: “For sure. Kids have bullshit detectors; they can hear that shit a mile away.”

Amy: “We had to fight the power with labels and stuff throughout my career. It’s always been a fight. Not now, I fought my fights…”

Jonathan: “And you won!”

Amy: “I did! The fights were always for the fans’ intelligence. They are not as stupid as the industry thinks they are! We’re going to give them something real, and it can’t be fake… anything but that! That turned into fights about real strings versus synthesisers. I knew we had to spend the money to make it sound right, because I knew it was what I would have wanted as a fan.”

Jonathan: “I feel the same. We were lucky, because we always told them that it was going to be our way or no way. We got into fights with magazines, fights with video directors, literal physical altercations, because we were so sure that it wasn’t going to go down like that.”

Amy: “‘Y’all want a single, say fuck that!’”

Jonathan: “Exactly!”

Amy: “When [Korn’s] Y’all Want A Single came out [in 2003], it really affected me again. I was like, ‘These people get me! This is my people!’”

Jonathan: “When the managers said, ‘We gotta try and get a single,’ we were like, ‘OK, here’s your single!”

Amy: “[To Hammer] They play that song every night, usually near the end before the encore, and we are all always side of the stage like, ‘Oh boy! Here we go!’ It’s always one of our favourite songs to warm up to before we go on, too.”

In recent years, Dutch heavy rockers WITHIN TEMPTATION shifted their focus from releasing albums to releasing a series of singles, enabling the bandmembers to indulge themselves in their creative processes thus delivering freshly inspired music. The group has released "Entertain You", "The Purge" and "Shed My Skin", singles that have all thrilled their fanbase, had great critical reception in Europe, peaked in the Top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Indicator charts and topped the official German charts. In July, WITHIN TEMPTATION also released the official Jeb Hardwick-directed music video for the band's latest single, "Don't Pray For Me". It is the fourth single of the band's independent releases and will lead up to WITHIN TEMPTATION's next studio album.

In a recent interview with Barbara Caserta of Linea Rock, WITHIN TEMPTATION vocalist Sharon Den Adel spoke about the group's new approach to making its music available. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We already decided before we had the pandemic to do it this way. A lot of music scenes already do this — music genres, actually — but in the rock [world], we still do a lot of the traditional way of releasing albums. And we just wanted to try this out. And then the pandemic happened, and everybody started doing the same thing. Which is a good thing, because you live in the moment and you write something and you release it… So this is really how we feel at the moment, and it's what we re reflecting with our music, I think. It's a good thing."

Elaborating on the differences between recording and releasing singles and concentrating on making full-length albums, Sharon said: "We put a lot of time extra now into every single, where normally this is the maximum of singles that we release, and we're gonna release more. So I think there's more time spent to it. But it's scattered all over a time, so it's really sometimes difficult to get back into the flow of writing again; that's the negative side of it. So it has its positive and negative sides. And with a whole album, it takes sometimes two years when you've written a song that it finally gets released, and it already feels outdated sometimes. So now it's really [easy to give each track] a fast release."

As for when fans can expect to see a new WITHIN TEMPTATION LP, Sharon said: "I'm in America now — North Carolina — as we speak, and in a few days I'll be back in my home country, the Netherlands. We have one week to record a new song, and then I leave again for a European tour. And then I'm back at home in the beginning of December, and then we're gonna finish the rest of the album. So we haven't written the rest yet. So it's gonna take some time. Somewhere next year there will be a new album. But there will be a few singles also still first before we do the album."

This past August, Den Adel told EMP about the WITHIN TEMPTATION songwriting process: "The thing is we've been around for such a long time that we try to be inspired by new bands that we hear and implement it with our own kind of sound and try to stay updated with the sound that is sounding more modern nowadays and what is more 'in' nowadays. Not to be going along with new sounds but something that sounds refreshing and inspiring to us. And that keeps us going and makes it fun for us to make still music. We've been around almost for 25 years, even longer — now I really feel old — but, anyway, you need it; you need to evolve. So there's no formula, but it's more every time looking what inspires you. And it can be anything."

The remainder of WITHIN TEMPTATION's 2022 will be filled up the much-anticipated and long-delayed co-headlining European tour with EVANESCENCE.

WITHIN TEMPTATION's last album, "Resist", was released in February 2019 through Spinefarm Records, the specialist hard rock label of Universal Music Group.

"Resist" featured guest appearances by PAPA ROACH's Jacoby Shaddix, IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén and ARID's Jasper Steverlinck.