Like so many of the bands that were offered a spot on the Back to the Beginning bill, Halestorm came back with an instant “yes”. Well – not that instant.
“We got an email from Sharon Osbourne,” says Halestorm guitarist Lzzy Hale. “When the email came in, I didn’t answer it for two days because I was like, ‘What the hell is going on? Are we meant to have this email?’
“It was very hush-hush; no one was talking about it or knew anything about it. It was such a crazy feeling when it was confirmed that we were being asked to play at this monumental event.”
How important was Sabbath in terms of your musical development?
“When I was a kid, my ABCs of rock ’n’ roll were Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Cinderella and Dio. The first riff I ever learned was Heaven and Hell, so you can imagine that my inner-child was screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘I’d walk on broken glass to get there! I want to play this show!’”
Have you ever met Tony and the rest of the band?
“Yes! It was in 2009 – a fluke accident. Heaven & Hell had just released The Devil You Know, which was Sabbath and Dio, and they were playing in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The boys and I had just gotten off tour and were on our way home. We got a call from our booking agent saying, ‘Heaven & Hell’s opener dropped out for their last show. Do you want to open for them?’ We were like, ‘Oh, my god, yes!’
“We opened for them and got to know Ronnie James Dio, Geezer and Tony. They made us feel like family. They hung out with us until about three in the morning. A couple of months later, Ronnie was diagnosed with cancer.
“That ended up being the last show Dio ever performed [August 29, 2009]. And now we’re opening for Black Sabbath, which will be their last show with Ozzy. It’s crazy to have this almost full circle, closing the chapters of these legendary bands.”
Do you remember the first time you heard Black Sabbath?
“My introduction to Sabbath was actually with Dio. I hadn’t heard the OG [version with] Ozzy because I’m a child of the ’90s, so the timeline is all screwed up. But I took Heaven and Hell [1980] to a couple of sleepovers when the Backstreet Boys were popular, and they looked at me like I had aliens crawling out of my ears.”
That’s fitting since Sabbath and heavy metal were originally designated for outsiders.
“I remember coming home from that sleepover. The girls were trying to make me feel welcome, even though I was the weird chick, and my dad, a third-shift mechanic, said, ‘How was your sleepover?’ I said, ‘It was fun – but they didn’t like my music.’ My dad goes, ‘Oh, that’s great.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about? My life is over!’
“But he said, ‘You love this music, and it’s part of your heart. You don’t love it because it’s on the radio or your friends are into it. It’s part of you.’”
When did you discover the original era of Sabbath with Ozzy?
“Of course, my dad said, ‘Okay, let me introduce you to the Prince of Darkness!’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ I heard all the stories of biting the heads off bats, snorting the ants, the drugs, sex and rock ’n’ roll. It was just so magical. Then, in the summer of 1997, my brother, Arejay, and I started Halestorm.”
How do you measure the impact of Tony Iommi on metal guitar?
“Tony Iommi is my absolute favorite guitar player of all time. There’s the uniqueness of not having the entirety of all his fingers, which I did not know until years later, but there’s a unique tone he has.
“It has nothing to do with equipment or amplifiers; it comes from him. He could play through any amplifier, which would still sound like Tony Iommi. As a guitar player, I’ve always strived for that.”
Can you imagine the heavy metal landscape without Sabbath?
We’ve been talking to Tom Morello yesterday, and the poor guy is trying to organize 30 crazy guitar players and all these singers. He asked me, ‘Are you ready to take whatever I throw at you?’
“You can’t even count on all your fingers and toes how many bands would not exist without Black Sabbath. Some of those albums were done in a couple of days because they only had a little time off the road. Those records would not be the same if they had a year’s worth of time and made everything perfect.”
What’s your favorite original-lineup-era Iommi riff?
“A National Acrobat because there’s a darkness to it. There’s a whole section in the middle where it gets almost positive and joyous; they were never afraid to add a bit of humor into their darkness.”
Have you considered what songs Halestorm will play?
“We’ve been talking to Tom Morello yesterday, and the poor guy is trying to organize 30 crazy guitar players and all these singers. He asked me, ‘Are you ready to take whatever I throw at you?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. I’m there.’ It’s all being confirmed, I think, this week [March 10]. Keep your fingers crossed for us!”
What does it mean to you to help send off the original lineup of Black Sabbath?
Music is a language that’s too old to totally understand, but we can try and pass it on by passing the torch to every kid who feels like a weirdo
“It’s a dream come true. Why do we do what we do? Why did we start a band, keep going when things got tough and remain in the same band as Halestorm? We boil it down to the fact that these men, against all odds and with society maybe saying, ‘You shouldn’t write about this,’ proved that there are no rules to this music thing.
“Music is magic. It’s a portal to this other world – but we can be a vessel for it. Music is a language that’s too old to totally understand, but we can try and pass it on by passing the torch to every kid who feels like a weirdo. It’s for the downtrodden, the silent ones, the ones with the darker thoughts who are ostracized.
“We are the voice for the voiceless – and that is what Black Sabbath began for all of us. They gave me a voice when I didn’t have one. They never strived for perfection; they strived for moments, feelings and human connection. They’re one of a kind, and no band will ever top them. But we can all try.”
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
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