Album Review: Halestorm's Sixth Studio Album Everest Out 8/8!

Halestorm is set to release their 6^th full length studio album, Everest, on 8/8/2025.  This album has been a couple of years in the making.  They took their time and didn’t rush through the process in one sitting.  Halestorm fought tooth and nail for everything on this album to be truly authentic and true to themselves. 

First things first, is that they chose Dave Cobb for their producer.  They walked into the studio with a handful of lyrics, melodies and guitar riffs and the first thing he did was tell them to throw them out.  This gave the band a fresh starting point with no baggage. 

This album is a million tiny pieces that have come together for an incredible body of work.  The album is musically complex, lyrically heartbreaking and vocally challenging. I’ve sat with this album for 3 weeks, there were songs that were played over and over and some that I was like this is great, but it doesn’t really resonate with me. This is the beauty of an album though what may be my favorite may be someone else’s least favorite and vice versa. 

This album walks through a journey of mental anguish, uprising, anger, love and sexuality.  For the past few albums lead singer, guitarist, pianist, Lzzy Hale, had drawn a lot of her lyrical inspiration from conversations with her fans through social media.  During the time she wrote this album her social media presence dwindled.  This album was written from her struggles and her passions, it just hits different.

Musically this album showcases each individual member. Guitarist, Joe Hottinger, shines with his signature riffs and ever evolving tone. Joe doesn’t get enough mainstream credit for the incredible musician that he has become.  Bassist, Josh Smith, is one of the best bassists in the rock scene and you can’t convince me otherwise.  His groove is always amazing, and his tone is chunky and overstated, making the bass stand out on each track.  Drummer and band co-founder, Arejay Hale, is the most underrated drummers in the history of music.  Each track is filled with complexity and passion, this man’s heartbeat is his metronome. 

The album is comprised of 12 tracks, a handful of which they have played live and 3 that they have digitally released.  Their lead single “Darkness Always Wins” is their most complex, cinematic piece they have ever released, it is different from anything else on the album. The vocals mixed with snare placement and guitar riff make this track an absolute anthem. 

“Everest” the title track was their second digital release, following “Darkness Always Wins” you could feel a theme building with the lyrics.  Maybe the darkness doesn’t always win if you keep fighting, climbing and clawing your way out even when you no longer want to.

The third digital release was “Rain Your Blood on Me”, possibly one of Halestorm’s heaviest released tracks.  It start’s out with pounding drums and Lzzy chanting rain your blood on me. Then Joe’s spicy, buzzy riff comes flying in.  Lyrically this is a don’t fuck with women track because they will burn you to the ground.

Since Halestorm is a touring machine they have tested the waters with a few other tracks live as well including rippers, “Fallen Star” and “Watch Out”. Both of these tracks are metal at the core and torch the live audience.

Now let’s get to the other side of Halestorm.  What’s been released has been hard hitting, cinematic or straight gut punch metal.  Let’s start with “Shiver” which is 110% my favorite track as well as many other super fans that I have asked.  It’s rock, its dramatic but its also earie, sad and heartbreaking.  Lzzy’s voice is smooth and unstrained.  Her phrasing and passion walk your mind through visuals as if it was a book.  The lyric, “I carry the weight and fall through the ice, shiver forever to drown in your eyes”, literally goes right through your soul.  I cannot wait to hear what everyone else thinks about this song.

The next song on the album is “Like a Woman Can”.  We all know that Lzzy is proud and vocal about her sexuality.  She gave us “Do No Disturb”, but then there is this.  This song and her vocals are bluesy, smokey and gritty.  I can picture her singing this is a night club in Paris, in a black sequin dress, with a feather in her hair and a cigarette in a long white holder right out of the 1920’s.  If Lzzy ever released a solo album I hope that it would have this vibe because it is fire.  

Another killer track is “Broken Doll”, I don’t know if it was purposeful or just somewhere in the background that this songs sound was influenced by their friends in the Dead Dead’s.  The guitars are dirty, grungy, and the vocals just shred.  I think this one is going to be a fan favorite and rip live.

“Gather the Lambs” is another personal favorite that’s more on the softer side of rock and roll; the lyrics and phrasing of the song just grab you.  “In the end stay with me, underneath the fallen sun, watch the world fade away until we’re the only ones”.  Not sure how this song will fit into their high-powered rock sets but I love it none the less.

“K-I-L-L-I-N-G” is heavy, we are talking Rage Against the Machine, Tom Morello, guitar riffs flying out of Mr. Hottinger’s guitars.  Lzzy screaming out “k i l l I n g this loneliness is killing me”, just hits you in the gut.  While this song was not initially on my I must listen to this song list, I caught myself headbanging to it while cooking dinner, so I guess it subliminally grew on me. 

“I Gave You Everything” is melodic in the verses and a kick in the teeth in the chorus.  I think many of us have some one that completely fucked with their lives in one way or another.  “I gave you everything, but you fucked up and fucked me again”.  Moral of the story be careful who you trust in the life because even those close to you can destroy you.

Last but not least, “How Will You Remember Me”.  “How will you remember me, what will be my legacy”? I had this conversation with Lzzy many lifetimes ago on twitter, I asked her what she wanted her legacy to be.  And she said it was up to us, her fans, to decide how she was remembered.  While this song was most likely not born from this conversation it will forever hold a place in my heart.  This song is a true power ballad, my favorite lyrics are, “No one gets to see it, how are souls are leaving in the night” and “Life goes on in Memories”.  I am sure that I will cry when I hear this live for the first time. 

Everest is an amazing album, a fitting closure to their time on Atlantic Records.  I look forward to hearing this album live, as their songs always hit different when you’re surrounded by 10,000 fans.  Pick up a physical copy, download it, share it with your friends.  The gift of music is universal. 

All things Halestorm including tour dates can be found here Halestorm | Official Website

Photo Credit: Jimmy Fontaine