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These are busy, busy times for GRAMMY-winning quartet Halestorm. Thankfully, guitarist Joe Hottinger was on hand to talk about everything going on with the band, including the stunning new album ‘Everest’, as well as chatting about collecting vinyl, and German cuisine…
There is so much to talk about, but there is only one place to start, and that’s what an incredible Summer that it has been for Halestorm…
Yes! It kind of piled up there!
Not only supporting Iron Maiden in stadiums, but Iron Maiden performing a 50th anniversary tour, and then the icing on the cake, supporting Iron Maiden at the London Stadium, home to Steve Harris’s beloved West Ham United FC.
That was one of my favourite shows, ever. Sometimes it all comes together. The crowd was amazing, and we won them over right away. The show had the right energy, and we actually played good! [laughs] We listened back to a recording of the show…because I walked off the stage, like high…I was like, “God, that was fun!”. But that was a special show for us. It was our last show with Maiden – I think we had done 10 or 12 shows with them – and we had always heard that they were the hardest band to open up for! [laughs] The fans are hardcore Maiden fans, and it’s like you are in the way of them seeing Maiden, so you have to make it worthwhile…we didn’t get anything thrown at us, and nobody was giving us the middle finger…so I think we did good!
Maiden for life, after all!
Yes! We met one guy from New Jersey who had been to 470 shows and had gotten a job within the airline industry just so he could travel for free to catch more Maiden shows! And that’s amazing, I love that!
And then not long after Maiden in London, you have the mindblowing experience of performing at Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning farewell show in Birmingham. As a performer, were you able to take it all in, or did the performance fly past in a flash?
The performance part of it was a blur. With a 15-minute set, it’s hard to get a groove because you are used to longer shows. But it was awesome. Again, I think that we played well. Mastodon were first up, and they came up to the dressing rooms after it, and we were like, “How was it?!” and they said, “We don’t know! We think it went alright!” and that’s exactly how I felt after our set! We were asking our front-of-house guys,” Was it good?… We think it went well.”
We were there for three days leading up to it. We had our rehearsal, and every day, backstage, it was like a love-fest! It was the best vibe that I’ve ever been around at a show, and everyone was so happy and so honoured to be there. It was about celebrating music. And then going into Birmingham at night, and hitting some pubs, and every building is decked out in purple and black, with Sabbath and Ozzy stuff everywhere. It was supercool! And then the show itself, we were out in the middle of the crowd, and then Ozzy came out, and we were clapping at Ozzy for the last time. He was trying to stand because he was so pumped, and you could see how much fun he was having…and then he played “Mama I’m Coming Home” and of course everyone was crying, and just to be in the middle of that many people all sharing the same emotions…there were sparks in the air! It was magical, and I don’t think that we will ever experience that feeling again.
Of all the tributes that were paid to Ozzy on his heartbreaking passing, one of the most poignant came from Danny Vaughan of Tyketto, who said:
“…something beautiful occurred to me amidst the sadness of his passing. He had the best funeral ever! All his friends and fans were there, he was alive to see it and got to see and hear how much he was loved, and he got to go down singing. That rendition of “Mama I’m Coming Home” is one hell of a swan song.”
Oh man, what a way to go! Not only do you raise a ton of money for charity, but you are doing your favourite thing in the world and get to go onstage with your friends, and hear from all of your friends from around the world…awesome, how cool.
Had the Summer ended straight after the Sabbath show, it would have been a great Summer for Halestorm, but to add to everything that has happened in the last few months, there is now the small matter of a brand new Halestorm album: ‘Everest’.
Right!
For ‘Everest’, the band turned to Dave Cobb as producer: was it always going to be him producing?
We started thinking about this record straight after ‘Back From The Dead’ came out in 2022. We wanted to switch shit up, with the producer, we wanted to be challenged. I love Nick Raskulinecz [producer of ‘Back From The Dead’, and 2018’s ‘Vicious’ album], he’s one of my best buddies, and is obviously very talented, and I love working with him, but we wanted to shake things up…personally, I wanted to be uncomfortable with guitars and songwriting, and being pushed, and doing things differently. The first person that we had in mind was Cobb, and we had our A&R get a hold of him, and he wanted to do it; he was like, “Let’s do something!”
In April 2023, we went down to Savannah, Georgia, and worked together for a few days, just to see how it would go, and it was awesome. We wrote ‘Darkness Always Wins’, and that was one of the first things that we did, and then we went out on tour, so we went back in the Fall for a few weeks, and it was just a totally different way of making a record for us. It was exactly what we wanted; we were uncomfortable, no demos, we were writing and recording everything the same day, and if you thought of something, then just put it out there. I loved it, it was so inspiring that we went out and bought our own console, and we have our own studio now. We thought, “Why aren’t we doing this every day when we are not touring?” We go in at noon and write a song, that’s a master, and then…next!
‘Fallen Star’, what an opening track! It slams you up against the wall right from the off. It has so much going on that it sounds like Halestorm, but it also doesn’t sound like Halestorm, especially the jam that lands after Lzzy says “Kick It” towards the end…
It’s like a Halestorm reduction. It’s very pure. Very precise flavours of what we have always been and maybe never fully explored before. And that is what made this record so much fun to make; there was nobody in our way, and we didn’t have an A&R guy lording over us: we were just kind of doing our thing, which was really refreshing [laughs].
One glance at Setlist FM tells me that it’s also opening the live show?
Yes, some nights we are opening with it, and we are probably going to be doing that a bunch because it is such fun to play. We have extended that opening riff that is on the record and made it even longer…just to make us feel more uncomfortable! We are planning a production around it for our headline run. I had that riff and that music for 7 or 8 years, it was just in the bank waiting to get cashed!
And you cashed it with interest!
[Laughs] Yes! It really worked out, writing that with Lzzy and Dave, all just sitting there hashing it out. I love it when shit like that happens!The current setlist has, on average, six new tracks from ‘Everest’: what have you been enjoying playing live?
Oh, all the new ones are fun to play. We wrote this album – and we have been trying to do this for years, but it’s been incredible how hard it has been – with the intention of “Big Rock!” You know, like how do we make music that sounds good in these big buildings? The faster, more intricate shit is more fun to play, but it doesn’t always translate in an echoey building. It starts to mush. The new ones are fun to play live, and I think they translate well to the amphitheatres that we are in now. And we played a bunch of new ones with Maiden, and they work. In the big buildings, they boom!
We need to speak about the stunning album cover artwork. There is so much there; the demon, the Everest theme, the darkness, it has an old-school Dio album cover vibe going on. Was that a conscious decision?
It wasn’t meant to be a tribute in any way. We talked to Welder Wings – the artist who did the artwork – and said that we wanted to allude to a lot of the songs on the album, darkness up on top, Everest, the climb, the girl on the ice, having the monster…also, we put a little “Henge” in there on the back cover, as we have our Stonehenge of Marshalls onstage for our production…let’s put a henge in the artwork and make it make sense somehow! And it all worked out perfectly, we saw what she had come up with and were all like “This is sick!” It is like a classic Dio cover. Like a classic metal album cover. We wanted that feeling, but not specifically Dio, and the artist nailed it.
It looks incredible on vinyl, especially the Opaque Hot Pink Version!
It is very cool! We have so many different colours all around the world that I’m trying to get the label to send me one of each! I am a vinyl collector dork!
Yeah? What have you been splashing the cash on, vinyl-wise?
Let me check my Discogs…to see what my most expensive one is! I know that in Denmark, I found an original Alice In Chains ‘Facelift’ pressing, so that was awesome. I’m glad that I got the Beatles ‘Mono’ box set when it first came out because that is worth a lot now. [opens his Discogs account] Oh, look at that! I don’t remember when I got it, but I have this Metallica ‘Whiplash’ single! A maxi-single from ‘84….
It’s an expensive habit…
It is, yes. In the States, we like to tour with a record player. It’s in a giant road cage, with speakers, and we try to go to record stores all the time. Oh, I’ve got an original Led Zeppelin ‘III’, that’s cool. I haven’t looked at this in a while! When we were in Japan, I got the Japanese version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ and it’s still got the Japanese writing on the side…
Having a physical product out there is obviously important to the band, but also a physical product that has been put together with love and attention.
Oh, yes. We try to make it the best we can. I love the vinyl, just the whole idea of the front and back cover being a continuous piece…you can’t get that with the CD. We tried to keep it simple this time: big pictures, and to the point. I didn’t even want to do a Thank-You section! I just wanted to say “Thank You” and leave it at that, but no, I was told that it had to list everyone by name, all the team…so I was like “Fine…!” [laughs]
You have a vocal production credit on ‘Everest’; is that a role that you would like to explore more?
Absolutely. I have been thinking about it for a few years now, but I haven’t been ready until recently. We’ve made six records with a lot of great producers, and worked with a bunch of people, so I’ve been watching how everyone operates, and there is a decisiveness with these great producers, which I kind of get. And it’s only clicked in me recently. We didn’t do all the vocals. Once the track was established, I waited to hear what Lzzy did on her vocals and see if there were some melodies that I could cop, to use in the solo. There was a take of ‘How Will You Remember Me’ that I didn’t like, and we were back home after we were done with the record, and I just said to Lzzy, “Let’s re-record this…let’s use our new studio.” And it ended up sounding great, so we got a way better take.
But yeah, we are going to work with some local bands when we get a moment. There are some kids that we want to work with, and if they want to come over. I’m just going to dip my toes in the water and see how it goes.
I don’t want to use the words “Elder Statesmen” because you are all still young, but to a band like The Warning, for instance, you are all elder statespeople…is that a strange feeling?
It’s kind of wild. We don’t feel old, but time is going, and it’s going quickly! We have been doing this for a long time, and we have learned a few tricks along the way. But we are just getting started right now! [laughs] We have just figured some shit out…I mean, I want to make another record. I’m ready. Let’s get these tours finished, and then I want to start writing right away! But I don’t think that we will get a chance to do that until December/January.
Who would be your number one choice of a fellow guitarist for a collaborative project?
Just because we are good friends, and we’ve never toured together…do you know Jared James Nichols?
Great choice: great player, and a lovely person…and very big!
He is an animal! He is a monster…but can play the shit out of his guitar. I’ve gone over to his garage before and lifted weights with him…that was fun! I would love to get him out on the road with us one of these days…and we will. We hang out all the time. He came out and jammed with us in Nashville last year, and it was tonnes of fun, so I would do that any day.
Lastly, your surname is German in origin; have you ever done research on your family tree?
I haven’t, but a fan did, and that was cool. They gave me this book, which goes back to the 1500s or 1600s. I know there is some connection there with the South West Germany/Swiss border, and there is a Hottingerstrasse in Zurich. I guess that I have family from that area, and one of them was part of some attempt to overthrow the Kaiser in the 1800s, and it failed, so he had to leave the country, and he ended up in Chicago, which is where my Dad was born.
Before I knew any of this, we were on tour in Europe, in Southern Germany, in Bavaria, and I was like, “This is my favourite food!” There was something about the pretzels, and sauerkraut, and bratwurst…and the beer! I was like, “I love this shit!” Now I know that it’s in my DNA!
‘Everest’ is available now via Atlantic Records. More information, HERE.
Interview – Dave
Portrait images – Jimmy Fontaine
Live images – Dave Jamieson/Rob Wilkins
HALESTORM: ON TOUR 2025:
Until August 22: Supporting Volbeat (where noted)
September 11 – October 11: Support from Lindsey Stirling and Apocalyptica
October 22 – November 26: Support from Bloodywood
November 20 – November 26: Support from Kelsy Karter & The Heroines
UK & Ireland dates are highlighted in bold
13 – Gilford, NH – Bank NH Pavilion (supporting Volbeat)
14 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center (supporting Volbeat)
16 – Hershey, PA – GIANT Center (supporting Volbeat)
17 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center (supporting Volbeat)
19 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Center (supporting Volbeat)
21 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center (supporting Volbeat)
22 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre (supporting Volbeat)
23 – Marshfield, WI – Central Wisconsin State Fair (headline date)
SEPTEMBER
11 – Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
12 – Cherokee, NC – Harrah’s Cherokee (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
14 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
16 – Syracuse, NY – Upstate Medical University Arena at the Oncenter (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
18 – Laval, QC – Place Bell (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
19 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
21 – Madison, WI – Breese Stevens Field (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
23 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
24 – Cedar Rapids, IA – Alliant Energy PowerHouse (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
26 – Welch, MN – Treasure Island Amphitheater (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
27 – Duluth, MN – AMSOIL Arena (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
29 – Bonner Springs, KS – Azura Amphitheater (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
OCTOBER
1 – Sioux City, IA – Tyson Events Center (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
2 – Grand Forks, ND – Alerus Center (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
4 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
5 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
7 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
8 – Penticton, BC – South Okanagan Events Centre (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
10 – Vancouver, BC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
11 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena (with Lindsey Stirling, Apocalyptica)
22 – Wiesbaden, DE – Schlachthof (with Bloodywood)
23 – Oberhausen, DE – Turbinehalle 2 (with Bloodywood)
25 – Hamburg, DE – Inselpark Arena (with Bloodywood)
27 – Stockholm SE – Fållan (with Bloodywood)
28 – Copenhagen, DK – The Grey Hall (with Bloodywood)
30 – Warsaw, PL – COS Torwar (with Bloodywood)
NOVEMBER
1 – Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle (with Bloodywood)
3 – Prague, CZ – Lucerna Velkỳ Sàl (with Bloodywood)
5 – Vienna, AT – Gasometer (with Bloodywood)
6 – Budapest, HU – Barba Negra (with Bloodywood)
8 – Munich, DE – Zenith (with Bloodywood)
9 – Zurich, CH – Komplex457 (with Bloodywood)
11 – Milan, IT – Alcatraz (with Bloodywood)
12 – Barcelona, ES – Razzmatazz 1 (with Bloodywood)
14 – Pamplona, ES – Totem (with Bloodywood)
15 – Madrid, ES – La Riviera (with Bloodywood)
17 – Paris, FR – Olympia (with Bloodywood)
18 – Amsterdam, NL – AFAS Live (with Bloodywood)
20 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena (with Bloodywood, Kelsy Karter & The Heroines)
21 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro (with Bloodywood, Kelsy Karter & The Heroines)
23 – Birmingham, UK – bp pulse LIVE (with Bloodywood, Kelsy Karter & The Heroines)
24 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena (with Bloodywood, Kelsy Karter & The Heroines)
26 – London, UK – O2 Arena (with Bloodywood, Kelsy Karter & The Heroines)
