Lzzy Hale’s favourite metal songs
A progressive force in contemporary rock, Lzzy Hale has become a prominent voice both in metal and in mental health. While turning a childhood project with her brother Arejay Hale into one of the biggest bands in modern metal, Hale has not only lent her voice to their alternative soundscapes but to other women in the music industry, paving the way for others to thrive and modernising metal for a new generation.
It’s refreshing to see a woman take up space in such a male-dominated sphere, pushing it to be better and more inclusive. Still, while she looks to change the modern industry, Hale first found her metal roots in the classics – the likes of Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper – thanks to an early introduction from her father.
“At first, really, it was my dad’s music,” she reminisced in a conversation with Chaoszine, “I was listening to a lot of ’70s and ’80s hard rock and metal. A lot of Sabbath. There was Ronnie James Dio, there was Alice Cooper. Blue Oyster Cult, that kind of thing. This was when I was about, I wanna say, 11 years old. I started getting into that.”
Though her friends looked at her like she was an “alien” for her interest in metal, Hale credits those pre-teen listening habits as still retaining an influence on her even now. “I felt really weird for liking that music,” she recalled, “and it was something that made me stand out, and I was very proud of that because it was my music. I didn’t care that anybody didn’t like it, so I can trace that back. I wouldn’t have songs like ‘I Am The Fire’ or ‘Freak Like Me’ or ‘I Get Off’ – those risk-taking things came from that beginning of when I first got bit by the rock bug.”
It’s no surprise that Hale first found her love for metal through the classics, but her love for those genre pioneers remains even now. Providing a list of her top five tracks from the genre in an interview with Metal Shout, Hale’s picks echoed her childhood tastes.
Hale’s list opens with ‘Painkiller’, the 1990 hit from Judas Priest which features rapid drumming and crazed vocals from Rob Halford. She picks out a slightly more obscure Black Sabbath song – ‘The Mob Rules’, the titular track and lead single from their 1981 record Mob Rules.
True to her 11-year-old self and following the Black Sabbath track, she also picks out a song by Dio. ‘Stand Up And Shout’ featured on their 1983 record Holy Diver and marks the third entry on Hale’s list. The Halestorm vocalist rounds out her picks with two classic artists within the genre – Van Halen’s ‘Panama’ and Alice Cooper’s ‘I’m Eighteen’.
With such an early introduction to classic metal, it’s no surprise that Hale turned her own attention to the genre and has retained an interest in its origins ever since while also pushing for more equality in the scene. Find the full list of Hale’s favourite metal songs below.
Lzzy Hale’s favourite metal songs:
- Judas Priest – ‘Painkiller’
- Black Sabbath – ‘The Mob Rules’
- Dio – ‘Stand Up And Shout’
- Van Halen – ‘Panama’
- Alice Cooper – ‘I’m Eighteen’
