It's been a few days since the 2012 edition of Rock on the Range came to a close Sunday night (May 20). We're still recovering from the long weekend, but enjoyed every minute of it. We were able to talk to some awesome bands in Columbus, OH during the festival. One of those bands was Halestorm, who performed on the main stage Saturday afternoon. Drummer Arejay Hale shared his thoughts on the band's new album, The Strange Case of..., the growth of the band and more.

Halestorm are no strangers to Rock on the Range. The Red Lion, PA rockers have graduated from the small Jagermeister stage to taking over the main spotlight in just a few years. Hale feels proud to know how much his band has accomplished in just a small amount of time.

"They [ROTR organizers] told us that we were one of the very few bands that went from Jager stage, to B stage, to main stage," Hale says. "I like the main stage! It's really fun! It's my favorite [laughs]. Something is building for us thanks to you guys for playing our songs."

Halestorm released their second studio album, The Strange Case of..., last month, three years after their self-titled debut. The group feels proud of the work that they were finally able to share with fans.

"It was really exciting for us because we were at the point where we felt that we completely outgrew our first record," says Hale. "We're listening to our first record and how much we really didn't know what the hell we were doing. We're trying to play it safe, trying to write for the radio and write 'hit songs.'"

He continues: "This one was more like we had to cut loose and have fun in the studio. Experiment with some cool stuff and go to some extreme ends. We were anxious to get it out so people could hear it."

Watch the full interview with Arejay Hale below.

97.9 GRD presents Halestorm, with special guests New Medicine and Emphatic, July 21 at the Intersection in downtown Grand Rapids. Tickets are on sale now at the venue box office and SectionLive.com.

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