Songfacts®:

• "Everest" is a hard-hitting rock anthem where Hailstorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale uses the metaphor of climbing Mount Everest to depict the band's own ascent: the bruises, the battles, the stubborn refusal to stay in base camp.
  
  Hale described the song as "the summit of everything we've fought for - every scream, every scar, every triumph," emphasizing that it reflects the band's battles and victories throughout their career.
• Halestorm's core members - Lzzy Hale, Arejay Hale, Joe Hottinger, and Josh Smith - wrote the song with Welsh singer-songwriter Amy Wadge and producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile).
  
  A childhood friend of Ed Sheeran, Amy Wadge co-penned Sheeran's hit singles "Thinking Out Loud," "Galway Girl" and "Visiting Hours." Her other songwriting credits include Sam Ryder's "Space Man" and Pink's "When I Get There."
• The music video for "Everest," directed by DJay Brawner (Coheed and Cambria, Corey Taylor) is a collage of humanity on the edge - people in moments of crisis, tension, and raw emotion - punctuated by flashes of literal and metaphorical explosions. Threaded through the chaos is a blistering, full-throttle performance from Halestorm.
• The English producer Labrinth also has a song called "Mount Everest." His version is more about ego than endurance - a musical strut rather than a climb. Where Halestorm grind their way up the peak, Labrinth builds a palace on it.