 When they finally signed their recording contract with Epic Records, they received help and advice from Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, who was originally supposed to produce their first album but was killed in a plane crash in 1977.While most people tagged Molly Hatchet as "Southern Rock," Hlubek admits it was only because of their location.He considered Molly Hatchet, along with Blackfoot, to actually be heavy metal bands from the South.