Hellyeah
Like Metal? Hellyeah. Like Mudvayne, Pantera, Danzig and Damageplan. Hellyeah. Done. Well, maybe it's not that simple.
Hellyeah, with members from the aforementioned bands, certainly qualifies as a supergroup. But it likely wouldn't be in its present form, with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott at least, if not for a tragedy three years earlier.
Post-Pantera, Vinnie Paul and guitarist brother, Dimebag Darrell, launched Damageplan. The group had released their debut album and launched a club tour. During gig in Columbus, OH (of all places), a Pantera fan with more mental and emotional problems than can be listed here, fatally shot Dimebag and other club patrons. That effectively ended Damageplan.
Mudvayne's singer Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett were looking for another creative outlet. So the idea of forming an entity separate from Mudvayne made sense. And because every self-respecting Metal band needs a first class bassist, Danzig vet, Jerry Montano was added.
The name Hellyeah conjures all sorts of hard-partying images. And that was just what it was suppose to do. "(The name) means late teens, keggers and chicks and AC/DC and Metallica," said Gray. "(Our album is) a very youthful, making-bad-decisions-and-learning-from-them record. To me, it's summertime when I was 19 years old."
The group's self-titled debut album was recorded in Dallas at Darrell's studio. It features "Hellyeah," "Matter Of Time" and the single, "You Wouldn't Know."
"It's cool to have both Mudvayne and Hellyeah as creative outlets now," said Gray during a recording session, "even though the approach, subject matter and attitudes between the two projects are completely different."
Hellyeah barely got out of the gate before they hit a snag. Following the album's release the announcement came that Montano had decided to move on.
Hellyeah has an excellent feel for Country Blues as "Alcohaulin' Ass" demonstrates. The acoustic/electric guitar interplay on "In The Mood" is tasty. And the tribute to fallin' friends and family members, "Thank You," has a retro-70s Metal feel.
Wait a minute! Considering these guy's history, can they really be tossing in acoustic guitars and getting sentimental? Actually, they're just trying something different - operating against the stereotype. The band shreds the rest of the album sounding like Pantera crossed with Mudvayne vocals. Hellyeah!
Abbott drums like there is no tomorrow on "You Wouldn't Know." He just nails it, totally driving the track. "Matter Of Time" is rhythmically punctuated with hypnotic shouts. On songs, "Waging War," "Rotten To The Core" and "God Damn," Gray's vocals are all angst, misery and madness (right where they need to be).