Customer Reviews

HELLYEAH

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If I heard this CD without knowing who it was, I would say it sounds like a cross between Mudvayne and Pantera. I disagree with people who think its different from either band as both the Mudvayne and Pantera styles are obvious. I have yet to listen to nothing face so I won't make reference to their style.

The CD is mostly fast paced with a couple slower songs. Even the slower songs are good but have a different mood than the rest of the CD. The band is appropriately named because the song HELLYEAH is by far one of the best songs made.

Don't buy this CD if you're expecting Pantera or Mudvayne. Buy this CD if you can appreciate both styles blended perfectly into 11 songs (not counting in the mood).

This album delivers a supersonic punch right into the skull of the listener. In a world where many bands must try real hard to define a unique sound, these guys (all from various influential metal backgrounds) deliver an authentic metal recording that sounds better with every listen. So, take a shot of Jack, chase it down with a cold brew, and turn the volume knob to the max and be prepared to have your face kicked in. Hellyeah stands and delivers! I cannot wait to see them live at the Family Values Tour this summer.

Does the world really need another new "supergroup?" Well, the fact of the matter is your opinion is actually irrelevant, because the music industry thinks we can never have too many of them. So here we go yet again! This one is called Hellyeah, and consists of two members of Mudvayne (vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett), Nothingface's Jerry Montano on bass, and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who used to play in a little band from the Nineties called Pantera. No matter how tired you may be of "supergroups," after considering the stature of the musicians involved in this project, there's no denying that this band definitely has a boatload of potential.

It sounds like the members of Hellyeah had an extremely good time making their eponymous debut. Throughout these twelve songs, the listener constantly gets the impression that these were five guys who wanted to take time away from their day jobs by getting together and just have a great time rockin' out without any rules, obligations, or cares in the world!

Unfortunately, much of the time it seems like everybody was having so much fun jamming with one another that nobody remembered to write a lot of the songs. This album is a really mixed bag of material. Several of the tunes -- including "Matter of Time," "Waging War," "Rotten to the Core" (which features an almost "Dimebag" Darrell-worthy solo), and "Nausea" -- rock really hard and powerfully, but ultimately go absolutely nowhere and don't leave much of an impression on the listener. And elsewhere, "Star" and the obligatory ballad "Thank You" come across as fillers which are dragged down by cliche, and sometimes even laughably bad lyrics.

"Hellyeah" isn't a complete throwaway though, because no matter how mediocre the songwriting usually is, the album earns a few points just because it's so fantastic to hear Vinnie Paul back in action again (he is in fine form here, too -- he slams away on his trapkit and creates a wealth of thunderous rhythms.) And there are a handful of good songs here. The titular opening track is a rousing, mosh-intensive statement of intent that pummels the listener's eardrums with a bludgeoning groove, excellent, slamming drums, strong, thrashy riffs, and a great, chant-along chorus. After this comes "You Wouldn't Know," which boasts a bit of impressive, Sevendust-style crooning, a fairly ripping solo, and a killer chorus hook. Later on, "Alcohaulin'" is a laid-back, Southern-tinged acoustic strummer highlighted by a small, bluesy solo; "Goddarn" storms back onto the scene with driving riffs, a pounding rhythm, and another irresistibly catchy chorus; and set closer "One Thing" marches to the album's finish line with a rumbling, crunching wall of guitar noise.

Ultimately, "Hellyeah" makes for an enjoyable listen which will satisfy all fans of Pantera and Mudvayne, but it does nothing to enhance any of the band members' legacies.

Got this CD the week it came out and had to go to Jerkit Siti to find it because Best Buy was out and I couldn't wait for Amazon delivery (I had to have it right then!!!).

Love the 1st track. Really like the 2nd track. Like the 3rd track. The rest of the album is for playing while I'm driving or otherwise preoccupied, much like I treat most other music (like a soundtrack for life so to speak, the background noise and NOT in the foreground). Most CD's I get have 2-3 songs that I really like and as for the others, eh, I've got 'em if I want to hear 'em. My guess is that most people are the same way and the only people who expect to love the entire album are under the control of some pink starfish with a magic radio somewhere that tells you what to say and do (ahem, Patrick cut that crap out).

It seems as though many people writing reviews here want to have the perfect album with all the tracks being potential favorites. Well; that's not how it works.

Artists are remembered for their shining moments (ie Back in Black, Paranoid, Led Zep IV, Metallica's Black Album, Blizzard of Oz, etc). Everything an artist does is not going to be the greatest thing ever put into whatever artistic media they choose. Da Vinci wasn't known for everything he did, only a few of his projects. Elvis didn't become "The King" 1st time around. "The Fab Four" didn't emerge until the Beatles were well into their career. Stephen King writes great stories and writes some real stinkers as well. So give these other guys a break!!!

No this isn't the greatest album ever and I didn't expect it to be. But seeing Vinnie Paul go through the crap of actually going to the studio and record an album is a BIG, BIG accomplishment. The guy told Guitar World that he would never recover from the loss of his brother, but he's still trying to do right by the fans and all you folks want to bitch about it! Well kiss my hillbilly a**!!! Dimebag lived for the fans and being on the road constantly is a pain in the butt, but he was there to the bitter end literally. I mean if you asked Dimebag how he wanted to go out, I'm bet'n it would be with his ax in hand but not with a bunch of fans having to watch. I'm also sure he wouldn't want his big brother to stay out of music; so here we are today. No more Dimebag, but alot of people he inspired to try and do the right thing in his memory and for the fans of metal that have so much passion.

All these guys in Hellyeah got together because they love music and wanted to work with Big Vin. The Abbott brothers were usually bigger than whatever group of musicians they associated themselves with, so how could you blame anyone for wanting to work with Vinnie Paul (the guy's a legend!!!). So if you don't like their music go find something else to complain about, there's plenty out there.

When this project, now known as Hellyeah, was unveiled in late 2006, the prospect of Vinne Paul (of Pantera/Damageplan fame) re-emerging with members of Mudvayne and Nothingface was an interesting one. For those not in the know, Hellyeah is comprised of vocalist Chad Grey and guitarist Greg Tribbett, of Mudvayne, and Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Jerry Montano in tow with the legendary Vinnie Paul on drums. Hmmm, well, let's see. Mudvayne + Nothingface + Pantera. To put it bluntly, you're getting what you're expecting with this "supergroup." Nothing more, nothing less.

Let's start on the positive. It's great to see and hear Vinnie Paul in a new band after the tragic loss of his brother, Dimebag Darrell, who was murdered onstage in front of his brother in December of 2004. It's safe to say that no one expected him to recover, let alone get into music again without his partner and musical soulmate. Unfortunately for the remaining four members of Hellyeah, having Paul in the band has drastically rasied the stakes. More people are watching, listening and judging. It's only natural that people want something on the same level as Pantera and some riffs that live up to Dimebag's memory. Not to criticize co-guitarists Tribbett and and Maxwell, but this expectation is never delivered upon to the listener.

Granted, if you take Hellyeah at face value, and forget all about Pantera and Dimebag, you've got yourself a solid hard-rock/metal record that doesn't take itself to seriously. Tribbett and Maxwell combined don't equal Dimebag, but in their defense, they put in quite an effort. Fans of Mudvayne and/or Nothingface will be surprised to hear the tricks they pull out of their sleeves on songs like "Alcohaulin'" and "Thank You," which represent a small handful of songs that step out of the unexpected. For the most part, however, Hellyeah's debut sounds like Mudvayne b-sides with some unusually good drumwork. Grey pulls the same vocal tricks here as he does with Mudvayne, so your enjoyment of this album hinges mostly on whether or not you're a Mudvayne fan. But all Mudvayne and Pantera talk aside, let's just talk about the music. The opening track, "Hellyeah," combined with "Matter Of Time" and "Goddamn" deliver the perfect blend of Vinnie's southern groove metal with modern day hard-rock -- I hesitate to use the term nu-metal here -- while the aformentioned "Alchohaulin'" is a laid back, good times track that steps out of the predictable in a big way. Like it or not, at least they took a chance. "Thank You" serves it's purpose of showing gratitude for everyone who helped the members of the band along the way, and is one of two semi-ballads, with "Star" being the better of the two. Unfortunately for the album, one of the best moments, "One Thing" is saved for the end and leaves the listener wanting more than what they heard before. It's the closest the band gets to Pantera-greatness and with the rest of the album suffering from a muddy mix, it's a disappointment that there aren't more moments such as this.

A lot of people are going to be unhappy with Hellyeah and in all honesty, it's not fair. Dime surely can't be playing guitar anymore, so you'd be doing yourself a big favor listening to this album if you just kept that in mind. "Hellyeah" doesn't step out of the comfort zone of any of the original bands it was spawned from, so if you're a fan, it's going to sound good to you. But if you're expecting Vinnie to be playing with the elitist of the elite, the best of the best, you'll more than likely be disappointed with each song Hellyeah deliver. Just don't take it seriously, and you might actually enjoy it.

First of all, they couldn't have chosen a more ridiculous name for the band. I'm a HUGE Pantera and Mudvayne fan, so I was looking extremely forward to this collaboration when I first heard about it... then they announced the band name and it immediately felt like some kind of cheesy novelty not to be taken seriously. In my mind, it's the metal equivalent of those stupid rapper names you see like, "Bun B," "Yung Joc," and, "Fabolous".

Cheesy name aside, I figured the music would still at least be enjoyable but it's unfortunately right on par with the name of the band. I have nothing against rednecks at all but I find the type of music that most rednecks associate with to be obnoxious and that's how some of this music comes across to me. Yeah, I know the boys in Pantera were all rednecks and a lot of people referred to their music as, "Southern Metal," but their stuff didn't start sounding like anything other than metal until the later years... and even then, I still enjoyed most of Pantera's later music! Damageplan was also a great band; I didn't enjoy them as much as Pantera but it was great to hear the boys get back on it.

So, back to Hellyeah... I listened to the album and there are some moments here and there that sound decent, but I can't even stomach one whole song in its entirety on this album. The heavy, unmatched groove that Pantera and Mudvayne each have brought to the table in the past is a combination I was HEAVILY looking forward to and NONE of it's there! To be honest, I am INCREDIBLY shocked that these guys are coming back for round 2. Obviously, I'm in a minority with not liking this music and though this review is absolutely meant to come off as a 1-star review, I have nothing against these guys. They're all cool dudes and they're all very talented musicians, but I just fail to see how this is the product of musicians who were in bands that wrote albums like Cowboys from Hell, Far Beyond Driven, and L.D. 50.

I'm sure I'll check out album number 2 just to see if their music advances at all but if these guys weren't who they are, this crap would've never even come close to hitting store shelves. So, all-in-all, some okay moments here and there aside, I found it difficult not to skip from one song to another on my first (and only) listen through this entire album... and I really hate it that this music registers with me like that, because like I said, I love the respective bands these guys come from (outside of Mudvayne's latest stuff which is just waaaayyyy too generic for my liking) but this album is nothing more to me than the result of a bunch of cool, well-known metal dudes getting together, throwing back a few and writing some redneck, "party metal" that would otherwise be done only as a joke in their respective bands.

I am a musician myself, so that plays another huge role in my opinion of this album. This isn't music that earns my respect at all... especially when there are bands out there who wholeheartedly deserve as much fanfare as this album has received, but never will. I'm not trying to be, "Johnny Raincloud" and ruin these guys' fun nor the enjoyment of those of you who like this music, but if you're a fan of the technical and groove elements of the bands these guys come from, you can completely expect to be disappointed in this stuff. Ridiculous band name, ridiculous lyrics (is the guy singing this stuff actually the same guy who wrote the profound content on L.D. 50!?), and music so generic that each instrument lacks the trademark sound and feel you would expect to hear at least SOME of from the respective musicians behind them.

A TOTAL disappointment for me in every way. Sorry, guys. I love these guys individually and completely acknowledge their talent but perhaps it's that very standard they set for themselves in their other bands that has left me so disappointed.

RIP Dime. You and your music are sorely missed.

It's not about comebacks or trying to prove a point. I'm glad that Vin got out "as a musician" and I'm sure Dime will agree with me when I say that he would have love his brother to move on...and not in some corner cuddled with sorrow. Vin was asked into this band. No, this is not Pantera and I'm happy for Vin for having this fresh blow of air to keep on doing what he does best.

OK, I've read all of the reviews of this album, and I take from them that no one exept Jedd has listened to the album as just music. No one can get past who is or isn't in the band. Just listen to the record, and don't worry about who's playing the music, or how it lives up to Dime. JUST LISTEN, THAT'S WHAT MUSIC IS ABOUT. It isn't about anything other than just enjoying what you hear, and if you don't enjoy it, great, but don't let the members of the band affect your view of the music.

Vinnie Paul didn't form this band to be Pantera, nor did he try to replace Dime or try and equal what he had already done. IT IS A NEW BAND, IT ISN'T PANTERA. If you love Pantera, BUY A PANTERA ALBUM! That being said, I believe that this project could have been better. Sure it's heavy, but I don't feel it really showcased any of the band's great talents. I agree with Jedd that the lyrics were quite sophomoric, and the guitar felt a little stale. However, Vinnie Paul sounded great, but the tunes just didn't live up to the hype.

Listen to this album with an open mind, don't expect Pantera, and perhaps you just might enjoy it.

PREDICTION: Every single person who hates Hellyeah will use a play on words to mess up their name (i.e., Hellno). Huge fans will cuss a lot whilst describing how "f*cking badda*s" they are. I think I'm gonna end up being right on this one too.

I like every member of Hellyeah to a certain degree, Vinnie Paul and Chad Grey are the two that piqued my interest the most however. Chad has a great voice in my opinion, whether he's screaming or singing, he uses his voice tastefully most of the time. As good as he is though, Hellyeah plays as more of Mudvayne throw-aways (except with a lot better drumming). Three songs, Alcohaulin' Ass, Star, and Thank You are the only departures from the Mudvayne-esque riffage the rest of the CD sports. I like Mudvayne a lot, I don't care about other people's opinions on them, but I was hoping for a lot more with Chad being paired with some highly influential musicians.

Hellyeah is a great opening track with a huge, sing-along chorus that I ask you not to be singing to yourself after you hear it. You Wouldn't Know and Waging War are the first signs of weakness. The vocals aren't great, the lyrics aren't great, and even the music is lacking. Matter Of Time rebounds nicely with a reminder as to why Vinnie Paul is so highly regarded. Alcohaulin' Ass is the first huge departure for Chad and he proves himself tenfold. Defintely reminescent of days gone by. Goddamn is extremely cheesey but is catchy enough to warrant a few listens thanks to the chorus. In The Mood, the only instrumental track featured, is a perfect lead-in to one of the CDs best tracks, Star. Star is just one of those all-around great songs. Thank You has all the potential in the world to be overly corny and unwanted but ends up being another standout. Rotten To The Core, Nausea, and One Thing are all songs that can be passed over. None have a really redeeming quality to them and none are particularly noteworthy.

My favorite songs are Hellyeah, Matter Of Time, Alcohaulin' Ass, Star, and Thank You. Supergroups seem to popping up every couple minutes and for the most part I tend to just not pay attention to them. With a lineup as good as Hellyeah's though, it's hard not to get sucked into the hype. I do recommend this CD, just know what you're getting yourself into. Even if you despise Hellyeah and all they stand for, one thing can be agreed upon without question, seeing Vinnie Paul making music again is a great thing to see.

The ingredients looked great on paper mudvayne with the rythmic dynamo of Pantera... So does it work? Hellyeah its a more classically metal mudvayne with pounding drums from vinnie Paul. All fans of Mudvayne will love this! The title rack is perhaps my favourite but the more melodic offering such as you wouldn't know rank highly on the must listen again meter!!