In a way, you can thank KISS for Hellyeah forming with Vinnie Paul behind the drums. When Nothingface drummer, Tommy Sickles, failed to work out, Tom Maxwell (Nothingface guitarist), Chad Gray (Mudvayne vocalist), and Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne guitarist) kept calling on the hesitant Vinnie to sign on. As Vinnie puts it:
It was one of those things that I didn’t think I’d be apart of this ever again without him [Dimebag Darrell], and after about a year and a half had gone by, these guys called me up, Chad [Gray] and Tom [Maxwell], they were like, ‘We’re thinking about putting this band together, would you be into it?’ First couple of times, I told them, ‘No, I don’t think I’m ready to do this yet.’ And they just were real persistent, they kept calling me. And one night, I had been drinking some red wine and listening to some KISS on 12″ vinyl record and I said, ‘You know what, let’s take a shot at this, let’s see what happens.’
With a lineup that included Jerry Montano on bass set, and with no other-band obligations hindering them in the summer of 2006, Hellyeah proceeded to Vinnie’s recording studio, Chasin’ Jason, wrote songs, and laid it down in a month’s time. Roughly six months later, and Hellyeah were hitting satellite radio with “Hellyeah” and active rock stations with “Alcohaulin’ Ass.” By April of 2007, the self-titled debut album was released and making waves on the charts.
By November 2007, Montano would leave the band, replaced by former Damageplan bassist, Bob Zilla, and Hellyeah would have a DVD, Below the Belt, on the streets. And now, in 2013, they have three albums under their belt and are a force to be reckoned with.
What’s great about this groove/Southern metal band is that they don’t give a shit. They play hard, loud, fast, or however else they want to, and they make no apologies for it. You can see it in the 2013 Graspop Metal Meeting performance, even if the Belgium audience is lame as fuck.
Hellyeah – Graspop Metal Meeting (2013) set list:
1. “War in Me” – Band of Brothers
2. “Drink Drank Drunk” – Band of Brothers
3. “Cowboy Way” – Stampede
4. “Stampede” – Stampede
5. “Band of Brothers” – Band of Brothers
6. “Rage/Burn” – Band of Brothers
7. “You Wouldn’t Know” – Hellyeah
8. “Hellyeah!” – Hellyeah
Yell! Magazine’s Concert Series brings you kick-ass live shows to get your party started right and to help you vent your Friday frustrations.
Rock Hard \m/
