{"id":21526,"date":"2014-07-29T00:00:35","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T00:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21526"},"modified":"2014-09-27T08:24:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-27T08:24:48","slug":"feature-hellyeah-07-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-hellyeah-07-14\/","title":{"rendered":"HELLYEAH – Sangre Por Sangre (July 2014) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

HELLYEAH – Sangre Por Sangre<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nJuly 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hellyeah (l-r): Kyle Sanders, Tom Maxwell, Chad Gray and Vinnie Paul<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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On February 13th, 2014, it was confirmed that American heavy metal outfit Hellyeah had parted ways with guitarist Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne) and bassist Robert \u2018Bob Zilla\u2019 Kakaha (ex-Damageplan). Said departures caused the ensemble to become a trio \u2013 consisting of Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray and Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, and erstwhile Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul \u2013 a trio that would subsequently cut June 2014 full-length Blood For Blood<\/em>, Hellyeah\u2019s fourth studio opus overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t leave \u2013 we decided to part company with them,\u201d Vinnie Paul clarifies. \u201cWe finished the last tour \u2013 the Gigantour that we did in 2013 with Megadeth<\/a> and Black Label Society \u2013 and we were really wanting to get right back into the studio, and really get focused and make the best record of our career. Bob and Greg were going through a lot of personal issues at the time, and just became very distracting to the band. Really, the only way for us to move forward was to part company with them. Myself, Tom, and Chad wrote the entire record; we recorded the entire record, the three of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think writing and recording as a three-piece made it better, man. It really enabled us to focus, and once we had three people that were thinking alike and were really positive about where they were going musically, it really helped to make for a better record. Tom was really able to showcase what he can do as a guitar player; coming from a single guitar band, he was able to write songs that were more conducive to what his style of guitar playing is. It really brought the best out of me; I wanted to really step up as a drummer, and be able to give more to the songs. And then Chad, I think Chad just really hit a home run. Lyrically and with his performance on the record, he\u2019s never been better. I feel like the three of us really pulled together, and made the strongest record that we could ever make. We\u2019re really proud of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter we recorded the entire record together, then we put together the live version of the band. Then we brought in Kyle Sanders on bass from Bloodsimple and also from MonstrO, who was a great friend of ours. He toured with us many times \u2013 he fits in great. Then our good friend from Las Vegas \u2013 Chris Brady \u2013 came in on guitar, and he also sings really great. I know Chris from where he plays around Las Vegas and Los Angeles. I would go out and see him in numerous different bands, and he\u2019s also performed with Camp Freddy many, many times. We really got to be good friends. He was just a no-brainer to fit the band; he\u2019s just the perfect guy. He adds another addition to the band, and the band\u2019s never sounded better, man. We\u2019ve got five guys that are 100% committed to it, five guys that are really focused. We feel like it\u2019s the best version of this band that we\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Axeman Tom Maxwell dubbed the circumstances behind the personnel shift \u2018a toxic situation that almost broke the band up.\u2019 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that we came close to breaking up, but we definitely hit a trying time, man,\u201d the sticksman offers. \u201cParting company with Greg and Bob was really important for us to be able to move forward. Like I said, they were becoming a big weight to the band, and then not productive. Really, it was just a negative situation, so once we got rid of them, things really turned around. We were able to really focus on writing and recording the record that we wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hellyeah\u2019s nascent 2014 line-up could translate to a permanent fixture. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely gonna make sure that everything gels, but so far, we\u2019ve had so much fun playing together live,\u201d Vinnie enthuses. \u201cThe further and further we go, the more and more it feels like we\u2019re a 100% complete band, and we definitely want them to be permanent members of the band.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hellyeah\u2019s dual guitar assault is destined to continue. \u201cI feel like we definitely need two guitarists for live for sure, because we really wanna do the songs justice, and we want them to sound similar to the record,\u201d the rhythmist notes. \u201cHaving Chris Brady onboard has really brought a lot to the table. His guitar playing is really awesome and definitely compliments what Tom does, and then also his vocals really compliment what Chad does, so he\u2019s just a great addition to the band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blood For Blood<\/em> is the platter the ensemble are touring behind. \u201cIt\u2019s the ultimate Hellyeah sound,\u201d Vinnie submits. \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve been working towards this for the past three records; we really feel like it\u2019s the best record we\u2019ve ever made, and we really feel great about it. I think it has better songwriting; I think they\u2019re the best songs we\u2019ve ever written. I feel like the performances on the record are really, really strong from everybody that was a part of it, and I feel like they\u2019re the best songs we\u2019ve ever put together. I feel great about it. The production aspect of it is really good, too. Previously, I had co-produced all of the records. We had done those ourselves, and I really feel like we got the most that we could out of ourselves. It was time to bring in a different perspective and a different person to really help push us, and that\u2019s what happened. This was the first time we had worked with an outside producer \u2013 Kevin Churko, who I feel like helped to get the very best out of all of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought a house in Vegas about five years ago. He has a studio here in Las Vegas, and I would run into him from time to time. I really was a big fan of all of his work. I really got to know the guy pretty well, and I liked him a lot. I mentioned him doing Hellyeah. He was really excited about it and wanted to do it, so I took it to the other guys in the band, and they got excited about it. That\u2019s how we ended up hooking up and working together. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing about Kevin is that he understands what you want as an artist, and he helps you make the record that you want to make. Not the record that he wants to make or that the record company wants to make, but the record that you want to make. He really understood the vision that we had with the new Hellyeah record. We wanted to take everything that we\u2019d done in our previous bands and really mould it into what we are today. That\u2019s what we did with our last album Band Of Brothers<\/em> (July 2012), where we kind of got back to our metal roots. We felt like we got close to where we were going, but with this record, he really understood what we were looking for sonically. We took it even further on this record, and I think Kevin really helped us hone on in that. We really wanted to focus on writing the very, very best songs that we\u2019ve ever written. We wanted to get really deep into the song structures and really just make them complete from start to finish, so that was the vision. He really brought it to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The time signature for lead number \u2018Moth\u2019 contrasts with time signatures for fellow Hellyeah compositions. \u201cIt\u2019s in a 6\/8 time signature, which isn\u2019t a time signature that we\u2019ve ever played in before \u2013 it\u2019s not anything that I\u2019ve done,\u201d the skin-beater observes. \u201cIt has a lot of playing in it. It\u2019s a unique time signature. It really helps… I don\u2019t know. It just has a really nice flow to it. It\u2019s something that we\u2019ve never done. I enjoyed it, and it\u2019s a really deep song. It\u2019s a song about things that we do in our lives, when we know that they\u2019re not right or they\u2019re not gonna work out. We still are lured to them and want to try them though, kind of like a moth to a flame. A moth knows that it\u2019s made out of paper, but it\u2019ll fly into that fire because it\u2019s attracted to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The title cut is lyrically reflective of Hellyeah\u2019s temperament, meanwhile. \u201c\u2018Blood For Blood\u2019 man, it\u2019s kind of a mentality,\u201d Vinnie contends. \u201cWe\u2019re out for blood. We\u2019ve always kind of felt like we\u2019ve been in an underdog role, and really have had to fight for everything that we\u2019ve done with this band. That\u2019s just basically where we\u2019re coming from on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hellyeah (l-r): Chad Gray, Tom Maxwell, Kyle Sanders and Vinnie Paul<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Each of Blood For Blood<\/em>\u2019s respective tracks vary with respect to lyrical theme. \u201cThey\u2019re all different; every song is a little bit different,\u201d the percussionist reckons. \u201cIt depends on where Chad was coming from at the time or what he was thinking about, but they\u2019re definitely open to other people\u2019s interpretations. He\u2019s never written to where things are set in stone, to where this exactly means this or that exactly means that. It\u2019s open-ended for the listener to interpret.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several of Blood For Blood<\/em>\u2019s numbers proved challenging for Vinnie. \u201c\u2018Say When\u2019 is definitely the most challenging drumming song that I\u2019ve done since the Pantera days,\u201d he reflects. \u201cI\u2019m really proud of that. It\u2019s something that I just came across. I hummed the guitar riff to Tom \u2013 what I wanted him to play \u2013 and he chimed right in. It\u2019s a hell of a challenge to play it live; it\u2019s only three minutes long, but it\u2019s up and going from start to finish. It\u2019s one of those ones that I would put in a league with \u2018Becoming\u2019 from Pantera (from March 1994\u2019s Far Beyond Driven<\/em>), with \u2018Primal Concrete Sledge\u2019 from Pantera (from July 1990\u2019s Cowboys From Hell<\/em>). I\u2019m just really proud of the drumming on it. It turned out great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tattoo artist Paul Booth handled cover artwork duties. \u201cIt\u2019s just imagery \u2013 there\u2019s really no significance behind it,\u201d the drummer downplays. \u201cIt just kind of has that old school, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, blood for blood mentality behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further 20th anniversary reissues of past Pantera full-lengths are in the pipeline. \u201cThe label does what they wanna do, whether we want to be a part of it or not,\u201d the sticksman considers. \u201cWe always participate and try to make it the very best that we can for our fans, and the people that have always followed the band. I\u2019m sure after two years has passed, it\u2019ll be time to do a Great Southern Trendkill<\/em> reissue (May 1996), and then four years on from that it\u2019ll be time to do Reinventing The Steel<\/em> (March 2000). I guess when it comes around, it\u2019ll be kind of time to take a look at it, and see if there\u2019s anything special that we can add to it. For right now though, my focus is Hellyeah.\u201d
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\nBlood For Blood<\/em> was released on June 10th, 2014 via Eleven Seven Music.<\/p>\n

Interview published in July 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HELLYEAH – Sangre Por Sangre Anthony Morgan July 2014 Hellyeah (l-r): Kyle Sanders, Tom Maxwell, Chad Gray and Vinnie Paul On February 13th, 2014, it was confirmed that American heavy metal outfit Hellyeah had parted ways with guitarist Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne) and bassist Robert \u2018Bob Zilla\u2019 Kakaha (ex-Damageplan). Said departures caused the ensemble to become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[702],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hellyeah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21526"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21643,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21526\/revisions\/21643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}