Hellyeah – Stampede
Family gatherings in the South are a unique experience. Getting together with relatives I managed to avoid the entire year. The guests of honor were typically Jim Beam, Evan Williams, and of course, Jack Daniels. But that doesn’t mean Grandpa left his moonshine at home. Oh no, he brought it. You could be sure of that the next morning. Maybe it was the moonshine that fueled the front yard brawl between Uncle Earl and Bubba. On second thought, it could have been the way he insulted Dale Jr. You know Uncle Earl just won’t stand for that. Nothing some good ole “Family Tradition” from Hank Jr couldn’t fix though. Not a moment too soon, either. Someone just broke out the last case of PBR (or Pabst Blue Ribbon, for those of you who don’t know Southernese), and it’s time for Walker, Texas Ranger.
Okay, so portions of that description could be embellished, but I refuse to say which ones. I prefer to hold on to some integrity. Can you blame me? And why am I telling that story in an album review? Because Hellyeah’s new album, Stampede, is like a Southern family gathering. Beer drinking, trash talking, laughing, fighting – just an all out good time. But when your friends ask what you did over the weekend, you might just opt to keep it to yourself.
For those unfamiliar with Hellyeah, here’s some background. Two dudes from Mudvayne (vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett), a dude from Nothingface (guitarist Tom Maxwell), and two dudes from Damageplan (bassist Bob Zilla and drummer Vinnie Paul). You might also recognize Vinnie Paul from a little band named Pantera. But, while you’ll get some Pantera influence in Hellyeah, don’t expect too much. This band is a Southern swagger infused variation of Mudvayne, or as I like to call it, Mudvayne for rednecks. (Remember: no harm meant. I have rednecks in my family, too.) You can take Chad Gray out of Mudvayne, but you can’t take Mudvayne out of Chad Gray (meaning you get no variation in his vocals – at all).
The first four tracks, “Cowboy Way”, “Debt That All Men Pay”, “Hell Of A Time” and “Stampede”, are all pretty good songs with killer hooks. I can absolutely envision a club full of people singing along with the band on these songs. If I drank a couple of beers, I might even sing along, too.
“Better Man” has an intro so similar to Metallica’s “Unforgiven” that James Hetfield might come looking for Chad Gray. Well, if he wasn’t so busy feuding with Dave Mustaine, Tom Araya, and that other guy from Anthrax. Lars might be free to pick a fight though. After the vocals start, I swear I hear two coconuts being smacked together (a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail) to simulate the sound of a horse trotting. Once I heard it, it was tough to drown out. The song itself is a slow ballad that…trot trot, trot trot. Dear Lord. Can someone please get that horse out of here?
“Pole Rider” gets thrown in to fill the “obligatory song about a trashy stripper” quota. It’s been done before – over and over again. Hell, even Nickleback’s done it a few times. And if they’ve done it, it’s safe to say we can move on already.
Stampede is sure to be the summer soundtrack for good ole boys at bonfires, at pool halls, and mud boggin’ in 4 wheel drive trucks everywhere. It’s a bit gimmicky, but definitely a fun listen. So go ahead and give the album a few spins. We won’t judge you, and we’ll be sure not to tell anyone. Your secret is safe with us. Maybe it’s not a great album, but is it worth a few listens? Hellyeah, man.
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20 Comments
July 10th, 2010 at 12:53 am
This is an absolute CLASSIC review. GREAT JOB!
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Jen replied:
July 10th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Why thank you.
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July 10th, 2010 at 1:16 am
"Mudvayne for rednecks". Exactly how I describe Hellyeah. And I like Mudvayne, but I can't really get into this. But killer review for sure, awesome job.
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Jen replied:
July 10th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
It's such a perfect description, as long as people don't get offended too easily. haha I'm NOT a Mudvayne fan, or a fan of Chad Gray's vocals. Maybe Hellyeah makes them a little more tolerable for me.
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Daryn St. Pierre replied:
July 11th, 2010 at 12:39 am
That comment killed me. That's going to stick in my head now every time I hear a Hellyeah song. Love the imagery you drew up for us.
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July 10th, 2010 at 4:49 am
Why is mud boggin tagged? lol
Good review. Can't get into them like I could with old Mudvayne.
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Jen replied:
July 10th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
It's not tagged – it's linked to a wikipedia page for our friends outside of the US who might not have any idea what it means. Believe it or not, it happens.
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July 10th, 2010 at 9:15 am
I love how you wrote this. It makes me feel like I'm in the world of the album. Excellent work!
From the song samples it sounds pretty catchy, but agreed, probably not something I'd hold on to for an extended amount of time.
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Jen replied:
July 10th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Thanks, Eric! Yeah, it's a simple kind of album that has no depth beyond face value. A quick, semi-fun listen. No deep thinking involved. haha
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July 10th, 2010 at 10:04 am
You nailed that one!
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Jen replied:
July 10th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Thanks for the comment, Andy!
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July 13th, 2010 at 6:08 am
I kinda have a love/hate relationship with Hellyeah.
1. I love Chad Gray's vocals, but I hate their lyrics. Way too material for my liking.
2. They're hard rock through and through, but, then again, I've heard the same thing way too many times.
3. They make music for badass muv'fuckas, but that leads to a repetitive sound and doesn't leave for unoriginality.
4. It's Mudvayne Pt. II, but, then again, Mudvayne isn't a band composed of cowboys who sing about booze and how they're broken men.
So, there's my reasons as to why I'm NOT picking this up. Hopefully they'll be good on the Uproar tour, but I'm probably never going to buy their albums.
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July 13th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Being from Arkansas, I understand and acknowledge what you're saying, but I don't enjoy all of my family reunions. Just saying.
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July 21st, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Do you guys ever, you know, not like a cd? Just asking
[Reply to this comment]
Lee replied:
July 21st, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Sure do, here ya go
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/the-deliverance-revolation
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/the-tired-and-true-scenarios
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/ender-this-is-revenge
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/demonic-resurrection-the-return-to-darkness
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/dryrun-all-fear-aside
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/grave-burial-ground
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/waking-the-cadaver-beyond-cops-beyond-god
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/pathology-legacy-of-the-ancients
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/call-to-preserve-life-of-defiance
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/colonel-blast-for-the-greater-good
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/circle-of-dead-children-psalms-of-the-grand-destroyer
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/since-october-life-scars-apologies
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/forgiven-rival-this-is-a-war
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/us-from-outside-inspired-by-the-threat-of-failure
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/tides-of-virtue-malevolence
http://thenewreview.net/reviews/vortice-zombie
These are just a few on the first 4 pages of reviews. Just because the 4 or 5 reviews you checked out were decent to good scores means nothing. One thing that you will find here, fair and honest opinions. We base review scores on each album, not on popularity or biased opinions.
Thanks for commenting.
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July 23rd, 2010 at 5:21 pm
nice one lee..i was beginning to think the same but yeah i guess i looked at reviews of bands i was familiar with (implying good taste in music lol)
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Lee replied:
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Hey phb what's up,
Yea man, we are obviously on the same wave length. LOL! Thanks for checking out the site! We are always updating with fresh meat….so stay tuned!
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July 27th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
I beg to differ this review,
I think that Hellyeah discovered an area of music
they fit in the most.
Stampede, in my opinion, sounds much more genuine
than the debut album.
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Jen replied:
July 27th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
That's cool. Thanks for weighing in with your opinion.
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August 18th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Coconuts? haha. Vinnie's just keeping time on the edge of the snare. I thought it was pretty inventive actually. I guess if you're looking for horse sounds, you'll find them.
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