New England's Metal Shows
The southern metal band returns for a fourth album despite having a couple changes to the line-up. Hellyeah's fourth studio album Blood For Blood is arguably the heaviest of all their albums. The album shy's away from the southern theme featured in 2010's Stampede but the new approach vows to kick your ass! The band may have had
a minor setback when guitarist Greg Tribbett and bassist Bob Zilla split from the band, but the so called “Band Of Brothers” still ventured forward recruiting Kyle Sanders from Bloodsimple to replace Zilla and Christian Brady from Magna-Fi to replace Tribbett.
The quote, unquote title track “Sangre Por Sangre” opens up the album and blows you away. I've never heard or seen Chad Gray deliver so effectively with vocals. It's great to see that the band can still bring the heat, particularly after four studio albums and years of touring. I remember when “Alcohol and Ass” first came out and since then the band has been on a roll. When it comes to music I tend to be extremely picky, but the first time I heard Hellyeah (or when I had heard that Vinnie Paul was in a new band called Hellyeah) I grew to love the band and said to myself, "I'm going to stick with this band 'till the end!" I feel that's what Hellyeah was shooting for in the beginning, they have my respect!
Every Hellyeah album has that one standout track. There is always that one song that makes you want to raise your glass and drink to what you just head. Hellyeah had “Alcohol and Ass,” Stampede had “Hell of a Time,” and Band of Brothers had "Drink, Drank, Drunk." The standout track on this album though has to be "D.M.F." or “DOWN MOTHERFU*KER!” It's that one song on the album that appealed to me most. The song shared the Hellyeah vibe which usually contains a chorus that gets chanted numerous times while drums pound in the background.
There are a few ballads on this album (not the first time Hellyeah has featured slow tunes) one of them is titled "Moth," another is "Hush," and then there's "Black December." If you don't consider one of these songs a ballad, then feel free to comment and I'll consider changing it. Typically, I skip the slow songs but I like the songs listed above. The lyrics are great! "Hell's where I was born, hells’ where's I was raised. This hell is where I'm from and this hell is where I'll stay. The hush is all I need to hush the misery. “The hush that belongs to me like the hush inside of dreams." (Hush) Those are deep lyrics. If you listen to the entire song you'll feel the music! It will grab you at one point or another! "Moth" is a genuinely good song too. It sounds as though it could be the bands next single on the radio. It starts off heavy and mellows out as the verse kicks in. It remains mellow as the chorus is recited. You can consider the mellow element of the song to be that of a moth to a flame.
"Gift" was another song that I thought was electrifying! After listening to it I want to mosh! It's guaranteed to be one of the songs that the band fits into their set list when they play a show. I've been in a Hellyeah pit and I assure you if they broke into that song the fans would go nuts!
My overall opinion on the album is neutral. It's hard to judge. There are some great tracks like "DTF," "Hush," "Sangre Por Sangre," and "Gift." There are some tracks on the album that I do dislike which throws me for a loop. I'm not going to say “it's bad,” nor am I going to say it's great. It lacked the catchy lyrics that the last album had. It also didn't live up to my expectations of what they could have done. Nonetheless, if you're driving to, or tailgating at a Hellyeah show, feel free to pop on the new CD in your
favorite music device and get your 'Blood for Blood' flowing.
This is an opinionated review. If you disagree with it that's okay. If you agree with it alright! Check out the album and give me your feedback. I'll embed the Spotify player once again with the magic of HTML.