Music Review: HELLYEAH – Band of Brothers
What started out as a heavy metal jam session has since mutated into something far more progressive than it ever should have been destined to become. Hellyeah's third studio album is a whiskey soaked Texas metal hoe-down that feels a little light on the booze and somewhat heavy on the metal.
What I mean by light on the booze is that 'Band of Brothers' looses a bit of that swagger that prior records had and amps up the heaviness to eleven. The album is one mean mother of a metal machine but what made previous Hellyeah records so much fun was that you could smell the weed and Crown through your iPod. 'Band of Brothers' sounds more like your typical metal warfare and that's not a bad thing, it's just a little unexpected
Right from the get go, Hellyeah are on fire and this is one hell of an angry album. 'Band of Brothers' is by far the heaviest offering to date from the supergroup. Singer Chad Gray (from Mudvayne) sounds as energized as he once did on the now cult classic 'L.D.50'. 'War in Me' is a ferocious way to make a statement by kicking off the tracklist and Hellyeah do no let up on the rest of the album. There is the occasional groove-based track that reminds me of the classic Hellyeah song 'Alcohaulin' Ass'; example 'Drink Drank Drunk'. However even then, there's more straight up metal than sleaze-ass metal.
It may sound creepy that I wanted more sleaze from Hellyeah, but I think the record turned out far more angry than I had expected. It's not a bad thing, again, I want to stress that this is not a fault in 'Band of Brothers' quality. It just took me by surprise after the freight train leveled me. What's so strange about Hellyeah is that I don't think anyone in the group expected the shelf life to be this long. But with Mudvayne slowly dissolving and the compelling urge to never say no to Pantera founder Vinnie Paul, Hellyeah doesn't show any sign of hanging it up.
At this point I'm not even sure you can call Hellyeah a supergroup or a side project, this is the real deal and after three consistent studio albums, I have to deal with this ridiculously named outfit sticking around to rock my ass off. 'Band of Brothers' isn't revolutionary by any means, but it's an absolute blast up the mainstream's musical ass. We all have to deal with the fact that Pantera is over and realize that Mudvayne isn't as good as Hellyeah and just embrace this crazy Texas metal powerhouse.
1. "War In Me
2. "Band Of Brothers
3. "Rage/Burn"
4. "Drink Drank Drunk"
5. "Bigger God"
6. "Between You And Nowhere"
7. "Call It Like I See It"
8. "Why Does It Always"
9. "WM Free"
10. "Dig Myself A Hole"
11. "What It Takes To Be Me"
