New album celebrates life

Texas band Hellyeah was formed in 2006 and they released their self-titled debut album HellYeah in 2007.  The band is back with a new album titled Welcome Home and this record does have a deeper meaning. The tracks on the record are the last songs Vinnie Paul recorded before his death. Paul was best known as the drummer and co-founder of the iconic heavy metal band Pantera.

In 2001 Pantera went on a musical hiatus and in 2003 Paul and his brother Dimebag Darrell decided to part ways with the band. Shortly after leaving Pantera, Paul and Darrell formed their own heavy metal band named Damageplan. The band was successful due to the raw talents of Paul’s drumming and Darrell’s guitar skills but in 2004 tragedy struck when Darrell was shot and killed on stage. Two years after Damageplan disbanded, Paul was recruited to play drums for Hellyeah and he continued to play in the band until his death from coronary artery disease in 2018.

Welcome Home is a record that displays how talented Paul was as a musician and the chemistry he had with the rest of the band. On Welcome Home, the band’s talent is great. Chad Gray’s vocals are fantastic on this record because they are raw which contributes to the loud madness on the record and his shrieks are filled with emotion. Christian Brady’s and Tom Maxwell’s guitar skills are wonderful because both men are able to create loud and vibrant guitar music which can vibrate through the speakers into the veins, Kyle Sanders’s bass guitar skills are well done on this record because when listening, the deep low riffs can be heard rumbling in bliss and the vibrations can be felt through the speakers and the drumming by Paul shines bright because he is able to play drum beats which consist of basic but fast and his erratic style works well with this album. Overall, Welcome Home is an enjoyable record and music fans should take the time to listen to it.

On Welcome Home there is a song titled “Black Flag Army” and what’s pretty righteous about this track are lyrics of the song and how well the band creates the musical structure. The lyrics are well written and the meaning is deep but in a positive way. When looking at the lyrics, the words resemble revenge against people who have done wrong against us and it seems Hellyeah forms an army which lets other people know they are not alone when an enemy is going against them. In some ways, it feels like an army is forming to support one another while battling enemies. The music on this track is great as well. The guitar sounds from Brady and Maxwell blare sweet metal music and the sounds can cause listeners to bang their heads, Sanders’s bass guitar rumbles in bliss which helps contribute to the madness on the track, Paul’s drumming skills stays true to the metal sound by creating loud and fast-paced drum beats and Gray’s vocals just shriek with a unique style of grunge metal which will cause listeners to dance crazy to the music. Overall, “Black Flag Army” is a great track because it has the right taste of metal music.

Another song that has a deep meaning and a great musical structure is “333” and this song is pure metal. The lyrics to the song are filled with raw emotions because it displays the emotion of being angry. In some ways, the lyrics tell a story about a person who is wanting to let go of all of the negativity in his or her life and trying to let go of the negativity can be a daunting task because the person is having a hard time coming to terms with it. The musical structure of this song is great because it sticks to the true sounds of loud and energetic metal music. Gray’s vocals are dynamic on this track because his loud and grungy voice helps bring out the energy within the metal music and his shrieks are surprisingly good because Gray is capable of shrieking out the lyrics on a high pitch not. Bray and Maxwell do a great playing loud and energetic guitar riffs and the musical sounds coming from the guitars provide the headbanging energy listeners want to hear. Sanders does a great job playing the bass guitar because when listening, the rumbles in the background are pure with great authority and Paul’s drumming is fantastic because the drum beats he produces really does add to the tempo the rest of the band is playing. Overall, “333” is a great track and listeners will be happy listening to the loud and energetic metal music.

Another great song is “Skyy and Water” and what is meaningful about this song is how it is quieter compared to the other songs on Welcome Home. Gray’s vocals are sentimental on this track because he is singing about the band’s late drummer and when listening, it feels like the lyrics are written for people who have lost friends and loved ones. The song, along with its video, is a tribute to Vinnie Paul and listeners can relate to the song because we all have a person we miss seeing and it hurts when thinking about him or her but we also know we will see them again when it is our time. The instrumentation on this track is great because it helps provides the emotions the band is feeling. Brady and Maxwell do a great job playing their guitars in a beautiful harmonic and melodic way, Sander’s bass guitar can be heard playing low and steady rumbles which helps describe the emotions of this song and the sound provides a peacefulness while Gray sings with pure and raw emotions.

Overall, Welcome Home is a great record and it seems like Hellyeah wants to remember Paul in a positive way and it truly feels like this album does honor him in a unique way.