Blood For Blood
Since the last time we heard new Hellyeah material, there has been a slight line up change, with guitarist Greg Tribbet leaving the band and bassist Bob Zilla being replaced with Kyle Sanders from bloodsimple. Despite this disarray with the line up, Blood For Blood is a very well focussed and well oiled Heavy Metal album. The Southern vibes are still hidden in there amongst Vinnie Paul's pummelling performance, but there is also an added savagery on this album which hasn't always been evident before.
The first single off the album Sangre por Sangre (Blood for Blood) is an energetic trip of well executed riffs and 'chant along' vocals. On first listen, this sounds a lot like older Stone Sour tracks, and serves as an excellent opener on the album. Right from the off it is clear that the production on the album is excellent, it's well polished but still feels like it has a menacing rough edge to it.
Like with many of the previous Hellyeah albums, you're not really hearing anything revolutionary or new, with tracks like Demons In The Dirt, Soul Killer and Gift providing as standard a heavy, meaty Metal sound as you're ever going to hear. They do it well though, the music at times can be generic but it is still an enjoyable listen. There is definitely more filler on this album than stand out tracks, but the latter will definitely do well in the live setting alongside stuff from previous records. You know what you're getting with some bands, and if that's a standard chest beating Metal album, it's not necessarily a bad thing, just don't expect to hear the rulebook re-written on Blood For Blood. One thing that has changed slightly in comparison to previous Hellyeah records is the performance of Vinnie Paul. He has always delivered stellar drumming across their discography, he probably couldn't physically be anything but great, but this time round it is like the beast has reawaken, with some of the fills and the savage heaviness and precision taking you back to his days in Pantera.
All in all then, a solid, and at times standard Metal album which is still worth a good listen. The band are touring the UK later this year, be sure to try and check them out.