Review Summary: I'm not sure what's more shocking: that Hellyeah has stayed sober long enough to record four albums, or that their fourth album is actually good.
The fact that I'm writing a positive review about Hellyeah shocks me more than everyone.
Blood for Blood is both Hellyeah's fourth album, and the first good album they've ever released. Yes, to be fair, this review will get firebombed by the Sputnik collective just because of the band name attached to the album. I'm not criticizing the round of negs that I'm sure is coming, as it is your opinion and I'm not here to argue. However, I believe it is time that we give Hellyeah credit for something. They actually have written and recorded a good album. Will Blood for Blood set the world on fire? No way in hell. Is it the greatest metal album ever? No way in hell. But is it the first signs of life from Hellyeah? Hell yes.
I guess this is the point that I should stop and refresh everyone's memory. Blood for Blood is the first Hellyeah album recorded/released without Chad Grey's Mudvayne buddy Greg Tribbett on guitar, and Vinnie Paul's Damageplan comrade Bob Zilla is also gone. The surprising thing about the departures of of two key members is that Hellyeah seems to have finally broken free of the chains that bound them tightly to the keg. The cheeky "southern" metal *** is gone, and in it's place Hellyeah have become a real metal band. That sentiment is obvious from the opening salvo: "Sangre por Sangre" (Spanish for Blood for Blood) begins the album on a vicious note, which "Demons In The Dirt" only continues. Vocally, Chad Grey returns to his Mudvayne style on "Demons In The Dirt", and all throughout Blood for Blood he sounds re-energized. His lyrics are still profanity-laced, but are tolerable this time around because the music behind the words isn't completely terrible.
The entire band sounds bloodthirsty on Blood for Blood. The raw production matches the murderous intensity of the riffs: Tom Maxwell sounds free without Tribbett and his riffs are much heavier. The fat has been stripped from Hellyeah's sound, and what's left sounds leaner and meaner than anything Hellyeah has ever written. The bass guitars provided by former Bloodsimple bassist Kyle Sanders are touch and go, but in terms of drums Vinnie Paul sounds alive. His drums dominate Blood for Blood, particularly on the kit-bashing "Say When". "Say When" reminds me of Fear Factory for some reason (just my opinion), and is Hellyeah at their rawest.
Most of Blood for Blood is extremely in your face and throat-ripping, but when Hellyeah actually takes a breath on their fourth album, the results aren't terrible like past efforts: "Black December" is a poignant tribute to Dimebag, "Hush" is a stripped-down ballad that is touching if nothing else, and "Moth" harkens back to the classic Mudvayne sound.
Lyrically, Chad Grey has pretty much stopped the drinkin' and smokin' bull***. Instead, he's harkened back to anger and rage sponsored by the world around him. "Hush" finds him revisiting his abusive childhood, "Sangre Por Sangre" is pretty much a world's-gone-to-*** anthem, as is much of Blood for Blood. Chad sounds pissed, lyrically and vocally, and most importantly sounds sober. Several tracks (Cross To Bier) for example find him returning to his fast-paced delivery from early Mudvayne records.
Blood for Blood sounds like the first Hellyeah record ever recorded sober. It seems that the band put down the booze long enough to record the album from start-to-finish, and the results are decent-to-good. Like I said before, Blood for Blood is not a great record, but after three mostly-underwhelming Hellyeah records, I'll take this one over all of them. I've been hanging on by a thread to Hellyeah's music, hoping that the band would someday grow the *** up, put the bottles down, and get down to serious business. What I got on Blood for Blood was everything I've ever hoped for from Hellyeah. They sound ***ing pissed finally, and the heaviness displayed on Blood for Blood no longer feels fake. The stupid redneck *** is gone, thank God. If this is what Hellyeah is going to sound like from now on, I'm in.
