Review Summary: The ultimate sophomore slump, as in "we're so drunk, we've slumped forward on the recording studio couch".
Yes, it got worse.
Hellyeah is that supergroup who should be at least serviceably potent, based on their lineup. After all, Vinnie Paul was in mother***ing Pantera for God's sake, Chad Grey and Greg Tribbett are in Mudvayne, and Tom Maxwell is in Nothingface. But, if you thought it couldn't any worse than Hellyeah's self-titled debut, I'm here to assure you, it got worse.
The first two single released from Stampede say it all: "Cowboy Way" and "Hell of a Time" are absolutely horrible redneck metal "anthems" that show just how seriously Hellyeah takes this Southern rock thing. The song sandwiched between "Cowboy" and "Hell Time" is not bad: "Debt That All Men Pay" is a serviceable groove metal song, as is much of Stampede. The title track is basically "You Wouldn't Know" part 2 lyrically, but stomps with conviction. Basically, every time Hellyeah writes a decent-to-good song, they *** all over it by writing two or three horrible songs that no band should do.
Case in point is the mid-album tandem of "It's On" and "Pole Rider". "It's On" is just stupid, a song celebrating the atmosphere of Hellyeah concerts, but conveniently leaving out the drunken shenanigans. "Pole Rider" on the other hand is the single worst song Hellyeah has written, next to "Alcohaulin' Ass". Lyrically, "Pole Rider" might be the most sexist song I've ever heard, and I hear "Blurred Lines" almost every day on the radio. Musically, "Pole Rider" is a ***ty Southern take on Motley Crue that sorely lacks the sense of dynamics that make most Motley Crue songs decent at least.
On the flip side of the coin, "Better Man" is an absolutely great song, and is by far the best song on Stampede. It's a slow ballad with a bluesy bent, and it's nice to hear Hellyeah do something that isn't bull*** groove the whole time. Chad Grey shows up with his best lyrical performance on Stampede, as he talks about his abusive childhood at the hands of an alcoholic father. In the chorus, he laments that "Don't wanna be like my father, I deserved a bigger man, a stronger man, to lead me down that road". As someone who had his own issues with an alcoholic father, "Better Man" connects with me on a deeply personal level. As for Grey, his voice is slightly more dynamic on Stampede, and lyrically he is better on the second half of Stampede. If Hellyeah had smartly just swapped out "Debt That All Men Pay" and "Stampede" for "It's On!" and "Pole Rider" in the tracklisting, you could just skip the entire first half of Stampede, because the second half is much better.
"Order The Sun" takes on religion and politics lyrically, and is groove done right with it's slower bent, and a neat little riff snaking it's way around Paul's rhythm. "Stand or Walk Away" is slower as well. Guitar-wise, Maxwell & Tribbett do what they've always done on Stampede, they just don't sound as half-assed about it. You can actually hear Bob Zilla's bass, so kudos to the producer. Vinnie Paul doesn't sound as lazy on Stampede as he did on the self-titled disc, and he varies up the tempos a bit.
You may look at this review and think that I'm saying Stampede is better than Hellyeah the album. You would be right, I am saying that. You might wonder then, why is my rating for Stampede lower than Hellyeah. It boils down to one point: the ***ty songs on Stampede are ***tier than the ***ty songs on Hellyeah, and are so abominable and intolerable that I dropped my original rating of Stampede down a half-point. But otherwise, Stampede is a better record, and shows a very faint sign of progress for Hellyeah the band. They need to quit trying to be the voice of drunk Southern metalheads, but Stampede at least sounds like they took the recording sessions more seriously for the most part. I'm still convinced that they recorded "Cowboy Way", "Hell of a Time", "It's On!" and "Pole Rider" during one incredibly drunken binge party session though. So, in conclusion, *** those four songs completely out of your Stampede listening experience, and stick around for the other material.
