Hellyeah is a band that has always seemed to be right on the cusp of greatness. Before you die-hard fans start protesting and sending me nasty emails taking up for them, let me explain: I’m not saying that they aren’t a great band, but I’ve always thought that they haven’t risen as high as they should. I’ve always thought that the band was destined for bigger and better things. Well, I think that they may finally be on the right track to make all of that happen.
The band has been through quite a bit of inner turmoil over the last few years and maybe it was a wakeup call for all of those involved. The result was a shake-up in personnel, an appropriately titled kick-ass new album entitled Blood for Blood and a new found focus. I recently caught up with guitarist Tom Maxwell, and he caught me up to speed on the goings on within the world of Hellyeah.
Dude, the buzz that grew about this new album leading up to its release date was insane and like nothing I’ve seen for any other Hellyeah release. You guys brought in an outside producer for this one with Kevin Churko taking over the reins.
I think our label approached him about doing this album. He was a little apprehensive at first because of rumors about us being difficult to work with and that we were a pretty wild crew. He did agree to take it on and he was pleasantly surprised that we were quite the opposite.
Kevin really does seem to have that “Midas Touch” over the last few years.
Fuck yeah he does! He learned from one of the best in Mutt Lange. That guy gave us Def Leppard’s Hysteria and Pyromania, AC/DC’s Back in Black and more. He was very crucial in making this record. He and I collaborated on a song called “Hush.” I went into the studio one day to work on solos and he said that we should write a song together. It took us two days and I was really nervous to show it to the band because it’s a little different. It’s very lonely with elements of uplifting movement going on. Chad told me to give him a shot at it and he brought it all together.
I’m read a lot of the press releases on this new album and that seemed to focus on a new found focus within the band. Can you shed some light on that?
The last couple of years have been really rough intra-structure wise as far as the band goes. Greg (Tribbett) was going through a lot of personal stuff and he couldn’t pick himself back up. The energy just wasn’t there and there was a dark cloud just kind of hovering over; it was the same thing with Bob (Zilla). We just weren’t gelling and it was very toxic to the point that if we had continued on, we wouldn’t have been a band; there’s only so much negativity that you can deal with. We pretty much realized that this record was going to fall upon myself, Vinnie and Chad and that was it. To be honest with you, I was perfectly happy with that. It was my intention to make this kind of album the entire time; I didn’t want to be a southern rock/metal band. I’m from Baltimore and I’m a punk rock/metal kid; I’m used to it being raw and honest and I was doing stuff that I wasn’t comfy doing. We went into the studio with Kevin (Churko) and it was like breathing and exhaling air again. It was very natural, very honest and there was no premeditation to any of it. It was like announcing, “Ok, here we are. Let’s make the best record we can.” It was approached as if it was going to be the last album we ever made in our lives; that was the mentality.
I’ve heard different artists, from different forms of art, mention that negativity and hardships can sometimes help them tap into a dark, but creative place. Is this what happened with you guys?
I’m not sure, maybe it did; there’s no process that I have when it comes to writing. I’m not thinking ‘oh, I want to write this kind of song’; it’s just a purely honest thing. If anything, the negativity was nagging, like a thorn in my side. I had to look outside of the box and push all of that negativity to the side. We had to deal with it, but not let it interrupt our focus on this record.
Would you say there’s some darker stuff on this new album?
Oh yeah, there’s some of the heaviest stuff on there that we’ve ever done, but there’s also some of the most beautiful stuff on there as well. I mean, there are no ballads, but there’s some slower tempo stuff that’s pretty heavy emotionally. To me, heavy comes in many different forms and, it’s all about the raw emotion of it. “Sangre por Sangre” is just a small taste, just barely scratching the surface, of what’s ahead. There’s stuff on this album that we’ve never done before and content that’s never been approached.
So, “Sangre por Sangre” was kind of like a metal appetizer before the main course arrives?
Absolutely man, absolutely!
HELLYEAH – Sangre Por Sangre (Blood For Blood)
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I’m not sure of you can answer this on his behalf, but I wanted to ask you about a quote that I read from Vinnie Paul. He said that on the song “Say When”, he was doing some of the best and most challenging drumming since Pantera’s 1994 classic Far Beyond Driven. You have to admit, that’s a pretty bold statement.
Yeah, that’s very true! You get influenced by what’s going on around you and the energy that Vinnie, Chad and I had in the studio had all of us pumped up. Vinnie’s drumming on that song and the entire album is like somebody with something to prove. You’re right; it is a pretty bold statement for him to say that it’s the best drumming he’s done since Far Beyond Driven because those are some mean drums on there. He really lit it up on “Say When”. He actually wrote the drum part first and I had to write the song around it. It’s the heaviest song that we’ve ever done and I mean HEAVY!
All this teasing about the new album is really starting to make me extremely anxious! Let’s change the subject a bit and ask what are a few touring essentials that you make sure to pack in your personal bag before heading out on the road?
You mean besides clothes? I usually pack light when we go out. I see a lot of bands with huge suitcases and stuff like they’re moving or something (laughs). For me, I need my Netflix, my music and my earbuds. I have an app on my phone where I can listen to thunderstorms and stuff like that to relax me. I guess the most important thing would be baby wipes, especially on a day like today because there are no showers anywhere.
What types of shows do you like to watch on Netflix?
I really like to watch documentaries because I’m a big history buff. I love all things historical and Civil War shit. I live in the DC/Baltimore area and there’s all sorts of historical stuff all around me up there.
I know we need to be wrapping this up. Is there anything you want to close with Tom?
We want to remind everyone that the new album came out on June 10th and it’sbad-ass! We’re very excited for everybody to hear our new album. There is a good buzz out there about it. We’ve had a few people review it. I wouldn’t say they were haters before, but they were definitely on the fence. Now, they’re like fuck yeah, this is the album we’ve been waiting on!
It’s always good to make believers out of doubters.
We didn’t intend to do that, but I do believe that fans of music know when bands are being honest and when they’re being puppets.
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by Johnny Price, Lead Senior RockRevolt Magazine Journalist
