Hellyeah At Center Stage

Sunday, March 8, 2015 Rival Entertainment Presents: HELLYEAH Blood For Blood 2015 Doors 7 / Show 8 / All Ages $25/Adv, $27/Day Of Show Center Stage Headbangers, take note! Don't waste time concerning yourself with the band members’ impressive resumes or with dwelling on their previous work. On BLOOD FOR BLOOD, HELLYEAH lives in the here and now. BLOOD FOR BLOOD is the album that HELLYEAH –featuring Mudvayne's Chad Gray on vocals, Pantera's Vinnie Paul on drums and Nothingface's Tom Maxwell on guitar--has always wanted to make. "It's a defining record for HELLYEAH and for anyone on the fence," Paul declared, describing the record as "focused and with a clear direction." After roughly eight years, three albums, countless tours as headliners and as participants on "can't miss" festival bills and hundreds of thousands of albums sold, HELLYEAH is making their biggest and boldest statement yet with BLOOD FOR BLOOD. They are going for the jugular and every song on the album clamps down and doesn't let go. They've exchanged some of the party-centric, good time sounds of past efforts for pure metallic fury and emotional introspection. The album sounds like a re-charged HELLYEAH, taken up many notches. BLOOD FOR BLOOD is easily their most metallic album. It leaves a mark, thanks to songs like the angular, vengeful "DMF." There's also "Demons In The Dirt," a beast of a song birthed by the sort of anger that can't be faked; it will leave you wondering who pissed these guys off. "Gift" is dirty, rowdy rock with equal parts groove and swagger, but also possessed of the sort of punk rock energy that would make Motorhead fans turns their heads. Then there is moodier, more contemplative fare like "Moth to the Flame" or "Hush," which connect on an emotional, cellular level, proving that you can be incredibly heavy in ways other than loud and fast. "We still have a love affair with this band and have a lot we want to say," explained Maxwell. He relished taking on a larger songwriting role and serving as the lead guitarist, which you can hear in the album's overall sound and in every note of his playing. "That magic is there for us, still. This is the record I've always wanted to make in this band, which has so many creative forces." Gray also shared that changes made the members closer. "We leaned on each other for support and inspiration," he said. As a result, the album is tight and the foundation is firm. Fans will be pleased.