Hellyeah has a lot on its mind

Since forming in 2006, Hellyeah has been known as a good-time party band.

The group originally brought together members of several respected and established metal bands – Mudvayne (vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett), Nothingface (guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Jerry Montano) and Pantera and Damageplan (drummer Vinnie Paul).

Those bands were hardly known for upbeat music, but in Hellyeah, it was a stated goal that the band was going to be all about fun – both in the songs the band wrote and in the lifestyle the group members led together.

But Hellyeah’s latest album, “Blood for Blood,” shows that the band, which will play the Cotillion on Sunday, has more on its mind than where to find the next party, barbecue, bar or anyplace else where a good time is waiting to be had.

“It’s a heavy record from a heavy (musical) standpoint, and it’s a heavy record from an emotional standpoint,” Hellyeah vocalist Gray said during a recent teleconference interview. “Even some of the more midtempo tracks are, you know, a little deeper lyrically than what Hellyeah is kind of known for in the past.”

One of the elements that brought some extra emotion into the “Blood for Blood” project was the departure of guitarist Tribbett in 2014.

For Gray, seeing Tribbett leave was especially notable, because both had also been key members of Mudvayne.

“People re-evaluate their lives every day. And I think that one day Greg just woke up and this wasn’t at the top of his priority list,” Gray said.

“It (making ‘Blood for Blood’) was really emotional because of that change. And, you know, we leaned on each other to get through it,” he said. “And I think ultimately, even for Greg, this is probably a better situation for him. … I wish him the best, man.”

With Tribbett gone, Hellyeah became a four-piece band (with Bloodsimple bassist Kyle Sanders also joining the band in place of Bob Zilla, who had joined Hellyeah in 2007). And while it took some work, Gray thinks the band may be better in its new configuration.

“I think (guitarist) Tom (Maxwell) really stepped up,” Gray said. “It’s almost like setting up a shot in a camera and like looking, you know, at the horizon and like just where it’s just kind of a little out of focus or whatever. And I think we just tightened up that focus on this record and made it a little more seamless than it’s been in the past.”

In fact, the band members have called “Blood for Blood” the defining album for Hellyeah, which is no small statement for a band that has gained respect for the hard-charging yet grooving bluesy hard rock/metal that typified its earlier albums.

The group established its sound on its self-titled 2007 album, which gained enough pre-release attention – largely because of the pedigree of the band members – to debut at No. 9 on Billboard magazine’s album chart. The second album, “Stampede,” arrived in 2010, followed by “Band of Brothers” in 2012, an album that started to hint at more of a metal element in the Hellyeah sound.

Working as a four-piece band wasn’t the only change that came with the “Blood for Blood” project. After self-producing its first two albums and working with Jeremy Parker on “Band of Brothers,” the group brought in producer Kevin Churko (known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch and In This Moment) for the latest project.

“We felt like it was time for us. We had done as much as Hellyeah could do being self-produced,” Gray said. “You know, we needed that sounding board, we needed to invite that new member in, so to speak, which is what you do when you have a producer.”

The direction Hellyeah pursued on “Blood for Blood” with Churko’s help took the group in more of a metal direction with plenty of intensity to go with the more introspective tone of some of the lyrics.

Gray said he feels the more prominent metal edge stemmed in part from allowing the individual musical influences of the band members – whose other bands all had a harsher, more metal-based sound – to come through in the new songs.

“You know, we always strove to separate what we did in the past to what we do now,” Gray said. “And it’s funny, because, like, now we’re not trying to steer Hellyeah back to (Pantera) or Mudvayne or anything like that, but we do want our own personal identities back. You know what I mean?”

Gray looks at heavy metal as music that gave him a purpose and a direction in his life and enjoys the idea that fans coming to Hellyeah shows are getting the same release and thrill he felt going to concerts when he was growing up.

“When I look out over the crowd, it’s just like I remember being that kid,” he said. “And you know, it’s therapy. You know what I mean? Like people pay money to go lie down on a couch and talk to psychiatrists. Or you can buy a concert ticket and go, you know, you have the pit, let out your aggressions, you could sing along, you know. ... I think it’s just an awesome thing from the concert-goers/fan point of view.

This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Hellyeah has a lot on its mind."