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Check out the Interviews section of Utopia Records in the media section.

 

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Hellyeah

Metal “supergroup” Hellyeah, which features legendary former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett alongside bassist Bob Zilla (ex-Damageplan) and guitarist Tom Maxwell, have just released their new album Stampede. The band will also be returning to Australia for a tour at the end of this month. Brendan Crabb spoke to Vinnie Paul about the making of their new record, the band’s touring plans, the current state of heavy metal and how he was able to move past the death of his brother Dimebag Darrell and start playing music again.

Q: Hey Vinnie, what are you up to at the moment?

A: Oh, I’m just enjoying a little bit of time off here in my home in Dallas before I head to a promotion that we’re doing with NASCAR and Daytona. Then a couple of days off in Vegas, then a promotional tour all over the United States, then a couple of headline dates in Texas before we head to Australia to see you guys.

Q: You’ve already done some shows in support of Stampede. How is the new material going over in the live environment?

A: Man, we had an opportunity to go out and tour for the record for the first time ever and the new songs went down really great man, it’s very nice to see the fans pick up on it as quick as they did. We just did a month-long tour in the United States and we just got back from Europe, where we did a month-long tour. Our record was never really officially released when we were there the first time around, so almost all the songs felt like new songs to the fans, but they really embraced us and it was great to be able go out and play the songs before the record came out.

Q: In what ways do you feel the new album is an improvement upon your self-titled debut?

A: Well, the first record was almost like an experiment. We had just got together and we didn’t really quite know each other. We just had a lot of things in common as far as the music that we liked and we had a great chemistry, which enabled us to write some great songs. With the second record, we really came into it with a lot more confidence. After touring together, after really getting to know each other, after really getting to gel as a band, I think we really came into our own with this record. I think this record is definitely going to be the one that defines what Hellyeah is all about.

Q: Does it feel like a more complete album then, seeing as you said, you had that extra time to gel as a collective unit?

A: I think we’re pretty happy with both records, but this one definitely covers a lot of ground. It’s much more broad, it’s much more diverse, it’s like a rollercoaster ride, it takes you on peaks and valleys. We’re all really proud of it; we really think that musically the whole record came across the way we wanted it to. We’re just excited that it’s coming out.

Q: Is the band’s writing process a particularly collaborative one, or is it primarily a few members who take part in it?

A: I think we’re all involved from start to finish, you know? The music is basically written by myself, Tom and Greg, we just get in a room and just start jamming, start with a guitar riff and we… just build from that. Then Chad’s always working during the day, writing lyrics and just coming up with ideas and he’ll get up and work in the studio at night. Then we all kind of co-produced the record ourselves, so we all got our input into it. So it’s truly a collaborative effort.

Q: Was there anything new or anything of note that inspired the lyrics and the music on this album?

A: Just the fact that we really love playing with each other, we really enjoy each other’s company. This band really is a band of brothers and we really do our best to put our best foot forward for each other. There’s no egos involved in this band; we all can laugh at each other, we can all have a great time. I think lyrically, Chad comes from a really personal place; you know, with Mudvayne he’s always singing about things that are (about) different planets, different places, crazy stuff like that. With Hellyeah he can really open up, be personal and sing songs that come from his heart, say things he’s been wanting to get off his chest for years, that kind of stuff. 

Q: Mudvayne released a new album recently but didn’t seem to do much touring for it. Did you expect an album to come together so quickly, even with this happening?

A: Well, actually we started recording this record back in May last year and the first time that everybody was able to get back together, we wrote about four or five songs. Then Mudvayne had a six-week tour they had to go and do, so we took a break. Then they came back and again we wrote another four or five songs, and then they had one more tour to do with Mudvayne and they did that. Around October we really had a chance for all of us to settle in and just really focus on the record and finishing it. And that’s part of what Hellyeah’s all about.

Q: You’re coming back to Australia at the end of the month. This country was one of the first places the band toured in after releasing the first album, so what are your expectations for it this time around?

A: Well, I expect the fans to be just as great as they always are. The Aussies are probably some of the best fans in the world. They’re always awesome, I always love Australia and personally I always see it as one big Texas. The people are super friendly, they like to drink, they like to party, they like to get on the barbie and they’re cool people, man. This time I think that more people know who we are and we have more material to play for them. So it’s going to be really exciting.

Q: What’s the composition of a typical Hellyeah set list like?

A: We’ve got a good mixture of the old stuff and the new stuff. We’re probably going to play between and hour and 15 minutes to an hour-and-a-half, depending on the schedule of the clubs and the support acts playing with us. We’re just going to come out balls-out; we don’t bring any kind of flashy light shows or anything like that, it’s just about the fans and music and the vibe that we present back and forth to each other.

Q: Great stuff. Moving on, you obviously went through some very difficult times five to six years ago. How close did you come to not playing music again and what about Hellyeah convinced you to make your return to it all?

A: Well, after being in a very dark place and really thinking that I was done with music, I got a letter from Dave Grohl. He’s been a friend for a long time and he just said that he’d been through something similar with Kurt and thought he was done with music, that eventually…he said that living without music would kill him... he was totally right. When I got the call asking if I’d be interested in being part of it, I knew at some point I was going to have to take a chance and see if I really wanted to do it again, you know? When they came down, we all met, we did a barbecue, we drank a lot of booze together and the next day we wrote our first song, which was ‘Nausea’ on the first record. I knew (then) that’s what I was supposed to be doing. I knew that was exactly what my brother wanted me to be doing and I had to carry on. So that’s what happened.

Q: Do you have any other projects in the works at the moment?

A: Well, I own a chain of strip bars in the United States, which have been very successful. It’s called The Clubhouse and it’s done very well. And I also put a band out on my label called Seventh Void, which is Johnny and Kenny from Type O Negative’s band. But right now, I’m solely focused on Hellyeah, I plan on touring for two years non-stop for this record. After we go to Australia this time around we’re looking to come back again in January and do some of the big festivals, really play a lot longer than just three shows. Right now, it’s just kind of an opportunity to meet the fans and show them what Hellyeah’s all about. We’ll do a more extensive tour of Australia. We want this band to be international. We want to play in Hong Kong, South East Asia, South America, North America, Australia, Europe. We really want to be able to take it everywhere, so we plan to tour for two years for this record.

Q: Are any more releases planned for your label, Big Vin Records?

A: Yeah, yeah. I just have to put it on hold, just because I’m so busy with what I’m doing with Hellyeah.

Q: On a more personal note, what’s on Vinnie Paul’s iPod at the moment?

A: Man, for some reason I’ve been on a Beatles kick. I can’t get enough of The Beatles… The way they worked all the songs together, it was pretty amazing.

Q: Any new bands that you’ve been enjoying lately?

A: Yeah, there’s a lot, there’s bands who have great new albums coming out. Ozzy’s new album and Avenged Sevenfold’s new album with Mike Portnoy playing drums on it. The new Stone Sour record I’m really looking forward to hearing, just got through doing dates with them over in Europe and they were awesome. 

Q: Having been around the scene for more than 20 years, how strong do you feel heavy metal is globally now, compared to when Pantera broke through?

A: I think it’s still strong. I think in the middle 90s it was nothing but a pure lifestyle. I mean, people lived it, breathed it, loved it, no matter what. But today, with computers and the whole Internet world, it’s… people don’t quite have that same focus, you know? They’re still there and they still love it, but it’s not like what they live for every day. So it’s a little bit different, but we just finished doing a run in the States, just finished playing over in Europe and the fans are just as rabid as they always have been, man.

Q: Good to hear. Any famous last words?

A: Oh, famous last words? Man, I love the Aussies, I cannot wait to get down. Make sure you make it to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. We’re going to kick your ass, we’re gong to have a blast and we’re gonna do some drinking together and let’s do it. Let’s do it – Hellyeah!