Sometimes music isn't technical or complicated. Sometimes music isn't lyrical or beautiful. Sometimes music only needs one thing to be liked: to be catchy. That's essentially the entire philosophy behind groove metal, a genre of music that continues to be unoriginal, but also continues to sell. If a song is fun to listen to, then it has to be doing something right.
Hellyeah probably follows that trope best: they're a group that don't do anything to push the industry forward, but no one really cares. They're just catchy, and that's it.
But when that's all that's expected of a group, and their latest album
Blood for Blood claims to be their catchiest yet? Well, there's no complaints... right?
***
Album: Blood for Blood
Band: Hellyeah
Year of Release: 2014
Genre: Groove Metal
***
Hellyeah is the band with the most accurate name out there. Why? Because their music makes listeners want to scream "Hellyeah!" while listening to it. It's catchy, it's obnoxious, and it's fun. But is there enough different to make this album entertaining throughout?
This album just starts. No build up, no fade in, nothing. It just starts with a loud, catchy guitar riff and drum beats alternating with a voice repeating the title of the song over and over, Sangre pour Sangre, Blood for Blood. The two phrases mean the exact same thing, and it's almost a certainty that Hellyeah doesn't even know what language "Sangre pour Sangre" is, but it wouldn't matter either way because it sounds good.
That mentality pretty much defines this entire album. It doesn't matter because it sounds good.
Regardless, the verses aren't sung or growled, but instead spoken. The lyrics here aren't memorable at all, but the spoken aspect, despite being done before by many other bands, is pretty neat. It's not until the chorus kicks in that it really gets into a "Hellyeah!" kind of mood. There really isn't any distinct instruments that stand out, the band just grooves together and the whole song just works. The electronic parts in the bridge are a bit out-of-place, but besides that, the whole song is a great start to the album.
Off of the heels of that catchy tune comes another catchy tune, Demons in the Dirt. Not surprisingly sounding similar to the first song but still sounding like a different song, it works in the same exact way as the first song does. The chorus isn't as good as the first, but the verses are more interesting to compensate. The lyrics are still forgettable, though. But that doesn't matter because it sounds good, right?
Soul Killer sounds different from the first two songs at first, but it still seems to follow a similar backing rhythm to the first two. The guitars have more of an emphasis on this song, and they definitely prove that these guys have talent, despite being a groove metal band. The solo section on this one's also a lot better than in the first two songs as it stands out more. But when it all comes down to it, it's just another catchy song. It's not very memorable overall, despite having some good parts. Memorability doesn't matter, however, because it still sounds good... right?
Anyone who knows even the smallest thing about groove metal would go into this album expecting nothing really different. Most groove metal bands have the same exact sound in all of their songs. But Hellyeah is the epitome of that - they play songs that sound as if they were part of the same tune, but refuse to expand on that concept any further. Is there a song on this album that sounds different in any way?
The answer to that question comes with Moth, a soft song that doesn't groove at all. It alternates between a soft section with just electric guitar and forgettable lyrics and a heavier section without the catchiness of the prior songs. It stands out, sure, but in this instance it doesn't sound very good. While Hellyeah would benefit from playing something different, this is not the way to do it. While it's good to try new things, the key to experimentation is to still stay close to familiar territory. If not, the result will be songs like this. This one is worth skipping.
Luckily, Cross to Bier (Cradle of Bones) is the best song on the album, so it partially makes up for the song before it. This song starts with a guitar riff that, after a few beats, gets joined by the rhythm guitar followed by the bass, the drums, and finally a nice metal scream. The band then plays the backing of the song once that continues to play through the entire song which could pretty much carry anything all on its own. But then there's the vocals which are really impressive, despite singing forgettable lyrics (as with all of the songs on this album). It just adds a new layer of texture that pushes the song forward. It's not anything that even a metal enthusiast would sing (or rather, growl) along to, but it's so catchy that it actually doesn't matter because, well, it sounds good!
The next song, DMF, is the most important song on this album, despite not being as catchy as the previous song. It actually differs from the other groove metal songs on this album enough to stand out on its own, which is something that the first five songs (excluding "Moth") can't really do. The only reason "Cross to Beir" stands out is because it's the best of the songs that sound exactly like. The whole song is an expansion on one short guitar riff, but it works, it grooves, and it sounds good. The lyrics are still as forgettable and unimportant as always, and the vocals aren't very impressive, but everything else works together rather nicely.
Gift goes back to the old style, however, sounding very similar to "Soul Killer". The high-pitched guitar can get annoying when it comes in, and the vocals sound extremely redneck to the point that they distract from the rest of the song. This wasn't an issue in the previous tracks, so the accent has to be a deliberate choice, and it's not a good one. In the end, it's still a catchy song, so, to follow Hellyeah's code of conduct, none of that matters.
"Moth" was already too much, but apparently Hellyeah disagreed because Hush is another not-so-good song. This one has a little bit of groove to it, but it just doesn't work out. The only groove metal band that can do the softer songs well seems to be Ektomorf, because this song is a clear attempt to copy that style. This song isn't as bad as "Moth" by any means, but it just doesn't work that well. Towards the end the track gets a bit better, but it just isn't catchy, and when a band establishes itself as a group that makes catchy music, anything that isn't falls by the wayside.
Say When starts with just fast drums, and while fast drums can be entertaining, this drum bit just sounds repetitive and, as a result, not very impressive. The guitars come in too, playing something similar and not sounding very good doing it. Then, after thirty seconds or so, the song starts to actually sound like a typical, but good Hellyeah song, but before it really can get going, it dies off and then plays that intro part again. It goes through the process again and then transitions to a slower, dissonant part that sounds okay, but not very impressive. It seems like Hellyeah wanted to experiment, but once again it fails here. This one is another one worth skipping, but if not, it only goes on for just under three minutes, so it isn't too torturous.
Black December is a less heavy version of every other good song on this album, and it works out pretty well. It's not a really good or memorable song, but Hellyeah has to be praised for doing something a little different and actually succeeding. Beyond that, there isn't much else to this song.
Feast or Famine is another typical Hellyeah song, this one sounding a lot like the first track. This song's intro, instead of alternating between guitar riff and vocals, alternates between heavy drums and four cymbal clicks, which definitely is off-putting, but in a good way. The vocals take a bit of a redneck turn, but they aren't as distracting as in "Gift". The lyrics are forgettable, and the chorus isn't nearly as good as in "Sangre pour Sangre", but the song still works because, well, it sounds good.
Hellyeah really wanted to sell their ability to rip off of Ektomorf because the album ends with an acoustic version of Hush, which actually sounds pretty good. Clean vocals would have been a better choice for this song, but it still sounds better than the original version and it works really well as a closer. Listening to this version also gives me a chance to listen to the lyrics which actually are well-written:
Hell’s where I was born! Hell’s where I was raised,
This hell is where I'm from and this gel is where I'll stay.
The hush is all I need to hush the misery,
The hush belongs to me like the hush inside of dreams.
Most of the lyrics in the songs on this album make less sense than this does, but there actually are some metaphors and imagery here that should be praised. Hellyeah definitely doesn't have the best lyrics in their songs, but this song has the best of the album by far. Besides that, the acoustic version of this song is definitely a nice surprise considering how bad the original version and "Moth" are.
This album could easily be split into two halves, with more of the same on one half and new experimentation on the other. While experimentation is good, it mostly fails, and as a result, the "more of the same" half is the more desirable part of this album. Hellyeah made many mistakes in this album but got away with them because it still sounded good. In order for them to really progress, they should nitpick more and focus a bit less on the overall sound. They definitely need to try new things, too, and with some of the experimental songs on this album they proved that it can be done. Hopefully the next Hellyeah album will rock and groove hard, try new things, but still be catchy throughout. After all, if it's catchy, then it sounds good, and that's what matters most.
***
Music Video Sample:
<to come at a later date>
*Their website is outdated at the time of this review, still claiming that the album can be pre-ordered when it has been released for a while now.
