HELLYEAH: Stampede

Produced by Vinnie Paul and Sterling Whitfield
Released: July 13

I'll be the first to admit that I thought Hellyeah's debut was far from the best metal album of 2007 -- or even the best album from April 2007, the month it was released -- so the prospect of a new release from this apparent "supergroup" hardly filled me with anticipation. Still, the hate that has been directed towards this band by people who have probably not even heard them is way out of proportion to their actual "crimes". Unlike most of those who have ripped into Hellyeah on the stength of the one song that's been leaked so far, I've actually listened to the whole album, several times now, and for what it is it really isn't that bad.

No one in Hellyeah, from Vinnie Paul to any of his less-illustrious bandmates, has ever suggested that their music is anything more than heavy metal, so anyone looking for sophisticated messages or blistering technicality or anything other than a heavy metal album will be disappointed. Stampede is just metal, and that's all it tries to be. "Cowboy Way" comes charging out first up, brimful of machismo and swagger, just an old fashioned rock out. It says little and means little and it's nothing you haven't heard from any of these fellas before, setting the tone for an album of upbeat party metal. And so it proceeds throughout, with added sprinklings of angst and aggro and huge, mosh-friendly grooves. First single "Hell of a Time" is the most radio friendly track with a huge catchy gang-vocal chorus neatly off-setting Chad Gray's shaky clean singing. The balladic "Better Man" doesn't add anything to the genre or even the album. If anything, it interrupts the flow of the album. "It's On!" is the heaviest and grooviest track and "Cold as a Stone" probably outpoints the rest for inherent catchiness and the slow-burning Mudvayne-like "Stand or Walk Away" is made of sheer radio hit smarts -- if radio would actually play it, that is.

The riffs are effective even if Gray's vocals become tiring after a while and Vinnie's surprisingly colourless drumming doesn't really elevate the songs much above the average. Stampede isn't brilliant and it's not special or outstanding, but it isn't bad for what it is.

1. Cowboy Way
2. Debt That All Men Pay
3. Hell of a Time
4. Stampede
5. Better Man
6. It's On!
7. Pole Rider
8. Cold as a Stone
9. Stand or Walk Away
10. Alive and Well
11. Order the Sun

Rating: 72%