Band of Brothers

Hellyeah! Nope, I’m not just screaming out a hearty agreement, though I could honestly say that if I did do so it would be fitting. However, that would be the name of the band who has put out the album Band of Brothers. If you’re wondering does the name fit the band? Yes it does, quite well I must say, as well as being a nice fit for the music they play. Hellyeah is a heavy metal, stress the heavy part, band that plays some very intense, high octane, punch in the face music that makes listening to loud music fun.
After listening to the first 4 tracks on Band of Brothers I had to pause it for a few minutes just so I could take a breather. From the start Hellyeah pumps out the energy like a gushing fire hydrant. This energy is infectious enough that though I was only on my first time listening to the songs I was already screaming out similar sounds along with the vocals of Chad Gray. Which I got to wonder how he’s able to go for so long with his voice being so gravelly, deep, and screaming without it breaking or him loosing his voice. As soon as the intro of the songs would start there was already a high level of power, speed, and intensity that I was surprised that Hellyeah was able to kick it up a few more notches during the verse and chorus. Though as per fashion, the heavy metal band that sings the songs like the preverbal bat out of hell style, they also have the one song that’s slow with no screaming vocals. ‘Between You and Now’ is the song that I liked because it’s where I could actually hear Chad Gray’s voice at levels where the pitch changes can be distinguished. He does have a strong voice when it comes to the loud, high level screams he does with all the other songs, but this one song sounds like he’s straining more to keep his voice low than when he’s screaming.
Beyond the fun, intense sounds, the loud volumes, the need to thrash my head around, and scream out a lot, there’s also a few down sides to Band of Brothers. The one that struck me the most was with the one slower paced song ‘Between You and Now’. Though I did like the song, it’s got a nice little slow vibe going for it but it’s this slow vibe that also took me out of my groove. It’s put right in the middle of the album so that after listening to 5 songs that make the heart race this sudden drop in tempo and speed gave me pause. It felt like the point where I was at the edge of a sneeze that had been building into one doozy of a sneeze to have that feeling just instantly disappear before I sneezed. With the song being the slow song on the album it couldn’t fit in at the end of the album because it would end on a down note, but by putting it in the middle it slows the pacing of the album down. Also the majority of the songs have the same format with the quick, fast, yet short intro with the percussions then the vocals very quickly come into play and then the rest just goes by quickly as the vocals are shout out fast. I don’t mean by the rate of speed that Chad Gray is singing, but the verses are short and quick where I would have liked to had longer verses. Then again it could be that with leaving me wanting to hear more is better but either way the album has a lot of energy, intense beats, the instruments are played wildly fun, and it did have me screaming along, so that is a plus for Hellyeah.