Hellyeah – ‘Undeniable’ [Review]
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Over the past ten years, Hellyeah have attracted more than their fair share of haters, doubters, and disbelievers. Considering Hellyeah’s supergroup status and the inevitable Pantera, Damageplan, and Mudvayne comparisons that come with the territory, that’s not surprising. It’s a sad but true, set-in-stone music business fact that people generally want more of what they’ve heard before, with just the tiniest smidgeon of new stuff mixed in – but not enough to mark the results out as truly original.
In other words, certain segments of the music-loving population want their favourite musicians to be authentic in an inauthentic way. Hellyeah’s haters’ authenticity gauges are calibrated using references from the past, while Hellyeah themselves are clearly focussed on responding honestly to what’s going on around them in the present; expecting them to do otherwise while swept up in an overwhelming blizzard of album-cycle-driven activities and interpersonal struggles is a pretty unreasonable ask. And ultimately, the deepest form of musical authenticity is based around honesty, not blindly recycling what’s been done before.
If you’re being “inauthentic,” you’re being “fake”.
If you’re being “fake,” you’re being dishonest, trying to pull the wool over others’ eyes.
It’s that simple.
Horrifically predictable wordplay ahead: Undeniable is an undeniably honest album. Savage lead single Human, during which vocalist Chad Gray highlights his own imperfections, says it all – and throughout Undeniable, Gray’s inner demons are addressed through vocal performances as raw and brutal as ever. Meanwhile, Vinnie Paul, Tom Maxwell, and new additions Christian Brady (guitar) and Kyle Sanders (bass) hold down seriously chunky grooves, keeping things thick and fresh on the likes of X, Be Undeniable, and the huge STARTARIOT.
Where Undeniable really gets interesting, though, is on Hellyeah’s cover of Phil Collins’ I Don’t Care Anymore. As well as containing previously unreleased guitar tracks courtesy of Vinnie Paul’s fallen brother and comrade Dimebag Darrell, Hellyeah gel exceptionally while ploughing through one of the most searing ballads of all time. It’s a legendary song for a reason, perfectly chosen and smoothly integrated into an album that is, primarily, a bruising groove-metal onslaught.
As for downsides, there are a few (the lyrics in Human sometimes feel corny, as does the moment in STARTARIOT where the song title gets spelt out letter by letter), but they’re few and far between. After giving Undeniable a few spins, I didn’t care anymore. This album is fucking intense, immense, and a clear statement of intent.
Love them, like them, or loathe them, Hellyeah are here to stay.
TMMP RATING: 92%
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2 responses to “Hellyeah – ‘Undeniable’ [Review]”
What do you think?
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Yeah I really don’t like Hellyeah but this album has some good parts. Blood Plague has a pretty good chorus, same with Love Falls but lyrically the beginning of Love Falls reminds me of something Atreyu would make. Human has a pretty bad intro and chorus, pretty corny lyrics and I don’t like that “anthem” type chorus, just feels so formulaic but the verses are pretty good. Same thing goes for Leap of Faith, that chorus comes out of nowhere and just doesn’t belong but they had pretty good rhythm for the verses. Definitely a step in the right direction.
Thanks for commenting! Interesting points…