PanterA Rawks's blog: "HELLYEAH INFO"

Hell Yeah delivers a rollicking 21-drum salute By NIYAZ PIRANI The Orange County Register "Hell Yeah" The recent spate of rock supergroups – Audioslave, Velvet Revolver and Army of Anyone, among others – certainly isn't a new trend. But when a supergroup, specifically the aptly titled Hell Yeah, is the reason for Pantera/Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul's triumphant return to the kit after his brother "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's onstage murder in 2004, there's certainly cause to cheer. Hell Yeah, rounded out by Mudvayne's Chad Gray (vocals) and Greg Tribbett (guitar) plus guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Jerry Montano from Nothingface, has taken a few pages out of Pantera's songbook, crafting hard-hitting "cowboy metal" that begs to be cranked to maximum volume. The self-titled opening track showcases what the band is all about – mainly furious drumming fused to whiplash licks and infectious scream-along choruses. The frenzied attack only gets heavier as the disc wears on, especially during the machine-gun fills of "Matter of Time" and "Rotten to the Core." The fun the band had making the record is especially evident in Gray's vocals. Fans will immediately notice the difference in tone, how his voice carries this effort in comparison to how he wails as the somber, brooding mouthpiece of his own math-metal unit. Prime twist: the rocking-chair-and-a-Bud-light vibe of "Alcohaulin' Ass," which, along with "Thank You," adds nice contrast to the album's resolute heaviness. Classic thrash and metal riffs soar on nearly every track, in what seems to be a throwback to "Dimebag" – and it all comes together as one the best metal discs, so far, of 2007. If anything, at 44 minutes, it's too short. Grade: A- Contact the writer: 714-445-6689 or npirani@ocregister.com ********A- HUH????? A++ MOTHERFUCKER!!!!*******

HELLYEAH, the new band featuring former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott alongside members of MUDVAYNE and NOTHINGFACE, will hit the road beginning around May 20 with dates in the U.S. before heading over to Australia and making its way to England for an appearance at this year's Download festival. In a live interview that was broadcast Monday night (April 9) on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline", HELLYEAH bassist Jerry Montano (also of NOTHINGFACE) stated about the group's plans, "It's looking like we're gonna be hitting the road around May 20. Looks like it's upstate New York, and kind of coming all the way down through Ohio and down back to Texas. So we're gonna be out for a few weeks — maybe two and a half weeks — before we had over to Australia, the Download festival [at Doninton Park in England] and maybe another club date in London and then back here for [the] Family Values [tour]. So we're gonna be out doing it up." As previously reported, HELLYEAH will be stream its album-release party live via webcam from Vinnie Paul's Clubhouse in Dallas, TX tonight (Tueday, April 10). Fans can sign up to watch at this location. The webcam feed is being broadcast from the virtual home of the Clubhouse on Weblo, the Internet's hottest virtual world. The live feed is scheduled to begin around 9:00 p.m. CST/10:00 p.m. EST. Commented the band: "It'll be the usual beer-drinkin', hell-raisin' good time with a bevy of beauties, so stop by and throw down for a while." Best Buy is offering an exclusive version of HELLYEAH's self-titled debut album, featuring an acoustic/demo version of "Alcohaulin' Ass" as a bonus track. In addition, "Hellyeah" will be on sale for $9.99 through Best Buy when it comes out today. For more information, visit www.bestbuy.com. HELLYEAH is recently made the video for its first single, "You Wouldn't Know", available for viewing at YouTube. The clip was shot on February 25, 2007 with director Nathan Cox. HELLYEAH will take part in this summer's Family Values Tour. The official announcement was made March 26 via VirtualKorn.MTV.com. Also taking part in the tour are EVANESCENCE, ATREYU, TRIVIUM and FLYLEAF, alongside headliners KORN.

lol it was fun to make

Former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul lost the fire to play over a year-and-a-half ago when his brother Dimebag Darrell was shot dead during a show. The event has left a permanent emotional scar with Paul, and he had previously said that all his desire to play had gone. It turns out that although Paul lost a part of him the night of the shooting, it was Van Halen's Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, which made him realize how much he loved music. "I totally got the fire to play, man. I went down to Cabo last year around October for Sammy Hagar's birthday. He invited me down and I played with Sammy and Michael [Anthony] for a week down there, half of Van Halen, which is one of my favorite bands ever, and it really helped me to realize how much I missed the drums." Vinnie Paul also told us that he's got a new band, and he shared with us the details that he was allowed to, legally. "...and I've got a new band. I can't tell you about it, but the record's done. It'll be out in February, and you'll be one of the first to hear it. We've just got to get a lot of the legal loose ends tied up, but it is badass and I'm really excited about it. It's heavy of course. It's in the vein of everything I've ever been a part of. But as far as being able to speculate on it any further I'm just going to have to wait." Vinnie Paul Abbott formed Pantera with brother Dimebag Darrell Abbott back in 1983, but the first album by the band featuring Phil Anselmo didn't hit stores until 1988.

HELLYEAH has announced an April 2007 release date for their self- titled debut on Epic Records. The highly anticipated release features MUDVAYNE lead singer Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett, former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul and NOTHINGFACE guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Jerry Montano. The quintet includes three of hard rock’s most revered and valuable players, with careers highlighted by an astonishing run of chart- topping gold and platinum albums, major industry awards, critical acclaim, Grammy nominations and music of monolithic power. The March 2006 issue of REVOLVER magazine features a cover story that hails the band as “the ultimate metal super group.” “Tom, Jerry and I have been talking about working together ever since we staggered through the streets of New Orleans five years ago,” says Mudvayne/HELLYEAH vocalist Chad "Helvis" Gray. "I mentioned it to Greg and he immediately wanted in, and when Vinnie came on board the whole thing just took on a life of its own. This was a must-do project for all of us.”

Launch Radio Networks reports: EVANESCENCE is slated to co-headline this summer's Family Values tour with KORN, marking the first time that EVANESCENCE has appeared on a U.S. touring festival. Singer Amy Lee told Launch that she and her bandmates are thrilled with the idea of being part of a bigger lineup of acts. "Well, obviously we're KORN fans, but there's a lot of cool bands on the bill and when you're on one of those shows that's a bunch of bands and not just like two or three, you basically get to spend the whole day listening to music and watching other bands perform," she said. "And not only is it really fun and inspiring, but it takes a lot of the pressure off, because you're not like (laughs) the only band that everyone's relying on, you know, at the end of the night to play for like an hour and a half and not make any mistakes. So we're all very excited." Family Values starts on July 20 in St. Louis and also features FLYLEAF, HELLYEAH, TRIVIUM and ATREYU. EVANESCENCE recently filmed a video for "Sweet Sacrifice", the new single from the band's 2006 album, "The Open Door". The group is currently in the midst of a U.S. tour with openers CHEVELLE and FINGER ELEVEN that brings it to Reading, Pennsylvania on Monday night (April 2). The trek ends on April 5 in Glens Fall, New York, after which EVANESCENCE will head to South America, South Africa and Europe.