Hellyeah roles into baltimore with "Balls" tour
Laila Hanson
Issue date: 12/11/07 Section: Arts & Society
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On Wednesday at Ram's Head Live, southern rocker/metal super group Hellyeah hit Baltimore full-force, with self-played instruments and self-written, meaningful lyrics. The band, which has made headlines because of its lineup, is currently on their Balls, Volume and Strength Tour with New York hardcore fiends Bloodsimple and the LA-based metal driven, spoken word-inspired Otep.
Hellyeah released their debut self-titled album earlier this year, and already sales are topping a quarter of a million. This may be due to the fact that the band is made up of a wide array of metal gods. Former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul is a crowd favorite at every live show. When Paul was still in Damageplan, a drunken fan at a show shot down and killed his brother and band mate, not to mention legendary guitarist, Dimebag Darrell Abbott. Hellyeah is the first band that Paul has played in since this incident. Former tattoo artist Bob Zilla is Hellyeah's bassist, also from Damageplan. Guitarist Greg Tribbett from Mudvayne has also worked with Otep on their latest album, helping to both write and play in the recording process. Tom Maxwell of Baltimore-based Nothingface is the second guitarist, rounding up the heavy sound. Finally, Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray provides the power-driven, dirty rock feel of the whole band.
The concert opened up with a guttural adaptation of The Doors', "The End" playing. This signaled the entrance of Bloodsimple, who sauntered out, drunken and flawless in stance. Wearing a plaid shirt with ripped off arms, vocalist Tim Williams roared during each song, never once taking a break to breathe or wet his lips. Although lacking in a lot of stage movement, Bloodsimple instilled heated screams and jumps from the crowd, warming up for Otep and Hellyeah.
Otep, in sharp contrast to Bloodsimple, was all about stage props and theatrics. With each song came a story, with the physical performance of lead singer Otep Shamaya matching up to the intensity of the shocking lyrics. The three instrumentalists, bassist Evil J, drummer Brian Wolff and guitarist Aaron Nordstrom were all clad in Otep-brand hoodies and sunken eye makeup, setting a mood of deep ambience.
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