History

Hellyeah's beginnings can be traced back to 2003, when Chad Grey and Tom Maxwell began discussing the possibility of a supergroup with Greg Tribbett and Jerry Montano. They couldn't decide on who to bring in on drums, but kept Vinnie Paul in mind (not only was he a friend of the members, Pantera had broken up in 2003, leaving the skinbasher without a band). The idea of Hellyeah brewed, even when Vinnie joined Damageplan. After the 2004 onstage murder of Vinnie's brother Dimebag Darrell, it became unlikely that Vinnie would ever want to play live again. After some much-needed time to recuperate, Vinnie decided in 2006 that it was time to pick up the drumsticks again. He got back in touch with Gray, Maxwell, Tribbett and Montano, and Hellyeah officially formed in 2006, and spent that summer writing and recording material. Revolver Magazine was one of the first print publications to feature the band. The self-titled track, "Hellyeah", started gaining satellite radio airplay in February 2007. According to Rockdetector, the band finished recording their debut album in January 2007, and the lead single "You Wouldn't Know" hit American radio airwaves by late February. Their self-titled effort Hellyeah was released on April 10, 2007 via Epic Records. The album debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200 album charts, with sales of just under 45,000. The first major tour announced for Hellyeah was the "Fire It Up" tour, followed by the Family Values Tour, which begins on July 20 and is to be be headlined by Korn and Evanescence. Hellyeah have also been confirmed to play the main stage at Download Festival on Saturday June 9. On April 18, 2007, it was reported, though not officially confirmed, that bassist Jerry Montano had left the band, with a replacement to be announced shortly.

original text can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellyeah