The Cotillion welcomes HellYeah, 12/9.

Every night is a Friday night for HELLYEAH and their fans. No matter what thesituation,HELLYEAH's mission issingular: to provide fans with good time, spirit-lifting hard rock. When you are at a HELLYEAH show or listening to their music,everything else takes a backseat to feeling good and focusing onliving in the 'here and now.'Because that's what real life is all about. Frontman Chad Gray adds, "The band is called HELLYEAH, come on! It's like 'Hell yeah, let's do it!'"

Despite not-so-humble beginnings as an enjoyable side project for members of Pantera, Mudvayne and Nothingface, one thing is certain about HELLYEAH in 2010: this is a real band that speaks to real people withtheir new album, STAMPEDE. While the members may have built their individual reputations in mega-successful, household name metal and rock bands throughout the years, when you strip them down to their baseparts, the members of HELLYEAH aren't much different than normal, average Americans who love their music.And that's just the way the band likes it.

STAMPEDE boasts an eclectic set of tunes, with the title track coming on like a battering ram that takes outanything in its way while the thunderous, anthemic "Cowboy Way" will get the blood coursing through yourveins even if you've never roamed a range. It's a powder keg waiting to go off, one that could ignite an arena asquickly as a parking lot. Tribbett and Maxwell's relentless tandem of riffery could take out a village, while Gray flips the bird to all convention, belting out the heaviest chorus above and below the Mason-Dixon.

The uber-infectious "Hell of a Time" speaks to the people, with Gray's "Everyman" lyrical proclamations about "making it to Friday night" and about how the girl, family, friends and music are all you need in this life. The band shiftsgears for the contemplative ballad "Better Man," while "The Debt That All Men Pay" and the choppy homage to strippers, "Pole Rider," jointly administer an industrial-sized can of whoop-ass. Of course, the entire album isanchored by Paul's percussive presence, which is as formidable and ferocious it's ever been, as Gray's liquor-lubed vocals clamp down with razor-sharp teeth. The chemistry is tighter than a stripper's g-string and the musicwill stun all your senses.

T-95's Not So Silent Night 8:00 pm Thursday, December 9 featuring Hellyeah with special guests Hail theVillain plus A New Revolution. Doors open at 7:00 pm. Advance tickets are $20.00 at Select-a-Seat, TheCotillion, House of Sight & Sound (Salina) and the employee clubs. Tickets on the day of the show will be$23.00. Bring a new toy on the night of the show to receive a commemorative t-shirt! For further informationand to charge tickets by phone call 316-722-4201 or logon to thecotillion.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.