HellYeah almost quit amid 'toxic' atmosphere

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By ( Louder ) published

Band say they were close to imploding until they sacked Zilla and Tribbett

HellYeah came close to splitting for good before sacking former members Greg Tribbett and Bob Zilla.

Singer Chad Gray and guitarist Tom Maxwell have given more details on their parting with guitar player Tribbett and bassist Zilla.

Maxwell tells Loudwire: “They just pretty much had a lot of other stuff going on in their life that just took the focus of the band away, and for us to continue, we had to part ways with them.

“It was a toxic situation that almost broke the band up. They just couldn’t get it together and it was a very painful time for us, it was very emotional, but I think with the love we have for each other and the band, we needed to kind of do the worst case scenario and part ways with them.”

Frontman Gray says the recording sessions for new album Blood For Blood were hard on the band as the atmosphere between the members grew more tense. But his friendship with Maxwell and drummer Vinnie Paul won through in the end.

He says: “This is such a heavy record on so many levels — it’s not just the anger, the frustration, the angst, but its also the helplessness that we felt.” HellYeah replaced Zilla wit Kyle Sanders and touring guitarist Christian Brady has taken over from Tribbett.

Meanwhile, Greg Tribbett has inked a deal with Strong Management as a producer and songwriter and hopes to get back to work as soon as possible.

Hellyeah on their lineup changes