HELLYEAH release "Skyy and Water," a touching tribute to the late Vinnie Paul

Credit: Wombat Fire

HELLYEAH‘s new album Welcome Home, featuring the final recordings of late drummer Vinnie Paul, is out today, and it includes a stripped-down, heartfelt tribute to Paul called “Skyy and Water.”

Over hazy black-and-white footage of Paul backstage and onstage in front of cheering crowds, lead singer Chad Gray sings, “‘Choking back my tears again today, I can hear your voice/I can hear you say, ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff and just keep on keeping on’/…I’ll see you/Where the skyy meets the water.”

Gray says of Welcome Home, “We have to keep flying [Vinnie’s] flag, to carry on legacies, and to carry on what heavy metal truly represents — and that is loyalty, that is love, and that is trust.”

Guitarist Tom Maxwell adds, “I think Vince would be proud of what we’ve done. Chad really nailed it vocally and lyrically. We went out of the box a bit on this album. Left the studio a few times a little uncertain, but we tried new stuff, and we’re eager to see what people think of it.”

Of the 11 tracks on Welcome Home, Paul heard two before he died in June of 2018, one of which is the album opener, “333.” Roy Mayorga of Stone Sour has been playing drums in Paul’s place.

HELLYEAH will kick off a fall North American headlining tour in support of Welcome Home on November 15 in Cincinnati, OH. The trek, also featuring Nonpoint, wraps up December 19 in Phoenix, AZ.

Here are the tour dates:

11/15 — Cincinnati, OH, Bogarts
11/16 — Peoria, IL, Monarch Music Hall
11/19 — Toronto, ON, Phoenix Concert Hall
11/20 — London, ON, London Music Theatre
11/22 — Flint, MI, The Machine Shop
11/24 — Angola, IN, The Eclectic Room
11/26 — Belvidere, IL, The Apollo Theatre
11/27 — Madison, WI, Majestic Theatre
11/29 — Colorado Springs, CO, Black Sheep
12/2 — Missoula, MT, Palace Theatre
12/3 — Billings, MT, Pub Station
12/5 — Calgary, AB, Palace Theatre
12/6 — Edmonton, AB, Union Hall
12/8 — Vancouver, BC, The Imperial
12/10 — Seattle, WA, El Corazon
12/11 — Spokane, WA, Knitting Factory
12/12 — Boise, ID, Revolution
12/14 — Chico, CA, Senator Theatre
12/15 — Sacramento, CA, Ace Of Spades
12/17 — San Diego, CA, House of Blues
12/18 — Los Angeles, CA, Regent Theater
12/19 — Phoenix, AZ, Van Buren