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Sometimes a simple pleasure is a pleasure all the same. Hellyeah are never going to amount to more than the sum of their parts and are as stubborn as a mule when it comes to the idea of musical progression, but, despite Blood For Blood plodding along in such a straight and uncomplicated fashion, you’d have to be a pretty stone-faced individual to deny that a) this is the best Hellyeah have ever sounded, and b) the album is a totally enjoyable experience.

Opener Sangre Por Sangre is a beefy, staccato stomper that sets the tone of the record perfectly. Rudimentary, instant and satisfyingly aggressive, it could be the mantra for a set of songs that have trimmed the fat of previous releases, leaving tracks like Moth and Cross To Bier (Cradle Of Bones) conjuring up images of pumping fists and banging heads of a field full of rabid fans on festival sites the world over. And that is the point of Hellyeah.

Blood For Blood may not make any critics’ end-of-year lists, but with a cold beer in your hand and the sun beating down on your back, this is the perfect accompaniment.

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.