HELLYEAH Is ‘On Hiatus’, Says ROY MAYORGA

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Roy Mayorga has confirmed that HELLYEAH is "on hiatus." The 51-year-old drummer, who toured with HELLYEAH as the replacement for PANTERA drum legend Vinnie Paul Abbott, addressed the band's current status during an appearance on the latest episode of the "The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live!" Internet show. Asked if HELLYEAH is still a functioning band these days, Mayorga said: "Not right now, 'cause [HELLYEAH singer] Chad [Gray] is on his way to go do [the] MUDVAYNE [reunion shows]. So those guys are on hiatus for right now." Last December, Gray said during a Headbangers Con live virtual panel that HELLYEAH was "in a holding pattern right now [due to the coronavirus pandemic]. I don't have any new music," he admitted. "I've been telling Tom [Maxwell, HELLYEAH guitarist] to get me some riffs so I can write, because right now is a great time to fucking write. So we'll just have to see, man. Obviously, we need to get together and write some music. But, yeah, I mean, hopefully. It's all fucked up right now, nobody knows what's going on with anything." Mayorga stepped in as Vinnie Paul's replacement for the touring activity in support of HELLYEAH's sixth album, "Welcome Home", which came out in September 2019. In September, Maxwell told "The Ex-Man" podcast that he wasn't sure there would be a follow-up album to "Welcome Home". "When [Vinnie Paul] died — I'm not gonna lie — my passion, my love affair died as well with him," Tom said. "I don't even know if I wanna make another HELLYEAH record without him. Mayorga's addition to HELLYEAH was made official in May 2019. At the time, the band said Roy was the perfect guy to take Vinnie Paul's place. "These men had so much love and mutual respect for each other, this makes our transition so much easier," HELLYEAH said in a statement. Mayorga previously played with HELLYEAH bassist Kyle Sanders in MEDICATION, the early 2000s outfit which also featured guitarist Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD) and singer Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE). Vinnie Paul died in June 2018 of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart. Not long before his death, Vinnie laid down the drum tracks for "Welcome Home".