Hellyeah released Welcome Home on September 27, 2019, through Eleven Seven Music. Their sixth studio album contained Vinnie Paul’s final drum recordings, completed before his death interrupted the sessions. Finishing it meant returning to music they had started together, then adding “Skyy and Water,” a song written in his memory.
The band had been recording in Las Vegas with producer Kevin Churko when Paul died in June 2018. Although his drum parts were finished, the album still needed work, leaving the surviving members to decide whether they could continue. Guitarist Christian Brady told MusicRadar that the completed performances were central to that decision. “If Vinnie’s tracks hadn’t been done, it would have been a different story,” he said. They felt responsible for making his final work available to the people who loved him.
Tom Maxwell recalled returning to the sessions within a month of Paul’s burial. In a September 2019 interview with Revolver, the guitarist described finishing the record as an important step in processing the loss together. Paul had left them complete performances to work with, sparing the band the task of finding someone to reconstruct unfinished drum parts. Completing the album carried both relief and sadness.
Before that loss, Maxwell had already wanted Welcome Home to take musical risks. He told Loudwire that he and Paul had discussed moving beyond familiar approaches and allowing themselves to feel uncertain about the results. The slide guitar on “Perfect” was one example of the different textures they explored. Churko provided some continuity through that process: this was Hellyeah’s third album with him, and Maxwell told Outburn that their established working relationship helped them attempt unfamiliar ideas.
The title track had also been written before Paul’s death. Its meaning changed afterward. Maxwell explained to Screamer Magazine that Chad Gray’s original message addressed loneliness and the possibility of finding somewhere to belong. Once Paul was gone, listeners could hear “Welcome Home” as a reunion with the family members he had lost. That interpretation emerged from the circumstances surrounding the release rather than the song’s original intention.
“Skyy and Water” was different. Written after Paul’s death, it was the album’s direct farewell to him, with an arrangement that omitted drums. Maxwell described it to Outburn as a letter expressing what the band wanted to tell their friend. Its video, released alongside the album, used footage of Paul assembled by Wombat Fire, placing moments from his life with Hellyeah alongside the tribute.
Returning to the stage required another adjustment. Roy Mayorga joined the band for its May 2019 memorial performance and subsequent touring. His friendship with Paul mattered to the musicians as much as his ability behind the kit. Maxwell told Outburn that Mayorga studied the parts extensively, but the band also encouraged him to incorporate his own playing style. The recordings preserved Paul’s performances while the concerts required the remaining members to learn how to work together without him.
On the album itself, Paul had the final word. The closing track, “Irreplaceable,” contains a message recorded at the wedding reception of the band’s merchandise colleague, Luke. Maxwell told Screamer Magazine that cameras had been available for guests to leave messages, and he wanted Paul’s contribution included. After the band’s farewell, Welcome Home ends with their drummer’s voice encouraging people to enjoy themselves.
