Hellyeah began in 2003 when Chad Gray from Mudvayne started talking about working with Nothingface's Jerry Montano and Tom Maxwell. When Gray was on a tour break, he visited the Nothingface guys in Maryland. A short chat and a little organization later, the trio recorded "Waging War." Returning to their respective groups, the group didn't officially connect again until three years later. When Gray's time had run out on Mudvayne, he approached the Nothingface guys again and found that the timing was finally right. With guitarist Greg Tribbett and Vinnie Paul Abbot both aboard, Hellyeah was born.

It didn't take long for the boys to create some hard core metal music; in just about seven days the boys had seven songs and were ready to start their adventure as Hellyeah. The group released their self-titled debut album in 2007 under Epic Records. Shortly after the group started to see success, Montano announced his desire for departure, stating that he was having personal problems. Until his replacement was found, Nothingface's former band member remained with the group. Bob Zilla eventually became the newest bassist.

The group started to be in high demand for metal rockers everywhere, playing at the Download Festival and Family Values Tour that year. Since then, they have continued to work on perfecting their sound, touring and creating new music that is going to have audiences everywhere rocking out to Hellyeah.