Mudvayne
Template:Use American English Template:Short description
Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois, in 1996.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over five million records worldwide.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The group consists of lead guitarist Greg Tribbett, drummer Matthew McDonough, lead vocalist Chad Gray, bassist Ryan Martinie and live rhythm guitarist Marcus Rafferty. The band became popular in the late-1990s Peoria underground music scene,Template:Citation needed and they found success with the single "Dig" from their debut album L.D. 50 (2000). After releasing four more albums and touring relentlessly for nearly a decade, Mudvayne went on hiatus in 2010. They reunited in 2021 and continue to perform live.<ref name="reunionblab">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="summerfest">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
Early days, Kill, I Oughtta and L.D. 50 (1996–2001)Edit
Mudvayne, formed in 1996 in Peoria, Illinois, originally consisted of guitarist Greg Tribbett, drummer Matthew McDonough and bassist Shawn Barclay.<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /> The band's lineup was finalized a matter of months later when Chad Gray, who was earning $40,000 a year in a factory, quit his day job to become its lead singer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1997, Mudvayne financed its debut EP, Kill, I Oughtta.<ref name="sprung">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Sharpe-Young" />
During the EP's recording, Barclay was replaced by Ryan Martinie, former bassist for the progressive rock band Broken Altar.<ref name=encyclopediametallum /> After self-distributing Kill, I Oughtta,<ref name=sprung /><ref name="Sharpe-Young" /> Mudvayne adopted stage names and face paint.<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /><ref name="Dansby">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Bienstock">Template:Cite book</ref>
Chuck Toler managed the band as they recorded their 2000 debut album L.D. 50.<ref name="Bienstock" /><ref name="Hay">Template:Cite magazine</ref> For the album, Mudvayne experimented with a ragged, dissonant sound; a sound collage, prepared for the album, was used as a series of interludes.<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> L.D. 50 was produced by the band and Garth Richardson,<ref name="McIver">Template:Cite book</ref> with executive production by Slipknot member Shawn Crahan and Slipknot manager Steve Richards.<ref name="Sharpe-Young">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hay" />
L.D. 50 peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and No. 85 on the Billboard 200.<ref name=LD50Charts>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The singles "Dig" and "Death Blooms" peaked at No. 33 and No. 32 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.<ref name=LD50Charts /> Although the album was praised,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> some critics found the band hard to take seriously.<ref name="Ruhlmann">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
To promote L.D. 50, Mudvayne played on the Tattoo the Earth tour with Nothingface, Slayer, Slipknot and Sevendust. Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell became friends with Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray, and they explored the possibility of a supergroup. The following year, Nothingface again toured with Mudvayne; although plans for a supergroup continued, they were put on hold due to scheduling conflicts. Gray and Maxwell had discussed five names for the group, and Mudvayne guitarist Greg Tribbett approached Maxwell "out of the blue" to join it. Although Nothingface drummer Tommy Sickles played on the group's demo, the search for another drummer began.<ref name="Rvr">Jon Wiederhorn, "Hellyeah: Night Riders", Revolver, March 2007, p. 60-64 (link to Revolver back issues Template:Webarchive)</ref>
The End of All Things to Come and Lost and Found (2002–2005)Edit
In 2002, Mudvayne released The End of All Things to Come, which the band considers its "black album" due to its largely-black artwork.<ref name=blacklight>Template:Cite news</ref> Isolation inspired the album's songs. During its mixing, Gray and McDonough stopped at Bob's Big Boy and Gray remembered overhearing someone "say something like, ' ... and he's got to cut his own eye out'". When he asked McDonough if he heard the conversation McDonough said he hadn't, and Gray thought it was someone discussing a scene from a screenplay.<ref name=Harris />
The album expanded on L.D. 50, with a wider range of riffs, tempos, moods and vocals.<ref name=Wiederhorn>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Because of this experimentation, Entertainment Weekly called this album more "user-friendly" than its predecessor<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and it was one of 2002's most acclaimed heavy-metal albums, it was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The music video for the single "Not Falling" demonstrated Mudvayne's change in appearance from L.D. 50, with the musicians transformed into veined creatures with white, egg-colored bug eyes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2003, Mudvayne participated in the Summer Sanitarium Tour, headlined by Metallica,<ref name="MTV_20050302"/> and in September, Chad Gray appeared on V Shape Mind's debut studio album Cul-De-Sac.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In January 2004, the band began work on its third album, produced by Dave Fortman.<ref name="MTV_20050302"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As for the previous album, Mudvayne withdrew to write songs; they moved into a house, writing the album in four months before recording began after the Summer Sanitarium tour ended.<ref name="MTV_20050302"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In February, Gray and Martinie expressed an interest in appearing on Within The Mind – In Homage to the Musical Legacy of Chuck Schuldiner, a tribute to the founder of the metal band Death,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but the album was never produced.
In 2005, Chad Gray established independent record label Bullygoat Records and Bloodsimple's debut album, A Cruel World (with a guest appearance by Gray), appeared in March.<ref name=loftus-bloodsimple>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On April 12, Mudvayne released Lost and Found. The album's first single, "Happy?", featured complex guitar work and Gray described "Choices" as "the eight-minute opus".<ref name="MTV_20050302"/>
In August, former Mudvayne bassist Shawn Barclay released his band Sprung's debut album, mastered by King's X guitarist Ty Tabor.<ref name=sprung /> That month, rumors spread that Bullygoat Records would release We Pay Our Debt Sometimes: A Tribute to Alice in Chains, with performances by Mudvayne, Cold, Audioslave, Breaking Benjamin, Static-X and the surviving members of Alice in Chains. A spokesperson for Alice in Chains told the press that the band was unaware of any tribute album, and Mudvayne's manager said that reports of the album were only rumors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In September, the band met with director Darren Lynn Bousman, whose film Saw II was in production and would include "Forget to Remember" from Lost and Found. Bousman showed them a scene of a man cutting his eye out of his skull to retrieve a key. When Gray told Bousman about the conversation at Bob's Big Boy two years earlier, Bousman said he holds his production meetings at the restaurant and Saw II was based on a screenplay he wrote years earlier.<ref name=Harris /> Gray appeared briefly in the film, and the music video for "Forget to Remember" contained clips from Saw II.<ref name=Harris>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The New Game and Mudvayne (2006–2009)Edit
In 2006, Gray, Tribbett and Tom Maxwell were joined by former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul for the supergroup Hellyeah. On March 8, when Mudvayne and Korn performed at the KBPI Birthday Bash in Denver, Thornton waitress Nicole LaScalia was injured during Mudvayne's set.<ref name=Paton /> Two years later, LaScalia filed a lawsuit against radio station owner Clear Channel Broadcasting, concert promoter Live Nation, the University of Denver and members of Mudvayne and Korn.<ref name=Paton /> During the summer, Gray, Tribbett, Maxwell and Paul recorded an album as Hellyeah.<ref name="Interview with Tom Maxwell">Template:Cite magazine</ref> After a tour with Sevendust, Mudvayne released the 2007 retrospective By the People, for the People (compiled from selections chosen by fans on the band's website).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album debuted at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 22,000 copies in its first week.<ref name=Harris /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After Gray and Tribbett returned from touring with Hellyeah, Mudvayne began recording The New Game with Dave Fortman.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the album's 2008 release, Fortman told MTV that it would be followed in six months by another full-length record.<ref name="Headbangers Blog">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
For its self-titled fifth album, Mudvayne hoped to create a "white album", describing its cover art.<ref name=blacklight /> The album, printed with blacklight paint, was only visible under a black light (a light whose wavelength is primarily ultraviolet).<ref name="roadrunnerrecords.com">Template:Cite news</ref> Mudvayne was recorded in the summer of 2008<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and released in 2009.
Hiatus (2010–2021)Edit
In 2010, Mudvayne again paused to allow Gray and Tribbett to tour with Hellyeah, and, because of the supergroup's album releases, the band would be on hiatus until at least 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> With Hellyeah, Tribbett has recorded three albums: Hellyeah, Stampede and Band of Brothers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gray has contributed to an additional fourth, fifth and sixth albums, Blood for Blood, Unden!able and Welcome Home.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012, Ryan Martinie toured with Korn as a temporary replacement for bassist Reginald Arvizu, who remained at home during his wife's pregnancy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The following year, Martinie played bass on Kurai's debut EP, Breaking the Broken,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2014, Tribbett left Hellyeah.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Reunion (2021–present)Edit
On April 19, 2021, Mudvayne announced that they had reunited and would play their first shows in 12 years in the fall, which included festival appearances at Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo in Mansfield, Aftershock in Sacramento and Welcome to Rockville in Florida; concert promoter and festival organizer Danny Wimmer stated that these would be the band's only live appearances for 2021. The band were previously scheduled to also appear at Louder Than Life in Louisville, before the performance was canceled on September 21 due to Gray and some staff members contracting COVID-19.<ref name="reunionblab"/><ref name="reunion">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The members of Mudvayne have reportedly discussed the possibility of new material.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The band's reunion resumed in the summer of 2022 with appearances at Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids and Rock Fest in Cadott,<ref name=summerfest/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> followed by their first US tour in 13 years, which saw Mudvayne co-headline the Freaks on Parade tour with Rob Zombie.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The tour's stop in Tampa made headlines when during one show, Gray fell off the stage while performing the song "Not Falling".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gray himself noted the irony, and joked it was "amazing"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and "unbelievable".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Musical style and influencesEdit
Mudvayne is noted for its musical complexity,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> complex meters and polyrhythms.<ref name=biamonte>Template:Cite book</ref> The band's music contains what McDonough calls "number symbolism", where certain riffs correspond to lyrical themes.<ref name="Bienstock" /> Mudvayne has incorporated elements of death metal,<ref name="Bienstock" /><ref name="Wiederhorn" /> jazz,<ref name=guitarinteractivemagazine>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> jazz fusion,<ref name="Wiederhorn" /><ref name="Ratliff">Template:Cite magazine</ref> progressive rock,<ref name="Bienstock" /><ref name="Wiederhorn" /><ref name=guitarinteractivemagazine/><ref name=Valdez /><ref name=launch /> speed metal,<ref name="Bienstock" /> thrash metal<ref name=guitarinteractivemagazine/> and world music.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref name="morningcall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Mudvayne's influences include Tool, Pantera, King Crimson, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carcass, Deicide, Emperor, Miles Davis, Black Sabbath, Rush,<ref name="KAOS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Metallica, Slayer, Korn, and Deftones.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mudvayne have repeatedly expressed admiration for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and were influenced by the film during the recording of L.D. 50.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Although Mudvayne has described its style as "math rock"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and "math metal",<ref name="morningcall" /><ref name="Sheaffer">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=dangelo>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> drummer Matthew McDonough said in 2009: "I honestly don't know what 'math metal' is. I made a joke early on in Mudvayne's career that we used an abacus in writing. It seems I should be careful making jokes in interviews. I don't really see Mudvayne as an innovator in anything."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Music critics and journalists have categorized the band as alternative metal,<ref name=Monger>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Torreano>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Byrne>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Dominic>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> nu metal,<ref name=phillips>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=udo>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=nme>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=billboard>Template:Cite magazine</ref> experimental metal,<ref name=Dominic /> extreme metal,<ref name=Dominic /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> hard rock,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Telegram">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> heavy metal,<ref name=Paton>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Sheaffer" /><ref name=Potter>Template:Cite news</ref> math metal,<ref name=dangelo /><ref name=Dominic /> groove metal,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> neo-progressive metal,<ref name=Dominic /> neo-progressive rock,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> progressive rock,<ref name="Bienstock" /><ref name=Valdez>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name=launch>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and progressive metal.<ref name=Valdez /><ref name=dangelo /><ref name=Dominic /><ref name=wedge>Template:Cite news</ref> Eli Enis of Revolver magazine wrote that the band "wriggled between nu-metal, alt-metal, prog and hard rock in a way that remains completely unrivaled to this day. No one else has or ever will sound quite like them."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
AppearanceEdit
Although Mudvayne was known for its appearance, Gray described its aesthetic as "music first, visuals second".<ref name="MTV_20050302"/> When L.D. 50 was released, the band performed in horror film-style makeup.<ref name="Hay" /> Epic Records initially promoted Mudvayne without focusing on its members; early promotional materials featured a logo instead of photos of the band, but its appearance and music videos publicized L.D. 50.<ref name="Hay" /> The members of Mudvayne were originally known by the stage names Kud, sPaG, Ryknow and Gurrg.<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /> At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards (where they won the MTV2 Award for "Dig"), the band appeared in white suits with bloody bullet-hole makeup on their foreheads.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After 2002, Mudvayne changed makeup styles (from multicolored face paint to extraterrestrials) for promotional photos and changed their stage names to Chüd, Güüg, Rü-D, and Spüg,<ref name="aliens">Template:Cite news</ref> though they would continue to perform in the horror-style makeup live. According to the band, the extravagant makeup added a visual aspect to their music and set them apart from other metal bands.<ref name="Concorde2">Template:Cite news</ref> From 2003 up until their dissolution, Mudvayne largely abandoned the use of makeup to avoid image comparisons with the band Slipknot.<ref name="MTV_20050302">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> With their 2021 reunion, they began wearing makeup again when performing live.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Band membersEdit
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2 Current members
- Greg Tribbett (a.k.a. Gurrg,<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /> Güüg<ref name="aliens"/>) – lead guitar, backing vocals Template:Small
- Matthew McDonough (a.k.a. sPaG,<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /> Spüg<ref name="aliens"/>) – drums, keyboards Template:Small
- Chad Gray (a.k.a. Kud,<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /> Chüd<ref name="aliens"/>) – lead vocals Template:Small
- Ryan Martinie (a.k.a. Ryknow,<ref name="Sharpe-Young" /> Rü-D<ref name="aliens"/>) – bass Template:Small
Touring musicians
- Marcus Rafferty – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Template:Small<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Aaron Mercier – lead guitar Template:Small<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Col-2 Former members
- Shawn Barclay – bass Template:Small
Timeline <timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:90 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1996 till:{{#time:m/d/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1997 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1996
Colors =
id:v value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:bv value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:g value:green legend:Guitars id:b value:blue legend:Bass id:d value:orange legend:Drums,_keyboards id:alb value:black legend:Studio_album id:ep value:gray(0.9) legend:EP id:rei value:gray(0.7) legend:Reissue id:comp value:gray(0.5) legend:Compilation
LineData =
layer:back at:06/01/1997 color:ep at:08/22/2000 color:alb at:11/20/2001 color:rei at:11/19/2002 color:alb at:09/30/2003 color:ep at:04/12/2005 color:alb at:11/27/2007 color:comp at:11/18/2008 color:alb at:12/21/2009 color:alb
PlotData =
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,–4) bar:Chad Gray from:03/01/1996 till:02/10/2010 color:v bar:Chad Gray from:04/19/2021 till:end color:v bar:Greg Tribbett from:start till:02/10/2010 color:g bar:Greg Tribbett from:03/01/1996 till:02/10/2010 color:bv width:3 bar:Greg Tribbett from:04/19/2021 till:end color:g bar:Greg Tribbett from:04/19/2021 till:end color:bv width:3 bar:Shawn Barclay from:start till:02/28/1997 color:b bar:Ryan Martinie from:03/01/1997 till:02/10/2010 color:b bar:Ryan Martinie from:04/19/2021 till:end color:b bar:Matthew McDonough from:start till:02/10/2010 color:d bar:Matthew McDonough from:04/19/2021 till:end color:d
</timeline>
DiscographyEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
Studio albums
- L.D. 50 (2000)
- The End of All Things to Come (2002)
- Lost and Found (2005)
- The New Game (2008)
- Mudvayne (2009)
Awards and nominationsEdit
MTV Video Music Awards Template:Awards table |- | 2001 || "Dig" || MTV2 Award || Template:Won
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Grammy Awards Template:Awards table |- | 2006 || "Determined" || Best Metal Performance || Template:Nom
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ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
External linksEdit
- {{#if:|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
- Mudvayne on Facebook
- Mudvayne on MySpace
- Mudvayne on Twitter