Mudvayne is an American Metal band originating from Peoria, Illinois. The band was formed in 1996. Up to date, every Mudvayne record was at least certified Gold by the RIAA, with the exception of their last release, The New Game, which, however came out in late 2008.
Biography[]
Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1996. Members are lead singer Chad Gray, guitarist Greg Tribbett, bassist Ryan Martinie and drummer Matthew McDonough. Signed onto Epic Records, Mudvayne has released four studio albums, two compilations albums, and two DVDs.
Mudvayne rose to fame in 2000 with their debut album L.D. 50, which peaked at number 85 on the Billboard 200, and #1 on Top Heatseekers and has since been certified gold by the RIAA. The lead single from the album, "Dig", won the MTV2 Award at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2001. This was also the first time the award was ever presented to a metal band. In 2006 Mudvayne was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the Grammy Awards for the single "Determined" from the band's 2005 studio album Lost and Found and for Best Hard Rock Performance for the single "Not Falling" from the band's second album, The End Of All Things To Come. Mudvayne has four gold certifications by the RIAA, and has sold more than three million records in the US, and nearly six million worldwide.
Origin[]
Mudvayne was formed in 1996. with Chad Gray, Greg Tribbett, Matt McDonough and Shawn Barclay as a bassist, however, he was replaced by the band's current bassist, Ryan Martinie.
Signing with Epic (1998)[]
A critical turning point for the band occurred in April 1998 when local promoter Steve Soderstrom hosted Soda Pop Production's "Original Hard Rock Music Showcase" at the now defunct Hub Ballroom in Edelstein, Illinois. Mudvayne along with fifty seven other Peoria bands answered the radio ad and was one of the twelve bands chosen to perform live on two stages. Soda Pop Productions followed the show up with "Shredfest" on the Peoria riverfront stage which Mudvayne also played. Steve Soderstrom contacted longtime friend and renown band manager Chuck Toler, in Madison, Wisconsin, who came down to a third show at the American Legion Hall in Washington, Illinois to see the band perform live. As a result Chuck Toler began managing the band and secured a recording contract with Epic Records.
The Album Eras[]
L.D. 50 and The Beginning of All Things to End (2000–2001)[]
The band first hit the mainstream in 2000, when they were featured on the second stage of the Tattoo the Earth Art and Music Festival Tour. They scored their first hit single with the song "Dig" from their debut album L.D. 50. For this song, the band won the first ever MTV2 Award at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2001. The popularity of the song paved the way for the highly successful album (certified gold, sold over 500,000 as of 2001) and was followed by singles "Death Blooms" and "Nothing to Gein". As before mentioned, L.D.50 was a highly successful album, that had a very good reception with critics. It is widely considered that this album pushed the boundaries of nu-metal and created something completely new. This album is considered to be one of the most innovative pieces of work in new age metal, along with Tool's Ænima or Lateralus.
The album was praised for the vocals, great drumming and strong bass presence of Ryan Martinie, who was already after the release considered as one of the most innovative and skillful bassists in metal.
In 2001, they released an extended version of the Kill, I Oughtta EP titled as The Beginning of All Things to End and continued their frequent touring. In 2001, they filmed a live performance DVD in their hometown, Peoria,IL. The DVD was named "L(ive) D(osage) 50".
The End of All Things to Come (2002–2003)[]
During the L.D. 50 era, the band was famous for wearing extravagant make-up, seen in both their music videos and live concerts, and using unusual stage names such as Kud, Gurrg, RyKnow, and sPaG. With their second album, 2002's The End of All Things to Come, the band changed make-up styles from multicolored face paint to dressing up as aliens and changing the stage names, now they were Chüd, Güüg, RüD, and Spüg. Mudvayne's reason for wearing such extravagant make-up was, according to the band, to add a visual aspect to their music and to set them apart from other run-of-the-mill metal bands. Mudvayne participated in the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, headlined by Metallica, and with the release of the 2003 single "World So Cold", Mudvayne abandoned their use of make-up entirely. The only music video showing them as aliens is the first version of a highly successful radio hit "Not Falling". More than 500,000 copies were sold worldwide.
Lost and Found (2005–2006)[]
In 2005, their third album Lost and Found was released with the band members' real names and without any gimmicks. It is their most-sold album up to date, selling around 700,000 copies in its first week.
Although Mudvayne abandoned the use of make-ups, in mid-2005, Mudvayne played on the main stage of Ozzfest, and during that tour, Chad Gray wore a monkey suit without the head, had a fake, blood-spattered face with a mohawk, and carried a baseball bat around on stage with him while singing. The other members of the band were also dressed in an unorthodox fashion. After this tour Mudvayne then started on a world tour which included Australia, North America and Europe. During their show in Sydney various Australian TV personalities made an appearance such as Nikolas Crowfoot, Mitch Jones and Craig Welton. These concerts were a great success.
Mudvayne's 2005 singles have helped to increase their popularity further. "Determined" was included on the Need for Speed: Underground 2 soundtrack. "Happy?" was featured as the theme music of the WWE Vengeance pay-per-view for World Wrestling Entertainment in June 2005, and was also featured in MX vs. ATV: Untamed. The band was featured in an episode of The Sopranos. Their single "Forget to Remember" was featured in the film Saw II. This was the second Mudvayne song to be featured in a movie, after "Not Falling", the band's first single off The End of All Things to Come featured in the 2002 film Ghost Ship. Mudvayne have also contributed to the Masters Of Horror series soundtrack with a song called "Small Silhouette". About 2 million copies of the album were sold worldwide. Right after the end of the Lost And Found tour, Mudvayne started recording their 4th album, The New Game, although the public found this out when they released it three years later, in 2008. The most successful single on this album was "Happy?" which held #1 position for a long time at the Top 10 Modern Rock Tracks.
By the People, For the People (2007–2008)[]
By the People, For the People is a compilation of demo/live versions of previously released songs (chosen by the fans), 2 b-sides, and a few introductions to some songs, 1 new song, and a cover of The Police's "King of Pain".
By the People, for the People is the second compilation album, and fifth album release by Mudvayne. It was released on November 27, 2007 by Epic Records. The album features a track listing chosen entirely by the band's fans, with the band determining which version appears on the record (e.g. live, demo, acoustic), as well as two new songs, "Dull Boy" and a cover of The Police's song "King of Pain" (both produced by Dave Fortman).
By the People, for the People is presented in a format where each song is introduced through a short interlude generally no longer than 30 seconds long, where Chad Gray debriefs the listener on surrounding facts such as where the song was recorded or performed live, or distinguishing a demo from an album version (obviously limited to in the case of demos). The album debuted at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 22,000 copies in its first week.
The New Game (2008 - 2009)[]
After the return of vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett from their touring commitments with side project Hellyeah, Mudvayne began the recording process for The New Game with producer Dave Fortman, who also produced their previous effort, Lost and Found. Fortman reported to MTV that the album will be followed six months later by a second full-length record. He also attested that while the album should please listeners, it will also incorporate a distinct rock and roll sound unheard on previous Mudvayne records. "It's heavy and has great hooks," said Fortman, "but it also has some moments that are a little more rock n' roll that are really cool. It's not anything drastic, but every now and then you'll catch a little hint of old-school rock. Also, the tones are a little more earthy sounding and somewhat warmer than Lost and Found." The album recieved more lukewarm feeling, some critics being enthusiastic about band sounding a bit more mainstream with this release, some critics pretty harsh. Still, Mudvayne maintained their level of musicanship on The New Game , although being less technically complex like previous releases.
5th studio album (2009)[]
Mudvayne's 5th studio album, was produced by Mudvayne. The not yet titled album (however it's dubbed as "Shades Of Grey") will be released this summer. The band self-produced the album with Engineer Jermey Parker who also worked on Lost and Found and The New Game while Dave Fortman was the executive producer. Mudvayne was free to do anything they wanted on this album. The album will come fully packaged with Mudvayne twists, time signature changes, and according to the band, it will be dark and will have some of the fastest and slowest songs Mudvayne has ever done. The band stated that the album will be quite different from The New Game. The album title has yet to be confirmed. It was rumoured that the album title will be "Game Over", but Ryan Martinie declined that in his recent interview stating "It's a beautiful lie. I love it".
Members[]
- Chad Grey - vocals
- Greg Tribbett - guitars and backing vocals
- Ryan Martinie - bass
- Matt McDonough - drums
Discography[]
Albums[]
- [[]]
EPs[]
- EP-name
Singles[]
- "Single-name"
Further Reading[]
http://www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=3660
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudvayne
http://www.mudvayne.com/news.php