The group consist of Chad Gray (lead vocals), Greg Tribbett (guitar, vocals), Ryan Martinie (bass guitar) and Matthew McDonough (drums). Formed in 1996, Mudvayne became popular in the late-1990s Decatur, Illinois underground music scene. The band released an EP, Kill, I Oughtta, in 1997 and a successful debut album, L.D. 50, in 2000. They had global success with The End of All Things to Come, Lost and Found and The New Game, the band went on hiatus in 2010 and reunited in 2021.
The band was inactive since 2010, with its members performing in other projects and making guest appearances. Chad Gray is the vocalist for the heavy metal supergroup Hellyeah, to which Greg Tribbett was also a member until 2014. Gray founded an independent record label, Bullygoat Records, which produces heavy-metal albums. In early 2015, Chad Gray noted that the band's return seemed very unlikely, unless "everybody licked their wounds and got over it".
Early days (1996–97)
Mudvayne, formed in 1995 in Bloomington, Illinois, originally consisted of bassist Shawn Barclay, guitarist Greg Tribbett and drummer Matthew McDonough. The band's original lineup finalized when Chad Gray, who was earning $40,000 a year in a factory, quit his day job to become its singer. In 1997 Mudvayne financed its debut EP, Kill, I Oughtta.
During the EP's recording Barclay was replaced by Ryan Martinie, former bassist for the progressive-rock band Broken Altar. After self-distributing Kill, I Oughtta, Mudvayne adopted stage names and face paint.
L.D. 50 (1998–2000)
In April 1998 local promoter Steve Soderstrom introduced Mudvayne to its original manager, Chuck Toler, who helped obtain a contract with Epic Records and record the 2000 debut studio album L.D. 50. For the album, Mudvayne experimented with a ragged, dissonant sound; a sound collage, prepared for the album, was used as a series of interludes. L.D. 50 was produced by Garth Richardson, with executive production by Slipknot member Shawn Crahan.
L.D. 50 peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and No. 85 on the Billboard 200. The singles "Dig" and "Death Blooms" peaked at No. 33 and No. 32 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Although the album was praised, some critics found the band hard to take seriously.
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.
The End of All Things to Come (2001–02)
In 2002 Mudvayne released The End of All Things to Come, which the band considers its "black album" due to its largely-black artwork. 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.
The album expanded on L.D. 50, with a wider range of riffs, tempos, moods and vocals. Because of this experimentation, Entertainment Weekly called this album more "user-friendly" than its predecessor and it was one of 2002's most acclaimed heavy-metal albums. The music video for the single "Not Falling" demonstrated the Mudvayne's change in appearance from L.D. 50, with the musicians transformed into veined creatures with white, egg-colored bug eyes.
Lost and Found (2003–05)
In 2003 Mudvayne participated in the Summer Sanitarium Tour, headlined by Metallica, and in September Chad Gray appeared on V Shape Mind's debut studio album Cul-De-Sac. The following year the band began work on its third album, produced by Dave Fortman. As for the previous album, Mudvayne withdrew to write songs; they moved into a house, writing the album in four months before recording began. 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, 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. 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".
In August former Mudvayne bassist Shawn Barclay released his band Sprung's debut album, mastered by King's X guitarist Ty Tabor. 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.
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. Gray appeared briefly in the film, and the music video for "Forget to Remember" contained clips from Saw II.
The New Game and Mudvayne (2006–09)
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. 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. During the summer, Gray, Tribbett, Maxwell and Paul recorded an album as Hellyeah. 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). The album debuted at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 22,000 copies in its first week.
After Gray and Tribbett returned from touring with Hellyeah, Mudvayne began recording The New Game with Dave Fortman. After the album's 2008 release, Fortman told MTV that it would be followed in six months by another full-length record.
For its self-titled fifth album Mudvayne hoped to create a "white album", describing its cover art. Mudvayne was recorded in the summer of 2008 in El Paso, Texas. The album, printed with blacklight paint, was only visible under a black light (a light whose wavelength is primarily ultraviolet).
Hiatus and break-up (2010–2021)
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. With Hellyeah, Gray and Tribbett have recorded three albums: Stampede, Band of Brothers and Blood for Blood. In 2012, Ryan Martinie toured with Korn as a temporary replacement for bassist Reginald Arvizu, who remained at home during his wife's pregnancy. The following year Martinie played bass on Kurai's debut EP, Breaking the Broken, and in 2014 Tribbett left Hellyeah.
In a new interview with Songfacts in 2015, Gray said that Mudvayne's return seemed unlikely: I don't know if the full band will [ever reunite]. Who knows — they might be putting something else together. We were talking for a while and that whole thing with Greg [Tribbett's 2014 departure from Hellyeah] went down and everything kind of fell apart. Our relationship, which was the only truly solid relationship in the group, although Matt [McDonough] and I are still great, Ryan [Martinie] and I still briefly talk. I mean, the only way I personally would want to do Mudvayne is if everybody licked their wounds and got over it. There's a lot of things in that band that tore us apart. Maybe Mudvayne was the martyr for people that stopped supporting music. You sell 159,000 records the first week, and then the next record is like, 'Whatever, f--k it.' Maybe it's a subliminal message if you don't support things... Mudvayne's probably bigger now than it ever was. So, people want what they can't have.
In 2015, former Mudvayne members Tribbett and McDonough formed the band Audiotopsy with Skrape vocalist Billy Keeton and bassist Perry Stern. Audiotopsy describes its sound as "progressive hard rock."
Musical style and influences
Mudvayne is noted for its musical complexity. The band's music contains what McDonough calls "number symbolism", where certain riffs correspond to lyrical themes. Mudvayne has incorporated elements of death metal, jazz fusion and progressive rock. In addition to these styles, L.D. 50 featured world music and speed metal. Although Mudvayne has been inspired by Obituary, Emperor, Tool, Pantera, Mötley Crüe, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, King Crimson, Porcupine Tree and Metallica, according to them they are not influenced by other metal bands. They 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.
Although the band has described its style as "math rock" and "math metal", drummer Matt 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.
Music critics and journalists have categorized the band as alternative metal, experimental metal, extreme metal, hard rock, heavy metal, industrial metal, math metal, metalcore, neo-progressive metal, neo-progressive rock, nu metal, progressive rock, progressive metal and shock rock.
Appearance
Although Mudvayne was known for its appearance, Gray described its aesthetic as "music first, visuals second". When L.D. 50 was released, the band performed in horror film-style makeup. 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. The members of Mudvayne were originally known by the stage names Kud, sPaG, Ryknow and Gurrg. 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.[ After 2002, Mudvayne changed makeup styles (from multicolored face paint to extraterrestrials) and changed their stage names to Chüd, Güüg, Rü-D, and Spüg. According to the band, the extravagant makeup added a visual aspect to their music and set them apart from other metal bands. Since 2003 Mudvayne has largely abandoned makeup, but said that a future return to it is not out of the question.
Discography
L.D. 50 (2000)
The End of All Things to Come (2002)
Lost and Found (2005)
The New Game (2008)
Mudvayne (2009)
All That You Are
Mudvayne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Betrayal
Repeating in my head
Insecurities
Repeating in my head
Dividends
It's not your fault
Don't be afraid to let go
Don't be afraid to start over when it's over
Let go
Let go
Let go
Let go
Let go of feelings
Let go of compromise
Hollow trunk for shelter
So dark and cold inside
I always seem to find myself alone
Jaded shell of being
Porous as a stone
Calloused
Rigid
Empty
Because of you
Let go of trusting
Lost thought for family
Let go of living
No more concerns of demise
I never seem to find rhythm for life's harmony
Contorted
Twisted broken
Without a reason
Calloused
Rigid
Empty
Because of you
It's all me
All you are
Without me
There's nothing else
There's no one
Brainwash
All you are
Without me
You're by yourself
There's no one
Hope is out of season
Lost sight
No hint of light
Get busy living or get busy dying
Calloused
Rigid
Empty
Because of you
It's all me
All you are
Without me
There's nothing else
There's no one
Brainwash
All you are
Without me
You're by yourself
There's no one
Save me
This loss
Closure my
Answer
So grant it
You owe me all that you are
Without me
You're nothing
You're no one
Terrified
Petrified
Nothing
You're no one
Do you care because I don't
Nothing
You're no one
Nobody cares so just go
Nothing
You're no one
By yourself all alone
It's all me
All you are
Without me
You're by yourself
There's no one
Brainwash
All you are
Without me
You're by yourself
There's no one
Save me
This loss
Closure my
Answer
So grant it
You owe me all that you are
Without me
You're nothing
The song "All That You Are" by Mudvayne is a melancholic portrayal of the deep wounds caused by betrayal, insecurity, and loss of trust in relationships. The repeated phrases in the lyrics of the song signify the emotional turmoil that the singer is going through. The lyrics suggest that the singer was abandoned by someone he trusted and loved, and he is unable to get over the pain caused by the loss. The singer struggles to let go of the feelings he has for the person who betrayed him, and he is gradually consumed by anger and emptiness.
The chorus of the song urges the singer to let go of his emotions, trust, and compromise, so that he can find peace and closure. The singer's inner turmoil is manifested through the lyrics, as he laments about the absence of light in his life and how he can't seem to find rhythm for life's harmony. The lyrics suggest that the singer is jaded and calloused, and his heart has turned into a hollow trunk that provides no shelter.
The song "All That You Are" by Mudvayne is a powerful depiction of the emotional trauma caused by betrayal and loss. The lyrics delve into the complexities of human relationships, and how trust and love can be shattered in an instant. The song is a poignant reminder that healing from emotional trauma takes time and effort, and letting go of emotions and relationships is often the only way to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Repeating in my head
These thoughts and feelings are stuck on loop in my mind
Betrayal
The feeling of being unfairly abandoned or mistreated
Insecurities
Doubts and anxieties about oneself and one's abilities
Dividends
Benefits or profits that were expected but not received
It's not your fault
The person addressed is not to blame for my current state
The well of thought and trust has run dry
My mental and emotional resources are depleted
Don't be afraid to let go
It's okay to release negative thoughts and emotions
Don't be afraid to start over when it's over
It's okay to move on and begin anew after a difficult situation
Let go
A repeated reminder to release negative thoughts and emotions
Let go of feelings
Suggesting the importance of releasing overwhelming emotions
Let go of compromise
Encouraging one to stop sacrificing their own wants and needs for others
Hollow trunk for shelter
A metaphor for feeling empty and alone
So dark and cold inside
Further emphasizing the sense of isolation and emptiness
I always seem to find myself alone
Continued sense of isolation and difficulty connecting with others
Jaded shell of being
Feeling worn out and disillusioned with life
Porous as a stone
Susceptible to taking in negative thoughts and feelings
Calloused
Emotionally hardened or toughened due to past experiences
Rigid
Inflexible or resistant to change
Empty
Devoid of positive emotions or experiences
Because of you
Blaming someone else for these negative emotions and experiences
Let go of trusting
Urge to stop putting faith in others who have let us down
Lost thought for family
No longer finding comfort or connection in one's familial relationships
Let go of living
Extreme disinterest in participating in life
No more concerns of demise
No longer caring what happens to oneself
I never seem to find rhythm for life's harmony
Struggling to find balance and contentment in life
Contorted
Twisted or distorted
Twisted broken
Emotionally and mentally fractured
Without a reason
Suggesting a sense of hopelessness or aimlessness
Hope is out of season
The feeling of hope is no longer available
Lost sight
Inability to see a way out of a difficult situation
No hint of light
Complete darkness and lack of hope
Get busy living or get busy dying
Either find a reason to keep going or give up altogether
Save me
Urgent plea for help
This loss
Negative experiences and emotions accumulated over time
Closure my
The need for a sense of closure, or resolution, to these negative experiences
Answer
A solution to these negative feelings and experiences
So grant it
An appeal to whatever force could provide this sense of closure or answer
You owe me all that you are
Blaming someone else for our own emotional state and demanding they give us more
Without me
Implying a sense of dependence on this other person, despite blaming them for our negative emotions
You're nothing
Belittling this other person and their worth
You're no one
Further dehumanizing and dismissing this other person
Terrified
Paralyzed with fear
Petrified
Completely unable to move or act due to fear
Nothing
The sense of worthlessness or a lack of purpose
Do you care because I don't
Questioning whether this other person cares about us, and expressing a lack of care towards them
Nobody cares so just go
Believing that no one cares about us, and feeling as though we should just leave
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHAD L. GRAY, GREG TRIBBETT, MATTHEW MCDONOUGH, RYAN MARTINIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind