Released: Dec 21, 2009
Genre: Alternative Metal / Groove Metal
Label: Epic
Number Of Tracks: 11
Midwestern metallers Mudvayne blast off with their fifth album and they go moodier and heavier than they have in years, mixing the fury of L.D. 50 with the growth and progression of The End of All Things to Come.
MudvayneFeatured review by: UG Team, on december 25, 2009 4 of 6 people found this review helpful
Sound: We’re not sure why Epic is pushing the new Mudvayne out at this late stage in the year. Most rock records don’t come out the week before Christmas, but whatever the case, Mudvayne’s Mudvayne represents the Peoria, Illinois band at its heaviest in years. “Beautiful and Strange,” “1000 Mile Journey” and “Scream With Me” are dosed with the crunchy riffs and moody guitar tones not seen since the band’s 2000 debut, L.D. 50 and it’s breakthrough follow-up, 2002’s The End of All Things to Come. The band doesn’t sacrifice its accessibility and commercially viable song structures but make no mistake; a song like “Beautiful and Strange” is perfect for those edgy, hard rock stations that aren’t afraid to take a risk and play a band like Mudvayne. Lest we forget the band has had a modicum of success at radio over the years and that is one of their strengths. But the rough parts have not been blunted. The band’s technical proficiency also remains firmly and fully in tact. The album opens with an eyebrow raising series of noises and it nabs your attention. The ensuing songs hold it. “Heard it All Before” is thunderous and gloomy all at once. Overall, Mudvayne is probably the most guitar-driven of all the Mudvayne platters and the band has always been pretty friggin’ guitar driven. The just up the ante on this self-titled affair. // 7
Lyrics and Singing: Chad Gray’s vocals always have a note of vitriol to them, whether he’s singing melodically or gruffly. He’s got a DNA distinct set of pipes and he doesn’t tackle goes-down-easy topics on the album. He talks about dying, laying down in graves and sucking on a shutgun and tasting the barrel of a gauge on “Scream With Me,” which could eventually become the band’s anthem for disaffected youth or even the confused post-collegiates. You can just hear the crowd singing “Stand in the closet and scream with me” with Gray at every show that the band performs this song during. It’s a dark, scary little number with an ominous nature. It’s a nice balance that Gray is able to strike; his work in Hell Yeah is much less serious and looser. Here, he doesn’t hold back the demons and unleashes them atop heady riffery. The combination works. Album closer “Dead Inside,” which starts out acoustically, is a powerful way to close an album that is anything but uplifting. Gray sings his heart out, ripping a page out of the book of the inimitable Corey Taylor of Slipknot/Stone Sour fame. What’s most applaudable is Gray’s lack of fear at exposing the roots of his emotions. On Mudvayne, you’ll feel like you really know him. // 8
Impression: Mudvayne represents growth for the platinum-selling band. It harkens back to their alternatingly humble and successful beginnings and delivers an emotional wallop that affects the listener more deeply than it ever has. Kudos to Mudvayne for laying the cards up on the table on such a chunky, masterfully metal album. // 8
Mudvayne
Reviewed by:
PunkyMetalThing, on january 05, 2010 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Mudvaynes sound to me has always been a perculiar one, some of that has been lost in recent years, but with their latest record they've gained some of that "strangeness" back. First of all, I advise any person who goes out and buys this album, to clear your mind before you listen to the record. If you expect L.D.50-2.0 you're not gonna get it, if you expect a follow up to the new game, you're not gonna get it. This record is a mix of everything that is Mudvayne, and according to the band members in recent interviews, that is the reason why it is self-titled.
The packaging itself is something rather unique, black-light reactive artwork by Paul Booth is amazing and it really is a cool concept, appearing as just plain white packaging if no black light is shined upon it, so it really is a treat.
Now enough mumbling, to the music.
The album opener 'Beautiful and Strange' is the raw opening a metal album needs, with a strange intro before we hit a massively aggressive double kick intro, before it breaks down into a nice chunky riff, definitely one of the heavier numbers on the record.
The next song '1000 Mile Journey' is really a call back to The End Of All Things To Come, it honeslty feels like it belongs on that record, drums, bass, guitar and the vocals all hit the spot on this song it's really catchy, with a sing-a-long chorus.
'Scream With Me' is the first single and you can see why, its completely and utterly radio friendly, not really getting heavy at all, that would not bother fans of 'The New Game' and 'Lost and Found' but for me, this is the low point of the album, but at only 2:52, that low point is short-lived and relatively painless.
Next up is 'Closer', now brace for it, dont be fooled by the relatively calm intro, this song is pretty heavy, but again with a nice sing-a-long catchy chorus, but those verses and bridge are some of the most brutal work by Chad Gray in years. Ryan's Bass work and Matt's Drumming really stick out on this song, but there's a nice solo in their from Greg.
'Heard It All Before' comes in next, and you will feel exactly that, like you've heard it before. Chad and Greg's work with Hellyeah namely Vinnie Paul seem to come through on this song as I find it very 'Pantera'-esque. After a little flashy guitar intro, a massive Chunky riff comes in for the verses, I find it similar in ways to the main riff from 'Walk'. But nevertheless this song has a 'Mudvayne' twist on it, with the best solo Greg Tribbett has ever done, in my opinion, and for those who are worried about Chad's voice, wait for the epic 18 second scream towards the end of this song. The song concludes with a chunky riff and fades out to the same guitar piece heard out at the start of the song.
'I Can't Wait' follows the same path, not dropping the ball and keeping the heavy aspects with nice fat, chunky riffs, not the fastest song, but still heavy as all hell, and again you'll see a massive use of double-kick drumming in this song. Should be one of the highlights for most listeners as its everything what Mudvayne entails.
Next up is 'Beyond The Pale', with a Bass-driven intro, which I find very cool, this song breaks out to a relatively simple riff, with the bass and drums driving the verses until you hit the chorus, which for the first time in a while is heavier than the verses! I find this song to be one of my highlights because it's strange and different which is the main reason I listen to 'Mudvayne'
'All Talk' is another relatively radio-friendly song, a very timid verses, but the chorus is catchy and pretty darn awesome, You'll be singin along in the car for sure.
'L.D. 50' and 'The End Of All Things To Come' Fans, the next song is for you for sure, 'Out To Pasture' is a call back to those days, and the best song on the album for me, another bass intro which builds suspense, then another very subtle verse continues to build until you hit the Chorus and my god, is it a releif to hear something like this from Mudvayne! It might not be as technical as 'Severed' or as strange as 'Skrying' but this is as close as you'll get to those years between the last three albums. Amazing song, really it is fantastic.
'Burn The Bridge' comes up next and again bringing the tempo back up with a heavy, heavy verse, until the song breaks out to a chorus, you can imagine the whole crowd singing at a show. It's heavy, it's catchy, it's great.
'Dead Inside' closes the album, the acoustic track, written by Greg along time ago is really mind-twisting, there's no great guitar work, there's no drums, theres no bass, it's just Chad and Greg and it is a pretty haunting song, but with such a weird way to close the album, what else would you expect from the Peoria quartet? // 8
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics overall are really diverse, there's no theme to this album really, but it seems like Chad has some supressed anger he's felt like getting out, since 'The New Game' was so timid, both musically, lyrically and vocally. It seems like he's back to writing about abuse, oppresion and hate-filled relationships, and I personally, welcome that with open arms.
Chad's voice is great, as mentioned before he hits and 18 second scream and some other brutal notes on other tracks. Although his voice isn't as gutteral as it was on L.D. 50 but that's probably through wear and tear. But his nasily voice during his cleans still sounds as good as it always has, elegant at times even.
He's really picked up his game personally and that's great to see and hear! // 8
Impression: Overall this album is at least their third best, but honestly to some people, this could rival 'The End Of All Things to Come' for that second spot, while 'L.D. 50' is still a cut above the rest. It has its 'Lost and Found' moments and 'Scream With Me' sounding like it belongs on the new game. So it really does live up to the eponymous title, it really is a mix of everything that is Mudvayne, so theoritically it should appeal to all types of Mudvayne fans.
My favourite tracks in preferential order are:
01. Out To Pasture
02. Heard It All Before
03. 1000 Mile Journey
04. Beautiful and Strange
05. Beyond The Pale
I really enjoy this album, I can listen to it the whole way through with thorough enjoyment, if it were stolen, personally I'd think the person would be an idiot, because I doubt they have a black light to see the artwork! But then I'd go and buy another album for sure, it's a great album and worthy of a solid 8. // 8
Having given this CD a good listen over the past few weeks, I have to say it's certainly grown on me. What I love best about it is that you can hear the heart they put into this record. The music stays true to their style and doesn't try to be something it's not. It's classic Mudvayne at its best. I wouldn't say it's as heavy or innovative as their very earliest material, but it's a great step in the right direction, where as with "A New Game" it felt like they were starting to slip off their boat. This is a great cd and I recommend it any Mudvayne fan/metal enthusiast alike. Rock on fellas! \m/
no shit...i agree with efferus....but yea its no LD50 or even Lost and Found....its not bad...closer and heard it all before are my favorites....but umm definitely back into the heavier side...2 songs i think are pretty soft but umm the rest is good. His screamin is longer and sometimes louder, guitar is more metal, i can hear the bass again, and drums soundin a bit more like Dethklok and Arch Enemy to me
I got this album today for Christmas. The Album art is back light sensitive just like they said. Kinda clever, I guess. Until I opened it and discovered that all the lyrics and everything else is also black light sensitive. Kinda a dumb idea. The album itself thought sounds like every Mudvayne album before it. No two Mud albums sound the same. But when you combine them all, you get Mudvayne. This album truly deserves to be the self titled one.
Definitely much better than The New Game, which was mainstream as hell, but still not a bad album. But this album really brought them back quite a bit, and I would argue that it's their third best, behind LD50 and TEOATTC. It's nice that Ryan's bass really sticks out in parts, more than it has in recent albums, thats one aspect I've missed greatly, and it's also very nice to see that Greg stepped up his game on guitar. Chad's back to singin' about ****in' things up, which is always nice. And of course, Matt is great as always. Oh, and time signature and tempo changes throughout the songs, something else they haven't done much since LD50. I feel they really put an effort towards recovering their originality, and what makes them Mudvayne. I love these ****ers, and this album should fully explain why.
Haven't heard it yet. Hope its in drop B tuning not drop C like the softer albums. If it sounds Like L.D.50 it should be in drop B
Ah, it's in Drop C. Sorry to disappoint. But it just has a little more aggression to it, kinda like LD50 had. Thats the only comparison I'd make. That and time signature/tempo changes.
This albums just adds to the trend of continually worsening albums by Mudvayne.
Ironaically I think that it's Matt (drums) and Greg's (guitar) best album as individuals but Chad's singing unfortunately ruins it for me. I've never been a huge fan of his but atleast previously his lyrics have been somewhat inciteful and thought provoking, his chorus type singing quite good and his forceful screaming ued sparingly. These days his lyrics a full of cliches and rhetoric, his singing voice is hardly used and his screaming is very much overused.
On a positive note, the acoustic track to fnish the album was unexpected and a nice touch and Ryan Martinie's bass playing (though often drowned out) is precise as always.
All in all though, this, in my opinion, is Mudvayne's worst album to date and makes me very skeptical to purchase any further releases.
Lol, I don't think Amy has ever heard LD50 or this album. This review is vague as usual and is packed with literary fluff. UG, This isn't Rolling Stone. I want reviews from musicians! There's not a single mention of the bass or drum work, and only a line or two about the guitars. All of Amy's reviews suck and I want to see some reviews for the musicians of this guitar site. Also, maybe I read it wrong, but there is no way I can comprehend where the statement "heaviest in years" came from, because this album is about as heavy as the Jonas Brothers. I'm not saying the album sucks, it's just not heavy... At all.
.... Also, maybe I read it wrong, but there is no way I can comprehend where the statement "heaviest in years" came from, because this album is about as heavy as the Jonas Brothers. I'm not saying the album sucks, it's just not heavy... At all.
Buddy, if you're so great at writing reviews, why the hell isn't yours up there (or here in the comments section)? Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Even yours, where you make the laughable claim of comparing this album to the Joans Brothers. How very intelligent of you to voice that.
You don't have to love the album, but why not keep your opinion reliable before crushing out someone elses (who at the very least doesn't make such ridiculous statements)?
Haven't heard it yet. Hope its in drop B tuning not drop C like the softer albums. If it sounds Like L.D.50 it should be in drop B
Ah, it's in Drop C. Sorry to disappoint. But it just has a little more aggression to it, kinda like LD50 had. Thats the only comparison I'd make. That and time signature/tempo changes.
If you read the interview Greg recently did on UG, he says one song even goes to drop G...
If that's not heavy and low, I don't know what is.
you *******s....
1.ld50
2.the end of all things to come.
3.lost and found.
4.Mudvayne
5.kill i oughtta
6.the new game
i think thats the way it should be. im an avid mudvayne fan but uhh...yea ld50 was the mudvayne...this takes a step in the right direction.but there will never be another ld50.
of course someone did say people hate you if u stay the same and never change, then others hate you if you change and dont stay the same...
so....nobodys ever happy.
i still love mudvayne so
Fuck you all.
.... Also, maybe I read it wrong, but there is no way I can comprehend where the statement "heaviest in years" came from, because this album is about as heavy as the Jonas Brothers. I'm not saying the album sucks, it's just not heavy... At all.
Buddy, if you're so great at writing reviews, why the hell isn't yours up there (or here in the comments section)? Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Even yours, where you make the laughable claim of comparing this album to the Joans Brothers. How very intelligent of you to voice that.
You don't have to love the album, but why not keep your opinion reliable before crushing out someone elses (who at the very least doesn't make such ridiculous statements)?
As they say, nut up or shut up.
I was comparing the heavy-ness of the album... Geez, if you're gonna attack someone's post, at least try to comprehend what it's saying. Also, if I could write a good review, I would; but I can't (only heard a few full songs and some snippets of the rest) and that was not the point of the post. This is about the UG Team reviewer, someone who is an official critic for the site. I'm not the only one who can't stand Amy's reviews and it's brought up before, I know that for a fact. I never said I didn't like the album or that it sucked, just that it wasn't heavy (I guess I'm just spoiled from too much meshugghah and the faceless) Maybe your opinion is "unreliable" too because your smug got in the way your skills to comprehend a simple post complaining about a uninformative, vague review that makes no sense at all. Just look... a 7.7... yet the whole review is all complements and praise. How the hell am I supposed to get an idea of the quality of the album if the score is average and the review focuses on how much the album is [not] like LD50. I also like how you finished your post with "nut up or shut up" I literally don't have enough room in this post to point out how much of a twat you are. You wanna talk about my intelligence, how about trying to write a proper response instead of trying to attack and incite an argument. My point still stands, so if you want to try again, do it with a little less douche attached. K? Thanks.
I agree with Matt, it's their best cd since The end of all things to come. It may not be thier heaviest or a LD 50 Part 2, but it's still one of the few cd i've gotten this yr where u can hear the passion
This album has the same dynamic flow of New Game
what i mean is there is Distorted Guitar section, Clean Guitar section, Bass Section w/Clean Guitar. And that is all that sums up the whole album
Compare that to Ld 50 which had heaps of unique creative flow, Blah the Albums have been getting slightly worse each time
I was comparing the heavy-ness of the album... Geez, if you're gonna attack someone's post, at least try to comprehend what it's saying. Also, if I could write a good review, I would; but I can't (only heard a few full songs and some snippets of the rest) and that was not the point of the post. This is about the UG Team reviewer, someone who is an official critic for the site. I'm not the only one who can't stand Amy's reviews and it's brought up before, I know that for a fact. I never said I didn't like the album or that it sucked, just that it wasn't heavy (I guess I'm just spoiled from too much meshugghah and the faceless) Maybe your opinion is "unreliable" too because your smug got in the way your skills to comprehend a simple post complaining about a uninformative, vague review that makes no sense at all. Just look... a 7.7... yet the whole review is all complements and praise. How the hell am I supposed to get an idea of the quality of the album if the score is average and the review focuses on how much the album is [not] like LD50. I also like how you finished your post with "nut up or shut up" I literally don't have enough room in this post to point out how much of a twat you are. You wanna talk about my intelligence, how about trying to write a proper response instead of trying to attack and incite an argument. My point still stands, so if you want to try again, do it with a little less douche attached. K? Thanks.
I 100% agree with you.
This review is just someone spouting off cliches and talking complete sh*t if I'm being perfectly honest.
For example:
"He talks about dying, laying down in graves and sucking on a shutgun and tasting the barrel of a gauge on “Scream With Me,”
"He’s got a DNA distinct set of pipes and he doesn’t tackle goes-down-easy topics on the album. He talks about dying, laying down in graves and sucking on a shutgun and tasting the barrel of a gauge on “Scream With Me,”
1. Since when is "Laying down in graves" anyones topic of dicussion? Unless of course you happen to be slightly insane.
2. What are we 12? Dying, Laying down in graves and Sucking on a shotgun... Am I supposed to think that's cool? How about he tackles some real life stuff or some personal issues?
3. "which could eventually become the band’s anthem for disaffected youth or even the confused post-collegiates." Cliche of all f*cking reviews or what? Every God damn band whos review is average or above have an "anthem for the disaffected youth." This reviewer appears to have read some other reviews from the past and just stole this line clean out of them.
Mudvayne to me are "One Album Wonders" LD.50 was pretty good and 99% of the tracks were decent enough... all the other albums have 1 or 2 songs out of 12 - 15 that are ok and the rest are half assed "metal" at best.
dude i think this album is pretty sweet, its a lot better than most everything thats been out lately. this cd sounds so much better when you are listening to it on a nice stereo, you can actually hear the bass. i listen to it in my car, i did up the system, and its a hell of a difference over the stereo in my room or headphones/laptop. The riff they have in beyond the pale around 20 is sick, check it out
We've detected that you are using Ad Blocking software.
If you hate ads, but love Ultimate Guitar, how about subscribing to Ultimate Guitar's Ad Free Service? If you subscribe to this service, you won't see annoying banner ads, pop-up ads, text-link ads or video ads and will be helping to support your favorite site at the same time.
As you know, we provide you with a lot of great, free content like news, reviews, interviews, tabs and chords, but you see, ads are the way we generate revenue to run UG and pay royalties to the songwriters and music publishers of the songs that are posted here.
Was this review helpful to you? 
0 is sick, check it out
