Hit Parader Jan. 2001
Mudvayne A Lethal Dose
They may very well be the face of rock and roll's future... and the members of Mudvayne are the first to admit that it's not a very pretty face. In the wake of Slipknot's harrowing, horrifying visage becoming the standard against which all contenders for the New Millenium shock rock title must now be measured, along comes the Illinois-based quartet who just may have what it takes to become metal's Next Big Thing. As shown throughout their debut album, L.D. 50, bassist Ryknow, guitarist Gurrg, drummer sPaG, and vocalist Kud are the next evolutionary step in modern rock outrage and power - the lineal descendents of Kiss, Cooper, and Manson with a decidedly hallucionatory, hell bent X factor tossed into the mix for good measure. Their look my be best described as four escaped inmates from the looney bin, and their sound....well, their sound simply has to be heard to be believed.
Mixing stark soundscapes with blistering, ear-bending blasts of virulent metal, these guys have created what may well be the most lethal musical attack ever presented by a major lablel. Already their approach has raised eyebrows and generated media scrutiny where ever they've appeared, in the process allowing Mudvayne to emerge as one of the most talked about, over-hyped and focused upon bands in recent memory. But all of this attention has done little to distract Mudvayne from the task-at-hand. They're the first to realize that extensive media coverage and blistering industty debate does not necessarily guarantee a group's ascendency to stardom. But with response to their first album - and it's initial video Monolith(?)-already drawing big check marks in the "plus" category, these guys sense theyv'e actually taken the first major step towards attaining many of their long-term goals.
"I really feel like we're trying to do something different and test the waters here," Kud said. "The only advice we can give you is that if you're scared by what we do, don't buy our album or come to our show."
"The overall theme of the album," added sPaG, "reflects adn embodies ideas about evolution of consciousness, transformation, and the risks involved in experimenting with things that can change a person's point of view both internally and externally."
It's taken the Mudvayne mob nearly five years of steady work to break out of their mid-western musical "prison" and being to attain the kind of international audience they seek. Prior to forming in 1996, the band's members had spent much of their previous decade in a variety of other Peoria area bands, trying-mostly in vain-to find the like minded musical souls who shared their somewhat warped perspectives on the contemporary music scene. Gradually the forces now featured in Mudvayne began to discover one another-drawn together by both their desire to be different, and their need to express their unconventional attitudes in the national spotlight. Soon the foursome began expanding their realm of influence, traveling as far west as Denver and as far east as Philadelphia in order to play in front of their slowly-expanding fan base. Somwhere else along the way , the group came to the conclusion that their live shows would have even more of an impact if they decided to paint their faces in a variety of colors, symbols and styles. It was the element that finally put Mudvayne over the top.
"We always wanted to try and bring some visual aspect to what we did, but of course our budget limited what we could do," sPaG said. "The makeup just came upon us. But we don't want people to try and interpret some deep inner meaning to what we wear and what we do to our faces. Those things don't necessarily symbolize anything, and I'd really hate to see things like that taken too literally. I feel the same way about our music-we try to leave it open to the listeners to make their own opinions about what it is we're really doing."
So what exactly is it that has inspired these lads to beign such a radical, some might even say perilous, sojourn through the rock and roll world? Was it some kind of warped upbringing in the American Heartland? Was it some in-born mental imbalance shared by each of these four kindred musical spirits? Or was it merely a reflection of what they saw, heard and experienced as normal kids growing up in the Land of the Plenty? The fact is that Mudvayne are the Youth of America, products of the great, dark American underbelly. Much like their mentors and frequent touring mates in Slipknot, Mudvayne have proven that one need not be from the media hub, or even a major market, in order to stamp a strong-perhaps lasting-impression upon the psyche of the world's rock masses.
"Our primary motivations and influences have been movies and directors, that sort of thing," sPaG said. "Stanley Kubrick's world in general has influenced us, but 2001 especially-some of the metaphors int hat movie were a real big influence on the writing of this album. It was just a natural progression for us to pull each other into exploring these ideas togehter, which is exciting for us because we're still at the beginning of exploring how we work together as artists."
It should be most interesting over the weeks and months to coem to see how the music world reacts to Mudvayne's rather drastic look, sound and attitude. Thankfully for the band, they've got friends in high places, and some of those friends-most notably the members of Slipknot-have helped blaze a path for Mudvayne to follow during their first steps through the rock wilderness. In fact, the Knot gang has been essential to Mudvayne's recent rise to prominence, with that group's Shawn Crahan(#6) serving as executive producer of L.D 50(which takes its name from a potentially lethal dose of chemicals), as wel as helping to secure these upstarts a prominent place on last summer's, Slipknot-headlined Tattoo the Earth tour. Quite apparently, it's a relationship that has provided beneficial for all involved.
"Slipknot are a great band, and they're great people." Kud said. "Shawn's seen something in us that was very genuine, and I also hope that people can see that the music we make is very passionate and honest. We stand behind it and we believe in it."