L.D. 50
Ryknow – bass
Gurrg – guitar
sPaG – drums
Kud – vocals
"I'm afraid, Dave..." --HAL the computer, 2001: A Space
Odyssey There's reason to be afraid. There's very good reason indeed,
if you're someone who likes their music unchallenging, simple, and
easy to define and digest. But if you want something dark, mysterious,
savage, and unsettling, something that will force you to confront
the unknown and possibly alter the way you look at the world, then
prepare yourself for Mudvayne.
It's no coincidence that the opening track on Mudvayne's stunningly
heavy debut album, L.D. 50, is titled "Monolith," after
the brooding alien artifact at the heart of Stanley Kubrick's classic
2001: A Space Odyssey.
"The overall theme of the album reflects and embodies ideas
about the evolution of consciousness, transformation, and the risks
involved in experimenting with things that can change a person's
point of view, internally and externally," says drummer sPaG.
"And the monolith in Kubrick's film was also a representation
of that."
Like that cryptic black object, Mudvayne keep their secrets well-even
their faces are hidden in hal-lucinatory colors and symbols-but
make no bones about their desire to fuck with your head. Taking
the intensity of the new school of heavy rock one step further,
Mudvayne has left a long trail of shattered preconceptions and blown
minds in their wake. Next victims: the world at large.
"L.D. 50 is a medical term used by pharmacologists to measure
how toxic a substance is," explains sPaG about the album's
enigmatic title. "It stands for Lethal Dosage 50, which represents
how much of a chemical it takes to kill fifty out of a hundred test
subjects."
"The metaphor is that the things that can potentially open
your mind, expand your consciousness, and show you a new vision
of yourself and the world also have a risk involved in them and
a consequence. It's about how far you can push the envelope before
it gets dangerous, which is a way we'd like to see our work perceived
as well."
sPaG and his cohorts have been pushing the envelope for four-and-a-half
years, ever since Mudvayne first conspired together in the forbidding
wastelands of Peoria, Illinois, circa 1996. sPaG, Kud, and Gurrg,
with a different bass player (Ryknow came aboard two years later),
found each other after ten years in the usual maze of local outfits,
immediately sharing a vision of their own musical apocalypse.
The band began gigging regularly, winning over audiences from Denver
to Philadelphia with an un-matched intensity and a musical attack
that was increasingly intricate and brutal. Somewhere along the
line, the four members began painting their faces as well, adding
an extra layer of mystery to their dense, foreboding approach.
"We always wanted to try and bring some visual aspect to what
we did, but of course our budget lim-ited what we could do,"
says sPaG. "The makeup thing just came upon us." But the
drummer also cautions not to read too much into the band's war paint:
"It doesn't necessarily symbolize anything, and I'd really
hate to see things like that taken too literally," he insists.
"I feel the same way about our music - we try to leave it up
to the listener to make their own opinions about what it is we're
really do-ing."
The concepts behind Mudvayne's music - a twisting roller coaster
ride comprised of gargantuan, de-monic riffs, serpentine rhythms,
and Kud's expressive, multi-dimensional vocals, offset by kaleidoscopic
effects and samples taken from subjects like evolved consciousness
guru Terence McKenna - were gen-erated organically through the band's
shared interests.
"The band has been really influenced by movies and directors,
that sort of thing," reports sPaG. "Kubrick's work in
general has influenced us, but 2001 especially - some of the metaphors
in that 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 together, which is exciting for us because
we're still at the beginning of exploring how we work together as
artists."
Having recorded one self-released album, Kill I Oughta, Mudvayne
was more than ready to take their ideas to a larger platform, and
Epic A&R exec Steve Richards was happy to oblige them. Next
began the real alchemy of getting Mudvayne's dizzying energy and
technicality properly recorded, with famed producer Garth Richardson
(Rage Against The Machine, L7).
"It was the most horribly beautiful experience I've ever had,"
recalls sPaG. "It was very, very straining, very psychologically
straining, but it was also awesome to realize your vision on that
level, to have that kind of equipment available to you, and the
expertise from a producer like Garth.
"We worked around the clock, and some of the engineers we
had with us literally went for days with-out sleep. It was very,
very time-intensive. We didn't party. We were recording in Vancouver
but didn't get to see the town-we were just there and we worked
and that was it. It was very intense, and Garth ran a tight ship."
"Making the record was crazy. It was all about work,"
recalls Kud, a Clockwork Orange fanatic who claims to have gargled
gravel in his youth, about which details are sketchy.
"There were songs I left alone and didn't mess with until
we were in the studio, which was not a smart idea considering the
time and budget constraints we were under. I wrote 'Pharmaecopia'
and 'Nothing To Gein' on our last night in the studio, before the
tapes were sent to New York to be mixed. The pres-sure was insane."
But the end result was worth the harrowing experience, with Mudvayne's
music already earning the accolades of fellow musical shock therapists
Slipknot, whose percussionist Shawn "6" Crahan serves
as executive producer on L.D. 50. The two bands have also been sharing
the stage this past spring on Slipknot's headlining tour and this
summer's Tattoo The Earth mega-fest.
"They're a great band and they're great people," enthuses
Kud. "Shawn's seen something in us that was very genuine, and
I also hope that people can see that the music is very passionate
and honest. We stand behind it and we believe in it."
One thing is certain: The frontal assault of Mudvayne's music may
be too lethal a dosage for some to take. "I really feel like
we're trying to do something different and test the waters here,"
concludes Kud, before warning ominously: "If you're scared
of it, don't buy it."
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The End of Things To Come
Chüd - Vocals
Güüg - Guitar
R-üD - Bass
Spüg - Drums
After spending a year and a half on the road, the members of Mudvayne
only took a month off before starting work on the quartet's second
album, The End of All Things to Come (Epic Records, out November
19, 2002).
Instead of easing into the album, the band gambled on an ambitious
recording schedule that made the ticking of the clock a constant
source of tension. The self-imposed pressure to create paid off
as Mudvayne produced a collection of songs that offer a window into
the band's growth.
The first single "Not Falling" along with "(Per)Version
of a Truth" and "World So Cold" combine a new attention
to melody and disciplined musicianship with Mudvayne's trademark
dark lyrical vision, rhythmic complexity and jagged, sonic brutality.
The End of All Things to Come captures Mudvayne at time when the
band has found its voice and is hitting its stride with confidence.
"I've always said David Lynch could make a film out of anything
and it would still look like a Lynch film," explains drummer
Spüg. "At one point while we were writing this album,
I felt like we could do the same thing with music; we could play
anything and it would sound like Mudvayne. Looking back I realize
that what happened was after 18 months on the road we'd finally
come to a realization of who we are as a band."
The making of The End of All Things to Come was an exercise in
deadline management for the band. "We didn't want to take much
more than two years between albums and since we were on the road
for such a long time that really didn't leave us with a whole lot
of time to make this record," explains Chüd. We wrote
and rehearsed for four months and then spent another four months
to record and master the entire album. The pressure made us focus
instead of fold."
"I honestly didn't think we could make the record we wanted
to make so quickly, but we did," continues Chüd. "I'm
very proud of this album from every angle - the music, melody, songwriting
and lyrics. It captures who we are at this moment in time."
Although the album meets-and in some cases exceeds-the band's expectations,
it wasn't all smooth sailing. Taking the first step, admits Spüg,
was the hardest. "From the beginning we knew what textures
we wanted on the album and the themes we wanted to explore, but
we didn't know how to start."
Luckily, the band reached a turning point early when "Not
Falling"-the first single-emerged quickly from the writing
sessions. "That was the second song we wrote and once that
was under our belt everyone breathed a little easier," recalls
Spüg. "Looking back, I realize how much that song really
pointed the way sonically for the rest of the album."
While the aggressive tone on "Not Falling" is undeniably
Mudvayne, the song represents how much the band's approach to music
has matured since the band recorded its debut, L.D. 50.
"On the first record we all played in our own little boxes,
like we were playing to impress ourselves," says Spüg.
"Touring for so long taught us to listen to each other more
and play off each other instead of playing over each other. Making
that adjustment gives the new music a more rock feel and allows
more room for the vocals and melody to shine."
"Not Falling" not only served as the key that unlocked
the new album musically, Chüd says the song's subject of self-realization
also opened the album for him lyrically. "Writing that song
was a powerful experience for me," he says. "The song
demanded to be the nucleus, the central figure on this record. If
you want to think about it in solar terms, the song became the sun
for the rest of the album to orbit around."
The momentum from "Not Falling" helped the rest of the
album fall quickly into place. Buoyed by that confidence, Mudvayne
began recording The End of All Things to Come with celebrated producer
David Bottrill (King Crimson, Tool, Peter Gabriel) in Minneapolis,
Minnesota at Pachyderm Studios-where Nirvana recorded In Utero.
In the studio, Bottrill wasted no time getting to work, says Chüd.
"David brought an unbelievable sense of control to the project.
He showed up, had dinner with the band and three hours later he
was on his hands and knees in the studio plugging in his gear."
"He brought out the best in us by forcing the band to question
what it was doing and helping us trim away the gratuitousness of
some songs," adds Spüg.
While Bottrill has been typecast as Tool's producer, Mudvayne was
pleasantly surprised to learn that Bottrill had worked with prog-rock
cult band King Crimson, one of the quartet's inspirations. Bottrill's
experience helping a technically gifted band like King Crimson find
a way to make music that is challenging but does not alienate listeners
came in handy while recording Mudvayne.
"One of David's biggest contributions to this album was helping
us mellow the intellectuality of the band without eliminating it,"
says Spüg. "When we started going too far over the top
he would ask us, 'Are you playing it that way because you can or
because it works for the song?' He really kept us in line."
Bottrill's attention to structure and the band's experience on
the road combine to create an organic vibe on The End of All Things
to Come. Where L.D. 50 was intentionally sterile and internally
focused, new songs like "Shadow of a Man" and the title
track focus more on the group dynamic rather than individual heroics.
But fans that enjoy the band's use of outrageous time signatures
won't be disappointed with the new songs. "Trapped in the Wake
of a Dream," for example, boasts verses written in 17/8, choruses
in 11/8 and a bridge that mixes both time signatures. Despite the
wild syncopation, Spüg says the song's strength is its flow.
"If I hadn't pointed out which song was written in 17/8 I don't
thing most people would have noticed. It's a strange time signature
but it works because it's smooth."
The song, however, presented Chüd with the intense challenge
of finding a way to sing over the song's odd rhythm without sounding
like a robot. "It really was the hardest song for me to record
on the whole album," Chüd explains. "I wanted to
make the song groove and find a way to make people dance in 17/8.
The hardest part for me was learning that dance."
Chüd's struggles came to a head while trying to record the
song's bridge. Overwhelmed by too many ideas, Chüd froze in
the vocal booth. It was Bottrill who finally broke the singer's
mental logjam. "David looked at me from the control room and
said 'I don't' care what you do, just do something. Anything. Let's
make something happen.' He helped me regain my focus. I hated that
song while I was working on it, but now that it's done, 'Trapped
in the Wake of a Dream' is my favorite song on the record."
When the album was finished, Spüg says he realized how much
the band grew on the road and how comfortable they'd become making
music together. "We didn't have any time to absorb and process
the chaos of the last couple of years because we started working
on this album almost right away," he explains. "It wasn't
until later-when I was listening to the finished album-that I realized
how much the new songs reveal who we'd become and where we're going."
Mudvayne got its start in a Peoria, Illinois basement in 1996.
From the beginning, the band was determined to play by its own rules.
"If you're a band in the Midwest, you play cover songs or you
don't make money," says Chüd. "We refused to play
covers because we were more interested in finding our own voice
rather than trying to emulate someone else's."
The band's dedication to realizing its unique musical vision was
rewarded in 1999 when Mudvayne signed with Epic Records. A year
later, the group's debut L.D. 50 was released. While maintaining
a brutal touring schedule, the band gained a reputation for delivering
a live show that was visually outrageous as well as musically compelling.
Mudvayne watched the number of its fans steadily grow as they toured
on the Tattoo the Earth festival and with Disturbed. Mudvayne criss-crossed
the country again as it headlined the second stage of Ozzfest in
2001.
The tour turned out to be the start of a victory lap for the band.
After the tour, Mudvayne's debut, L.D. 50, was certified gold (500,000
sales) by the RIAA. In September 2001, the band won the first ever
MTV2 Video Music Award at MTV's Video Music Awards. In true Mudvayne
fashion, the band accepted the award with a humble speech while
wearing blood-spattered white tuxedos and sporting bloody bullet
holes in their foreheads. The band responded to the award by returning
to the road and assuming the coveted role of opening act on Ozzy
Osbourne's Merry Mayhem tour.
Mudvayne's winning streak continued into the winter as the band
released The Beginning of All Things to End, which included its
1997 independent debut Kill I Oughtta along with additional remixes
and interludes from L.D. 50.
To follow-up the band's DVD-single for the song "Dig"-the
first-ever DVD single for Epic Records-Mudvayne released its first
full-length DVD, Live in Peoria. The disc included 90-minutes of
live performance, behind the scenes footage and a bonus director's
cut of the video for "Death Blooms."
Mudvayne explores the possibilities of DVD on The End of All Things
to Come offering a special-edition of the album that includes a
bonus DVD. The disc features 30-minutes of in-the-studio footage,
photo shoot outtakes, an interview with Chüd and Spüg
along with previously unreleased songs "Goodbye" and "On
the Move."
With The End of All Things To Come, Mudvayne continues to push
their artistic boundaries.
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