Source: http://mudvayne.com/
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."
Artist(Band):Mudvayne
Source: http://mudvayne.com/ Mudvayne
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.