Grammy Nominated Metal Band Announces Reunion
Grammy-nominated nu-metal band Mudvayne has announced they are reuniting after more than a decade [...]
Grammy-nominated nu-metal band Mudvayne has announced they are reuniting after more than a decade after going on an indefinite hiatus. The news emerged on Monday, with music festival promoter Danny Wimmer revealing that the band is currently set to play four of his rock and metal fests this year: Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Ohio (Sep.10-12), Louder Than Life in Kentucky (Sept. 23-26), Aftershock in California (Oct. 7-10) and Welcome To Rockville in Florida (Nov. 11-14). "In our fan surveys, Mudvayne has consistently been one of the most requested bands — even though they weren't an active band," exclaimed Wimmer in a statement.
He continued, "We've been working for years to make this happen, so when I got the call that they'd finally take a meeting, [DWP Executive VP & Talent Buyer] Gary Spivack and I jumped at the chance to fly to Vegas. We sat down for dinner with Mudvayne, their lawyer Eric German, manager Diony Sepulveda and agent Ryan Harlacher — the band hadn't even been in the same room together for 10 years — and pleaded our case for why the time was right for this to happen. We were hoping to announce this in 2020, we're fortunate enough to be able to do it in 2021, and DWP is super pumped to have Mudvayne exclusively at all four of our festivals this year."
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Mudvayne was formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1996 by vocalist Chad Gray, bassist Shawn Barclay, guitarist Greg Tribbett and drummer Matthew McDonough. Barclay left the band while they were recording their first EP — Kill, I Oughtta — in 1997, being quickly replaced by Ryan Martinie. In 2000, they released their breakout debut album, L.D. 50, which featured the massively popular track "Dig." To this day, "Dig" remains to be one of Mudvayne's most recognizable songs. They followed L.D. 50 up with 2002s The End of All Things to Come, an album that was certified Gold by the RIAA one year later.
In 2005, the band released their third album, Lost and Found. which led to their Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the song "Determined." A year later, Gray and Tribbett former metal supergroup Hellyeah with Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell and late legendary Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul. In 2008, Mudvayne released their fourth album, The New Game, which was followed by their self-titled fifth album just six months later. In 2010, the band went on hiatus, with no word on when their paths may converge again.
Gray and Tribbett made Hellyeah their main priority, with Grey having recorded a total of six albums with the band. After the first three albums, Tribbett left to pursue other opportunities, forming the band Audiotopsy with McDonough in 2015. As for Martinie, he spent some time briefly filling in for Korn bassist Fieldy in 2012. While the band is reuniting for a handful of concerts, there is no word on whether or not Mudvayne has plans to write and record a new album.