Posted: November 30th, 2008
Contributed By: Nick
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Purchase @ Amazon Release Date: November 18, 2008 |
| Mudvayne is: Chad Gray (Vocals) Greg Tribbett (Guitar) Ryan Martinie (Bass) Matt McDonough (Drums) |
Overview: So I was at a Mudvayne show in ‘05, and unfortunately it was canceled due to tragic circumstances. However the news was delivered to the sold-out crowd more than 2 hours after doors had opened, and most had already started boiling with impatience. As everyone angrily flocked out, I watched one distraught fan turn blood red in the face, raise up his arm, and forcefully slam it down on the bar, clearly fracturing bones in his hand, wrist and fingers. Post-trauma, he didn’t so much as wince, proving just how intense Mudvayne (and their fans) have become. And mind you this was more than three years ago. At the time, Mudvayne was touring behind their fresh new album ‘Lost and Found‘, which would eventually join the platinum ranks of the band’s debut album ‘L.D. 50‘ thanks to the powerful radio presence of singles like “Happy?” and “Fall Into Sleep”. Keeping their momentum going, Mudvayne are back with their latest, aptly titled ‘The New Game‘. The band is currently on tour with 10 Years and the revived Snot, while their latest single “Do What You Do” is making headlines at rock radio.
The Good: Mudvayne got game. Duh. With ‘The New Game‘, Mudvayne reinforce the A-game they bring on each album. The disc awakens with the visceral kick-starter “Fish Out Of Water”, which thrives not only off raw energy, but also a surprising bounty of mood and sensitivity. “Have It Your Way” is a smooth gallop that becomes increasingly catchier with each successive listen. Mudvayne offer a true taste of their past on the title track, a cataclysmic pummel that is rather studious. By its halfway point, “A New Game” sprouts into a soaring blend of melodies and epic guitar solos, pegging it as one of the disc’s most thorough works. The veteran “Dull Boy” makes a welcome cameo, a gritty and fiery cut that’s exquisitely harmonious at times. “Do What You Do” might possibly be the hookiest single in Mudvayne’s repertoire, boasting a bevy of easily digestible features and a breakout vocal performance by Chad Gray. A groovy, 6/8 face-peeler, “The Hate In Me” is a supersonic, super-frenetic 3 minute and 23 second kick to the grill, as guttural vocals by Gray and destructive drumming by Matt McDonough leave you happy to sacrifice a molar or three. “Scarlett Letters” is a Mudvayne ballad-infusion, a soulful and spirited trip lined with downhome flavor; although the incidence is clear, never once does the band sound like they’re trying to squeeze blood from the Hellyeah stone. The quirky “Same Ol?” is invigorating and sporty, glowing with metalcore nuances to give it a witty persona. “Same Ol?” sees Mudvayne hit their zenith of excitement, the effervescence exuded by the band translating into listeners feeling giddy. Thanks to the crafty drumming of the nimble Matt McDonough, the already consistent and reflective “Never Enough” is truly brought to life. “A Cinderella Story” is a pump of upbeat, propulsive energy. The band cools off for a serene and sultry bridge, where sharp tambourine hits give the tune a tribal vibe. ‘The New Game‘ rounds the bases one last time with “We The People”, a booming and colorful rager that’s unforgiving and unrelenting. ‘The New Game‘ is a Mudvayne both familiar and new, as the band seamlessly juggle dips in the past with present day adaptability for a sound that will please the same old as well as the newcomers.
The Bad: Let’s begin with “Fish Out Of Water”. After the initial smack, I was expecting a beastly opening track, only to be left with a pretty bland tune overall. “Have It Your Way” is about as exciting as getting a Jehovah’s Witness pamphlet in your basket on Halloween, a disheartening moment for Mudvayne on a track that could have been a step above the rest. Luckily, “Have It Your Way” is spared most boring honors, as that award is reserved for the manila envelope, white boxy Volvo “Never Enough”. It might be radically clingy, but “Do What You Do” is so overly calculated and stiff that it makes it hard to digest; combine that with an annoying hook and a performance by Chad Gray that will make you cringe, and “Do What You Do” is a misfire. Gray is also the folly of “Scarlett Letters”, his grating vocals injurious to a song built on tenderness. And poor Mr. Gray is also the downfall of “Same Ol?”, as the man painfully plods through the track’s lyrical junkyard with raps that don’t come close to cutting the mustard. “We The People” is a strong ending, but the last seconds evaporate much too quickly, a minuscule glitch in production that ends up fouling a really solid nest. The biggest detriment to ‘The New Game‘ is the lack of dynamics Mudvayne show. More specifically, the band squanders opportunities in several of the song’s bridges to turn o.k. tunes into memorable ones. Take “Dull Boy” for instance-when the band starts to mellow out, it seems as though the song will become emotional and strong. However this foreplay dissipates far too quickly and “Dull Boy” is left dwindling down a standard-fare spiral. The prime example of my thesis arrives during “A Cinderella Story”. Despite starting its bridge with eclectic and venturesome gusto, Mudvayne end up retreating back to mundane filler to close out the song, a shameful trend that kills ‘The New Game‘.
Bottomline: Giving credit where credit is due, I have to commend Mudvayne for being a band that consistently unifies heshers, rockers, and commercial accessibility. Unfortunately this time around, Mudvayne seem more intent on capturing more of the latter than they are either of the former, a statement the band has a difficult time covering up on ‘The New Game‘. There’s just nothing here to make me think “gee, Mudvayne sure have done it again”. Fact is, for a group of musicians this talented to sound as challenged as they do on this record is appalling.
Rating: 5 out of 10
28 Responses to “Review: Mudvayne – ‘The New Game’”
“This is an outstanding effort by Mudvayne and doesn’t disappoint.
There has some criticism that this album doesn’t sound like LD-50 or whatever. I agree. That what makes Mudvayne a great band is they try new things with each album.If you want a band that cranks out identical albums go listen to AC/DC.
If you are a longtime Mudvayne fan or a new listener grab this album. You will be pleased!”
uh, maybe this is why they are supposedly rumored to be releasing another album so soon. They took one listen to this and f–k it, released it to make some money in these hard times.Now are going back to the drawing board. lol
The soft songs on this album are starting to appear even more than ‘The End of All Things to Come’ had to offer. If that was their peak, there will be no other cohesive album better than ‘The End of All Things to Come’.
Besides Velvet Revolver, Linkin Park and Nickelback, Mudvayne can join the list of bands who tend to be the flagship of ‘corporate rock’.
5 out of 10? Come on Nick
You wrote alot of Pros but still a 5/10. I dont get the mudvayne hate lately I’ve been seeing.
Still harder then almost anything on the radio. Song wise this album is strong. period. I like every song on the album. And even if I was going to compare this to “L.D. 50″ it’s still good. Watch…their next CD is gonna sound way to much like thier first two and everybodys gonna be saying that they tried to hard to sound like L.D. 50.
L.D. 50 – 9/10
The End Of All Things 9/10
Lost And Found 9/10
The New Game 9/10
But there are songs of “L.D. 50″ and “The End” that I dont care for that much.
I am a long time mudvayne fan, and i agree completely with this review. This is the most disappointing purchase ive made this year.
Even though they’re not as heavy .. their music is defining contemporary art. The guitar leads are great .. infusing multiple melodies and crazy drum beats and inflicting bass lines. What are people looking for? “Dig’ again? I’m sorry .. you’re not going to get that .. they’re evolving as artists and want a different sound .. I personally enjoy when artists develop and grow.
Dave
I have been a long time reader of this site, but haven’t commented much. I had to jump in and give my two cents due to a few recent reviews done on here . . .
Between the recent Nickelback review and now this Mudvayne review, two of the biggest releases this year received a TOTAL of 9 out of 10? I don’t agree with the fact that these two albums together received only .5 better than a 4 song EP from Ember. Are artists of this caliber not allowed to deviate from their original sound? Everybody on here that I’ve read is shit-talking Mudvayne and Nickelback for “changing their ways” or because they aren’t as original or catchy as their first disc(s) showed. Do you think Nickelback would have blown up after each album if they would have stuck to the “Leader of Men” style? Would Mudvayne even still be around if they just released L.D. 50 – Part 2? Every band in this day and age needs to evolve and change how they make music. Is it not ok to like how Mudvayne sounded on their first record AND like how they have progressed to today? Can I not jam out to Curb or The State only to follow it up with Dark Horse and enjoy them both equally? Does every album released have to be even more epic than the last? When is the “greatness threshold” met?
Either way, what the hell do these bands care anyway what the few of us on here say . . . Obviously the other few million people enjoying the new music don’t come on here and post or we’d see more love for these bands who still make kick-ass music, even if the majority of the posters here don’t enjoy it.
When either of these bands release an album that DOESN’T go Gold, then maybe I’ll start buying the hatred spewed about and the chastizing given for the band’s “change” in music . . . .
I think Nick should have reviewed the new New Kids On The Block album just so that we could all get a laugh……. just wanted to say that…….I haven’t listened to this album(The New Game) myself yet, so I can’t say anything about it.
Nor have I listened to the New Kids On The Block album…..just wanted to make that clear……..lol
i havnt really listend to the album so closely, but i was at a show on saturday night in Minneapolis.. First time seeing them. and i thought i was going to die. Definatly the craziest fans i’ve ever seen. Snot was alright they did the wall of death which is always sweet. and 10 years is one of my favorite bands but didnt seem to get that much crowd support. i think they were a little out of place with the bands they were playing with but. 2 words described there performance “simply Amazing”. and mudvayne WOW they come with so much intensity. They only played do what you do off the new album, and happy and fall into sleep off lost in found. Majority of it was all off L.D. 50 And man can he fricken scream. They seem to play a little to fast on some of the songs but still sounded amazing. But i can sense that chad’s hurting his voice. during an instrument part of a song he sat there and leaned over and spit, and obviously coughing it was sad. but an amazing concert overall
after i got over the very unlikely event that this was anything like L.D. 50, it’s an average to slightly above-average album for me. I’m not sure where people are hearing the big change at with this. If anything, this is Lost and Found Pt. II. 7-7.5/10.
This is off the Mudvayne topic, but I wanted to make a remark about a comment.
I have to agree with Nikemoss completely. Over the last few months I have lost all faith in the reviews on this site (which is synonymous with “Nick’s reviews”). Some of my favorites for the year have been Ra, Buckcherry, and Nickelback. And they got a 6.5, a 7, and a 4. I can’t begin to explain how ridiculous I find this.
Granted, it is Nick’s prerogative to give out low scores. But more often than not with the already famous bands, the low scores appear to be an overreaction to an unreasonably high expectation.
It’s an opinion…get over it.
Isn’t “Have It Your Way” the track that was specifically designed for the new Burger King commercials?
in defense of myself in regards to my seeming to “pick on” the more popular groups:
10 years: 10/10
hinder: 9.5/10
trapt: 9/10
shinedown: 9.5/10
disturbed: 8/10
3 doors down: 8/10
sevendust: 9.5/10
saving abel: 9/10
alter bridge: 9.5/10
12 stones: 8.5/10
fuel: 8/10
daughtry: 8/10
chris cornell: 8/10
30 seconds to mars: 8/10
deftones: 8.5/10
???
If Nickelback got a 4 it wasn’t because they “differed from the way they normally sound” or because they didn’t “raise the bar for greatness,” it’s because the album sucked in Nick’s opinion. I mean, can you seriously listen to “Gotta Be Somebody” or “If today was your last day” without gagging? Or listen to “Something in your mouth” without confusing it with “Bad Girlfirend” from Theory of a Deadman? And that’s the worst song of the decade…
nick’s opinions sucks and don’t help with anything on any album he rates. nick needs to get a real job.
hahaha classic.my opinions suckS.hahaha classic.
So Nick gives high ratings to popular bands who gives a shit seriously…..i think he gives most bands reasonable ratings……and when the hell are people gonna understand its just one guy giving his opinion on the album…..and his reviews don’t just runt he band down either it says the good and the bad…if you don’t want to hear the bad stuff about the band don’t read the bad section of it simple as that.
nick we know you suck hahahaha classic that!!!
I’ve never really been able to get into Mudvayne, just picking and choosing the songs I care for by them. But I can sit through this whole album without hitting skip, maybe more than once. The sound is familiar and comfortable but fresh and original at the same time. I’d give it a 7/10 at the very least. “We The People” is an album saver for me.
this cd was great because was different from all the cds they put out. i give it a 8 out of 10.
Still has the punch and flavor going back to why ‘L.D. 50′ is the reason behind the formula that Mudvayne is sticking to and won’t adhere to what critics have a reason to say the “it sucks” attitude so that ‘New Game’ ups the ante.
A 4 or 5 out of 10 is reasonable? You definitely have to be a tough critic whereas I would give it no higher than a 7 to 7.5 in my opinion. I would have to say that the albums ‘The End of All Things to Come’ and ‘Lost and Found’ are hard to beat and hard to top.
3/10
Mudvayne – The New Game
Fish Out of Water – 9/10
Do What You Do – 8.5
A New Game – 9.3/10
Have it Your Way – 8.6/10
A Cinderella Story – 9.2/10
The Hate in Me – 9/10
Scarlett Letters – 9.1/10
Dull Boy – 8/10
Same ‘Ol – 8.6/10
Never Enough – 8.9/10
We the People – 8.9/10
Overall – 8.8 + .4 for all great songs =
MUDVAYNE – THE NEW GAME – 9.2/10
Can’t wait for the next album (hope it’s called Game Over, that would be such an epic name.)
I love mudvayne. All of it. L.D. 50, End, L&F, and TNG! They are unbelievably good live, Chad Gray has one of, if not the best voice in Metal today. This album showcases more varied guitar work as well as it’s insanely catchy. My faves off this album are: “Have It Your Way”, “Do What You Do”, “A New Game”, “Scarlett letters”. I think it’s a solid 8. And just because I don’t agree with Nick’s rating, doesn’t mean he’s a bad reviewer, or a bad person. But Nick, try and see this album from a musical stand point, listenable standpoint, and a fan stand point. And then base your rating off of that. Because you gave this album a lot of positivity, very little negativity, and yet still a 5?