MUDVAYNE - review added 2nd February 2009
Album Review: The New Game (2008)
For fans of: alternative metal... and the best song being the worst song
Mudvayne, formerly an insanely heavy 'image' band like Mushroomhead or Slipknot (check out the video for their song 'Dig' on YouTube), are now much more conventional to look at. The sound has also been toned down from the screaming sonic assault of old to a more mature metal/grunge fusion. Hints of prog creep into the mix on occasions, although they are invariably drowned out pretty quickly.
The New Game is Mudvayne's 4th studio album and follows 2005's Lost And Found. To be honest I haven't taken a lot of notice of their career so far. This album is unlikely to change my mind.
Chad Gray's vocals are... an acquired taste. His 'shouting' voice is respectable. So why does he spend so much time on The New Game singing quietly? Check out the first few lines he sings in 'Fish Out Of Water'. It's cringeworthy.
Award for the most irritating song? Split between 'Same Ol'' and 'Dull Boy'. 'Dull Boy' is as annoying as electrified socks. It reverts to that awful nu-metal sound that so many other bands have been careful to forget ever existed. 'Same Ol'' starts off like a terribly conceived copy of Metallica's 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'. It doesn't get much better as it progresses.
Award for the best song? Er, 'Dull Boy', again. It may be bloody annoying but it has bags of character and sticks in your mind like a lodged bullet. Faux metal cast-off tripe should not be this interesting. The song is as simple as a stegosaurus yet as fun as a ball pit. Go figure.
The New Game is not a terrible album. Not by a long shot. It has a few uplifting and exciting moments and enough variation to make you come back for more. However the majority of the recording is lacking panache and as uninspiring as lard. If you like your music to sound like some cavemen recorded it on a drunken night in East Gondwana, The New Game is perfect.
Check out... 'Dull Boy'. Awful and excellent, all at the same time.
Track List:
1. Fish Out Of Water
2. Do What You Do
3. A New Game
4. Have It Your Way
5. A Cinderella Story
6. The Hate In Me
7. Scarlet Letters
8. Dull Boy
9. Same Ol'
10. Never Enough
11. We The People
Label: Vibrant Records
Band websites: Mudvayne , MySpace
