History Music / Mudvayne

* ProgressiveMetal: Tribbett at one point got so tired of answering questions about the band's style that he jokingly said "It's math metal. Bring your abacus." Unfortunately, people jumped on the 'math metal' thing, to his irritation.

The band also performed in {{Horror}} movie-inspired face paint and masks and called themselves Kud, Gurrg, [=RyKnow=], and sPaG. The album involved themes inspired by human evolution and ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', with samples taken from a recording of Terence [=McKenna=] discussing his theory that evolution was triggered by psychedelic mushrooms. ''The End of All Things to Come'' had the band wearing alien masks and performing under the names Chüd, Güüg, Rü-D, and Spüg. Since then, however, they've performed without stage names or disguises.

Their SelfTitledAlbum was printed entirely in blacklight-reactive ink, which makes the inserts appear to be blank.

* CoverVersion: ''By the People, for the People'' has the band covering Music/ThePolice's "King of Pain"

** ''The New Game'' was reissued with a bonus disc of rare material.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Softer songs a 5-6; most songs a 8-9. They manage a soft 10 with "Determined".
* MonsterClown: Their ''L.D. 50''-era face paint.

* ShoutOut:
** "[[Film/TheShining All work and no play, makes me, a dull boy]], [[MadnessMantra all work and no play, makes me, a dull boy]]"

The band originally started playing music that had more of a HardRock sound, with very little of the {{Jazz}}, experimental or ProgressiveRock elements that they would incorporate later. This early sound was displayed on ''Kill, I Oughtta'', an EP of early studio revordings and some live tracks that was later subject to FanonDiscontinuity. Ryan Martinie joined the band when original bassist Shawn Barclay quit during the EP's recording. Martinie had been.a member of a Music/DreamTheater-style band called Broken Altar, and subsequently Mudvayne's style would shift to a mixture of ProgressiveRock and ThrashMetal, which drummer Matt [=McDonough=] described as "Math Metal" to an interviewer.[[note]][=McDonough=] later rejected the "math metal" label, saying that it was a joke he cracked in an interview that was taken seriously and that he doesn't think that Mudvayne was a pioneer of anything.[[/note]]

* ''Lost and Found'' (2005)

* ''The New Game'' (2008)

* ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Mudvayne]]'' (2009)

* ClusterFBomb: As noted in an album review, they toss around dozens of F-Bombs, but fill up their liner notes with [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas thank-yous to their families and mothers]].

+HELLYEAH (Chad Gray, Greg Tribbett)

+On the Shoulders of Giants (Matt Mcdonough=])

+Audiotopsy (Greg Tribbett, Matt [=McDonough=] )
+On the Shoulders of Giants (Matt [=McDonough=])

[[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mudvayne_259.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:259:Not your typical Metal band.]]

Influences:
+Music/{{Emperor}}, Music/KingCrimson, Music/{{Metallica}}, Music/PinkFloyd, Music/PorcupineTree
]

[floatboxright:

+Audiotopsy (Greg Tribbett, Matt McDonough)
+On the Shoulders of Giants (Matt McDonough)

->''Dig,\\
Bury me,\\
Underneath,\\
Everything that I am,\\
Rearranging!\\
Dig,\\
Bury me,\\
Underneath,\\
Everything that I was,\\
Slowly changing!''
-->"Dig"
Hailing from Peoria, Illinois, ProgressiveMetal band Mudvayne was formed in 1996, and is probably the only [[HeavyMetal Metal]] band to cite Creator/StanleyKubrick as an influence. Originally solely an AlternativeMetal band, a lot had changed by the time they got to their debut, ''L.D. 50''. The band members dipped into their ''extremely'' technical backgrounds to combine elements of ProgressiveRock and ThrashMetal into something they called "math metal", which owed to the fact that the composition involved riffs chosen via numbers symbolism directly related to the song's subject matter (I.E., "Nothing To Gein", about SerialKiller Ed Gein, uses a riff which alternates in bars of four and five, because nine is a lunar number and Gein's activities were usually performed at night).[[note]][=McDonough=] later rejected the "math metal" label, saying that it was a joke he cracked in an interview that was taken seriously and that he doesn't think that Mudvayne was a pioneer of anything.[[/note]]

%%* {{Angrish}}: Occurs in a few songs.
* ArcNumber: The band uses numbers symbolism to create their riffs and music.

* EsotericMotifs: ''The End of All Things to Come'' references astrology, alchemy, Kabbalah, and various other esoteric subjects.

* FakeOutFadeOut: At the end of "Skrying".

* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: At the end of "A Key to Nothing".

* MurderBallad: "Nothing To Gein", about SerialKiller Ed Gein.

** One of the songs on ''L.D. 50'' was titled "Monolith". This and "Internal Primates Forever" are references to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.

%%* UncommonTime: A lot of their songs.

* ''The End of All Things to Come'' (2002)

** One of the songs on ''L.D. 50'' was titled "Monolith". This and "Eternal Primates Forever" are references to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.

The future of Mudvayne currently remains unknown. In 2011, the band went on an indefinite hiatus which continues to this day. The members have made indications that they will return someday, but exactly when was not made clear. This is partially due to Chad Gray's involvement with Hellyeah, though statements from Gray have made it apparent that serious personality conflicts are the main reason why nothing has happened in a while. Tribbett and [=McDonough=] are also busy with the [[ProgressiveRock Progressive]] HardRock supergroup Audiotopsy, and while Martinie has largely kept out of the spotlight aside from the occasional visit to the Warwick booth at NAMM, he currently plays in Soften the Glare, a jazz fusion act.

The future of Mudvayne currently remains unknown. In 2011, the band went on an indefinite hiatus which continues to this day. The members have made indications that they will return someday, but exactly when was not made clear. This is partially due to Chad Gray's involvement with Hellyeah, though statements from Gray have made it apparent that serious personality conflicts are the main reason why nothing has happened in a while. Tribbett and [=McDonough=] are also busy with the nu metal supergroup Audiotopsy, and while Martinie has largely kept out of the spotlight aside from the occasional visit to the Warwick booth at NAMM, he currently plays in Soften the Glare, a jazz fusion act.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Softer songs a 5-6; most songs a 8-9. They manage a soft 10 with "Determined", pretty impressive for a band sometimes considered nu metal.

* ''L.D. 50'' (2000)

Hailing from Peoria, Illinois, ProgressiveMetal band Mudvayne was formed in 1996, and is probably the only [[HeavyMetal Metal]] band to cite Creator/StanleyKubrick as an influence. Originally solely an AlternativeMetal band, a lot had changed by the time they got to their debut, ''L.D. 50''. The band members dipped into their ''extremely'' technical backgrounds to combine elements of ProgressiveRock, DeathMetal, ThrashMetal, SpeedMetal and HardcorePunk into something they called "math metal", which owed to the fact that the composition involved riffs chosen via numbers symbolism directly related to the song's subject matter (I.E., "Nothing To Gein", about SerialKiller Ed Gein, uses a riff which alternates in bars of four and five, because nine is a lunar number and Gein's activities were usually performed at night).[[note]][=McDonough=] later rejected the "math metal" label, saying that it was a joke he cracked in an interview that was taken seriously and that he doesn't think that Mudvayne was a pioneer of anything.[[/note]]

%%* AlternativeMetal
* AvantGardeMetal - One of the bands that are most likely to come into mind whenever the term "math metal" is brought up.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Mudvayne often combines {{Alt|ernativeMetal}} and ProgressiveMetal with {{death|Metal}}, {{thrash|Metal}} or SpeedMetal and elements of HardcorePunk, [[{{Jazz}} Jazz Fusion]] and HardRock.

Hailing from Peoria, Illinois, [[HeavyMetal metal]] band Mudvayne was formed in 1996, and is probably the only [[HeavyMetal Metal]] band to cite Creator/StanleyKubrick as an influence. Originally solely an AlternativeMetal band, a lot had changed by the time they got to their debut, ''L.D. 50''. The band members dipped into their ''extremely'' technical backgrounds to combine elements of ProgressiveRock, DeathMetal, ThrashMetal, SpeedMetal and HardcorePunk into something they called "math metal", which owed to the fact that the composition involved riffs chosen via numbers symbolism directly related to the song's subject matter (I.E., "Nothing To Gein", about SerialKiller Ed Gein, uses a riff which alternates in bars of four and five, because nine is a lunar number and Gein's activities were usually performed at night).[[note]][=McDonough=] later rejected the "math metal" label, saying that it was a joke he cracked in an interview that was taken seriously and that he doesn't think that Mudvayne was a pioneer of anything.[[/note]]

%%* NuMetal

* AlternativeMetal

* {{Angrish}}: Occurs in a few songs.

* NuMetal

* UncommonTime: A lot of their songs.

* XMeetsY: Music/{{Voivod}} meets Music/{{Meshuggah}} meets Music/MrBungle, with a bit of Music/{{Korn}} and Music/{{Tool}} thrown in for good measure.

* MetalScream

* BlackSheepHit: "Happy?" is ''hated'' by a lot of longtime fans for being a blatant attempt at a radio hit, as it has very few hallmarks of their established style and borders on PostGrunge soundwise.

The future of Mudvayne currently remains unknown. In 2011, the band went on an indefinite hiatus which continues to this day. The members have made indications that they will return someday, but exactly when was not made clear. This is partially due to Chad Gray's involvement with Hellyeah, though statements from Gray have made it apparent that serious personality conflicts are the main reason why nothing has happened in a while.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Softer songs a 5-6; most songs a 8-9.

The future of Mudvayne currently remains unknown. In 2011, the band went on an indefinite hiatus which continues to this day. The members have made indications that they will return someday, but exactly when was not made clear. This is partially due to Chad Gray's involvement with Hellyeah.

* XMeetsY: Music/{{Voivod}} meets Music/{{Meshuggah}} meets Music/MrBungle, with a bit of Music/{{Korn}} and Music/{{Tool} thrown in for good measure.

* XMeetsY: Music/{{Voivod}} meets Music/{{Meshuggah}} meets Music/MrBungle.