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In honor of Mudvayne hitting the road again for their Psychotherapy Sessions summer tour, we at Revolver recently ranked of all five of their albums, from worst to best.
From their 2000 nu-metal landmark debut, L.D. 50, to their 2009 self-titled album (a.k.a. the "White Album"), Mudvayne's discography thus far contains a wide range of sounds — from algabraic "math-metal" suites, to undeniable radio-rock anthems.
During a new interview with frontman Chad Gray, we had the Mudvayne frontman provide his own ranking of his band's whole discography. Below, is his personal Mudvayne album ranking, from worst to best:
5. Mudvayne
4. The End of All Things to Come
3. Lost and Found
2. The New Game
1. L.D. 50
Interestingly, there're several similarities between ours and Gray's ranking of the Mudvayne catalog, but also some stark differences. For instance, both parties agree that their most recent album, Mudvayne, which they released one year before their 11-year hiatus, doesn't capture the band at peak form.
"The 'White Album' is — that's when everything was kind of very not great," Gray says of that tumultuous period. "It was a tough album to get through because at the time, we all mentally and emotionally weren't good."
"We'd been through a lot as a band at that point, a lot of things a lot of people don't know," Gray continues. "We were about a heartbeat away from a fucking behind-the-music series. I mean, that's how fucking bad shit was when we disbanded."
OK, so Gray isn't hot on their fifth record, but he is a massive fan of Mudvayne's fourth album, 2008's The New Game, which he placed all the way up in the No. 2 spot (we slotted it in at No. 4).
"There's some really, really good songwriting on that album," Gray enthuses. "'Dull Boy''s on that. 'Do What You Do' is on that. 'The Hate in Me.' I love [that song], we should fucking play that one. But yeah, I felt like our songwriting was best on The New Game."
He even put it above their 2005 mainstream rock breakout, Lost and Found, and their proggy, 2002 fan favorite, The End of All Things to Come.
"I love End of All Things to Come, I really do," Gray says. "I just feel like one of our most complete songwriting bodies of work was The New Game."
However, Gray still agrees with the popular consensus that Mudvayne's 2000 debut, L.D. 50, is their defining creative achievement — even if he also thinks it's far from perfect, and even levies some serious criticisms against it.
"Everybody loves L.D. 50," Gray says. "The reason why is because L.D. 50 is the first fucking thing that they ever heard by Mudvayne. But me, personally, I'm not a huge fan of L.D. 50 because I'm not a big fan of the mix. I think the mix is very bass-heavy.
"To me, it doesn't feel like a band mix. We're a metal band, it needs to be guitar-centric. It should be very guitar-forward, and it wasn't.
"I mean, I love L.D. 50," he clarifies. "It's a great album and it was a fucking hard album to write. "Greg [Tribbett, guitarist] and I were in the studio the last three days, in there every night, all night, finishing the last three songs.
"So, everybody left and went to mix, and me and him stayed and we literally walked out of the studio at 10:30 a.m. after being up all night the last night, [and] we were supposed to be out of the studio at noon."
