Few acts within the heavy milieu elicit such a tactile reaction in fans like Mudvayne.
Even the mention of their name is bound to do something to the heart rate of their dedicated legion of followers. Today, it’s Australian fans who better hold onto something while they acclimate as the news is out – Mudvayne are heading to our shores for a run of headline dates bringing Coal Chamber with them.
To the uninitiated, Mudvayne may appear to be a freak show, but to those in the know, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The sweeping heavy music vistas we enjoy today were only possible thanks to the primordial ooze from which Mudvayne once rose. Works like pioneers and trailblazers come close to describing their role in the now booming global scene with the band rightfully accredited as not only one of the first, but one of the best.
Always much more than the horror make up and crushing breakdowns, Mudvayne deployed cerebral and stylish heavy metal fitted out with elements of jazz, alt-rock and punk as they tapped into what were, and largely remain, hitherto untapped creative wells.
Dropping their debut album LD. 50, which introduced titan single ‘Dig’ to the world in 2000, Mudvayne wasted no time building their catalogue with 2005’s Lost And Found seeing them reach critical acclaim normally reserved for the pop acts of the day. For many of us – this was our Moon landing; our Kennedy assassination if you will. To put it simply: Everyone remembers where they were the first time they heard ‘Happy?’
During the era when metal was enjoying a boon, Mudvayne were still in a league of their own, penetrating the zeitgeist to the point of featuring in The Sopranos.
The group would end their output with 2009’s Mudvayne. At the time, it played like a full-stop on their career, but with news of a reunion starting in 2021, it’s looking more like a semicolon.
The inclusion of Coal Chamber, creators of one of the greatest nu-metal albums of all time Oddity, on the tour shows this is more than just a job for all involved, but a keen and concerted effort to spread pandamonium throughout our sun kissed land, and our bodies are ready.
Mudvayne Australian tour dates
Wednesday, February 14th
Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
Tickets: The Phoenix
Friday, February 16th
Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Tickets: The Phoenix
Saturday, February 17th
Festival Hall, Melbourne
Tickets: The Phoenix
Monday, February 19th
Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide
Tickets: The Phoenix
Wednesday, February 21th
Metro City, Perth
Tickets: The Phoenix
