Live Review : Mudvayne "the Psychotherapy Sessions" Tour @ the Mid-Credit Amphitheater

Having not seen Mudvayne since they opened for Kittie in 2000. They blew Kittie off the stage that night, and I bought their first album the next day. I had a curious optimism about the band, but the addition of Gwar to this tour's line-up is what sealed the deal for me. Granted outdoor concerts in July are not ideal in Florida. Despite the hype "nu-metal" is getting about it's second coming as "nu-core" the lawn was closed and only half of the 10,000 seats were filled.  I caught the last two Butcher Babies songs. I like the new albums , and they were very professional , though one of their singers was wearing jeans on stage, which seemed overdressed in the heat , when she used to just wear duct tape on stage.

Next up was Non-Point, I am always willing to give this guys a chance, never seen them before. They had a great deal of energy. but all there songs began to sound the same half way into their set. Then Gwar who I saw several times going back to 1990 when I saw them with Murphy's Law. This was my first time seeing them since Dave Brockie's death. I enjoy the Blothar album's I think they do justice to the band's legacy. I have never seen Gwar playing anywhere larger than a club, so  the Amphitheater at even half capacity was weird as well as seeing them trudge out on stage during the day in costume. The stage show was dialed back due to limited back line. If this has been the band at the height of their Scumdogs fury , they would have blown every one off the stage, but we got what we got and it was entertaining. The crowd was a mixed bag of people old enough to have seen Gwar in their hey day, and younger kids in their twenties who might have not had much of a clue about them. The victims continue to change with the time as Vladimir Putin and an AI Chat GPT bot as the victims of  the day. I can say in Blothar's defense, Oderus could not pull an AC/DC cover. I think Gwar could stand to thrown in a few more classics. 

Coal Chamber turned out to be the surprise of the show. I don't recall seeing them back in the day but they could have been playing the side stage on an Ozzfest back in the day and I might not remember. I was really only into the first album .When "Chamber Music" came out , I was into heavier music, I should go back and give it another listen. The two albums that followed came out off my radar and without me caring. I think what was most compelling about Coal Chamber is how they fell back into their roles , like they were picking up where they left off without missing a beat. Energy wise, and how they pulled everything off , they made the best showing of the night. Granted the bar was never set very high for them ,as their stuff is easy to play and not very demanding vocally. At 57 you never felt like his age was making him struggle at what he did. The songs you know... "Loco",  "Big Truck" etc...hit with the kind of impact you would want them to. 

Muudvayne's strengths as a band seemed to play against them at time. It is hard to tell if the crowd could tell. Things felt off when they hit the stage with "Not Falling" . It felt like Gray could have uses another song to warm up with. The smoothly sung verses suffered because of this and the higher passes into falsetto felt choked. This carried over four songs later when they went into "World So Cold" and the struggle still could be felt when they covered the Police's "King of Pain", despite doing their own version of it. The only three songs I was not as familiar with were from "New Game". I like the Shining inspired "Dull Boy" the best of the selections from that album. The addition of the second guitarist worked sonically though I think bassist Ryan Martinie could have been louder in the mix in order for their sound to have the kind of impact it achieves online. Their set did have strong moments in some of the more progressive jams, and Gray's screams were on point, despite his actual singing making his voice feel a little out of shape. I was inspired to give "the New Game" another chance , but doubtful I would spend money to see these guys again.  

Looking Back in Anger at Mudvayne's "the End of All Things to Come"

 I think we all know "L.D. 50" is a brilliant album, so it made more sense to put this one under a microscope and see how it has held up over the past 21 years. The first track was impressive since the first time I pressed play on this one back during it's release. I remember thinking when I first heard it that Gray sounded a little like Testaments Chuck Billy in places. My opinion in that regard has not changed , though now that is what I listen for. "Trapped in the Wake of a Dream" feels like the bass player is toning things down a bit, which works for the moodier tone. "Not Falling" is still a staple of their live show , and recalls more of the energy of the first album , even though this album marks the turning point where the sung vocals began to take precedence over the shout and growls. The syncopated hooks are still working really here. 

" (per) Version of a Truth" chugs it's more deliberate groove in a manner than lends itself for the smooth yet dynamic melodies to glide over. "Mercy Severity" is more tightly syncopated, before they take it in a more A Perfect Circle like direction, they do flex into a heavier climax, as you would expect them to. They power ballad "World So Cold' does a better job of exploring this more introspective side of the band , in a more hooky polished fashion that clicks together perfectly. "The Patient Mental" has more of a taunt palm muted groove. Not quite thrash, but another indication they took influence from that era. "Skrying' does some interesting things with it's groove without turning into a progged out Tool jam.  

"Solve et Coagula " hides any occult meanings implied in the title through roared metaphor. For these guys this is their more straightforward metallic moment. The bass often over powered the guitar on the first album and it is not the case here. I like the return to darker palm muted tension on "Shadow of Man". The title track is more hammering and finds the bass leading the charge. The album closes with "A Key to Nothing" which taps into their darker quirky side, with angular patterns dominating the groove. I will give this one a 9.5, as it's not as adventurous when it comes to song writing, but better than what most were doing at this time, and finds them at the top of the nu-metal heap.

the Weekly Playlist Vol 5 : Nu-Metal edition

Breaking away from the trend of artist specific playlists I had going there for a couple of weeks to switch gears into a sub-genre specific playlist. I was going to stick to the artist theme and then make this a top ten list, but this makes more sense since we have a bunch of top ten lists as it as and the end of the year will be here before we know it. While I was no longer teenager when the nu-metal subgenre exploded in the late 90s, I appreciated the first wave of albums that came from it. Once certain artists got too much radio play it began to become watered down. Even after the first wave a few bands included here slipped by to make decent music.

This afternoon I played DJ for the female of most significance in my life and cued up music of this era to invoke a time when life was simpler. The unbridled joy of catharsis this music could still bring was very touching, So here some deeper cuts from some of those same artists and others from that time period. This music carried an undeniable groove and proved easy to get caught up in as the angst it often boiled gave voice to pain otherwise left to feel unheard. I often reach back in time for music that spoke to me at certain place so listen to the voice of my younger days. I time when idealism was the language of dreams and the weight of the adult world was a burden not fully realized.

Music is a time machine. It reminds me when I was not as calloused by beatings life had given me and I could throw caution to the wind and free fall into feelings with abandon. Older and wiser I try to have a more balanced approach, but music helps keep the vibrations balanced until my mind can catch up to my heart. So maybe dear reader, you to might share such a place in time with these songs, perhaps you might discover a song that went under the radar at the time . Either way life is too short to not have a soundtrack to remind us when we lived and loved at 80 mph. Perhaps we now know, more sustainable speed at which to engage this journey, and every journey needs a soundtrack.  

Disturbed - "Believe"

 

 Static X- "Love Dump"


 

 Korn - "Swallow"


 


Orgy- "Fetisha"

 


 System of a Down - "Spiders"


 


 Slipknot- "Vermilion"

 

 Flaw- "What Do I have to Do"

 

 Mudvayne - "Nothing to Gein"



Deftones-"Mx'