Mudvayne

The New Game is every bit as unsettling and unnerving as Mudvayne's 2000 debut L.D. 50 is. However, where L.D. 50 relies on flourishes of psychosis and unbridled angst for fuel, The New Game dissects and explores that mental depravity, embracing it—while simultaneously pushing it away. That push and pull is central to Mudvayne's fourth full-length record, and it's what makes the album one of the best heavy metal releases of 2008. The New Game sees the band taking stratospheric sonic leaps. "Fish Out of Water" brandishes a razor-sharp, polyrhythmic riff tempered by a jazz-fusion bass line. Meanwhile, drummer Matt McDonough lays down an impenetrable off-time percussive foundation for Greg Tribbett's riff mastery and Ryan Martinie's four-string wizardry. Above these instrumental textures, Chad Gray sings with an unmatched vitality. His voice crescendos from dark and brooding to cacophonous and chaotic. That's all in the course of one song too! On these tracks, Gray has found the middle ground between Phil Anselmo and Maynard James Keenan, and he's king of that realm.

Lyrically, Gray ventures into some very dark territory. The title track takes up residence inside a perverted serial killer's head, while "Dull Boy" is pure schizophrenic self-loathing. He's grown immensely as a writer, and the cut take Mudvayne's cinematic tendencies to a new a level. Matching that lyrical evolution, his voice has never sounded better. "A Cinderella Story" allows him to shine vocally, and he carries a massive chorus that's extremely hard to forget. Plus, the song drops in some acoustic guitars and entrancing fretwork from Tribbett. He's also immensely stepped up his game, soloing on "Do What You Do" and blazing through a head-spinner of a riff on closing track "We the People." Evolution is the name of The New Game, and fans of every Mudvayne era won't be disappointed by this offering.

As always, Mudvayne's rhythm section doesn't fail to dazzle and devastate all in the course one bar. However, the best part of The New Game is its complexity. Even though the band has preserved all of the elements that made them a metallic monolith, they still manage to progress and change.

It's been a long road for Mudvayne. They've gone through various image and aesthetic changes, and they've weathered the nu metal trend that they were unfairly often lumped into by nay-saying critics. Now, they've emerged with their best offering it. Play this game with them, and you'll never be the same afterwards.

—Rick Florino
11.20.08

After toning down the Slipknot/Mushroomhead theatrics for 2005's Lost and Found, Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray recorded an album with modern metal (almost) "supergroup" Hellyeah. The latter outfit's predilection for basic, rib-cracking hard rock pops up occasionally throughout 2008's The New Game like a gin blossom, interrupting sonic blasts of math-tinged nu metal with furious Motörhead-meets-Alice in Chains mayhem. The problem is, Mudvayne's own predilection for predictable loud/soft/loud set pieces, forgettable melodies, and over-reliance on words like "sorrow," "rage," "abused," "disease," "nightmares," and "beatings" keeps things from ever leaving the tarmac. With a winning opener (the familiar but nonetheless brutal "Fish Out of Water") and a handful of other keepers (including "A New Game" and the surprisingly subtle "Never Enough"), fans looking for a repeat of L.D. 50, Beginning of All Things to End, End of All Things to Come, and Lost and Found will be more than pleased, but those looking for actual growth would be better off cleaning out their refrigerators. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide